Journal article
Visual attention to emotion in depression: Facilitation and withdrawal processes
Cognition and emotion, Vol.26(4), pp.602-614
06/01/2012
DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2011.595392
PMCID: PMC3394537
PMID: 21851151
Abstract
Attentional biases for sadness are integral to cognitive theories of depression, but do not emerge under all conditions. Some researchers have argued that depression is associated with delayed withdrawal from, but not facilitated initial allocation of attention toward, sadness. We compared two types of withdrawal processes in clinically depressed and non-depressed individuals: (1) withdrawal requiring overt eye movements during visual search; and (2) covert disengagement of attention in a modified cueing paradigm. We also examined initial allocation of attention towards emotion on the visual search task, allowing comparison of withdrawal and facilitation processes. As predicted, we found no evidence of facilitated attention towards sadness in depressed individuals. However, we also found no evidence of depression-linked differences in withdrawal of attention from sadness on either task, offering no support for the theory that depression is associated with withdrawal rather than initial facilitation of attention.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Visual attention to emotion in depression: Facilitation and withdrawal processes
- Creators
- Blair E Wisco - Department of Psychology , Yale UniversityTeresa A Treat - Department of Psychology , University of IowaAndrew Hollingworth - Department of Psychology , University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Cognition and emotion, Vol.26(4), pp.602-614
- DOI
- 10.1080/02699931.2011.595392
- PMID
- 21851151
- PMCID
- PMC3394537
- NLM abbreviation
- Cogn Emot
- ISSN
- 0269-9931
- eISSN
- 1464-0600
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis Group
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 06/01/2012
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences
- Record Identifier
- 9984002582002771
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