Basanovic2022_Article_AssessingAnxiety-linkedImpairm.pdf (649.71 kB)
Assessing anxiety-linked impairment in attentional control without eye-tracking: the masked-target antisaccade task
Version 2 2023-06-12, 07:43
Version 1 2023-06-10, 02:50
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-12, 07:43 authored by Julian Basanovic, Jemma Todd, Bram van Bockstaele, Lies Notebaert, Frances Meeten, Patrick J F ClarkeContemporary cognitive theories of anxiety and attention processing propose that heightened levels of anxiety vulnerability are associated with a decreasing ability to inhibit the allocation of attention towards task-irrelevant information. Existing performance-based research has most often used eye-movement assessment variants of the antisaccade paradigm to demonstrate such effects. Critically, however, eye-movement assessment methods are limited by expense, the need for expert training in administration, and limited mobility and scalability. These barriers have likely led to researchers’ use of suboptimal methods of assessing the relationship between attentional control and anxiety vulnerability. The present study examined the capacity for a non-eye-movement-based variant of the antisaccade task, the masked-target antisaccade task (Guitton et al., 1985), to detect anxiety-linked differences in attentional control. Participants (N?=?342) completed an assessment of anxiety vulnerability and performed the masked-target antisaccade task in an online assessment session. Greater levels of anxiety vulnerability predicted poorer performance on the task, consistent with findings observed from eye-movement methods and with cognitive theories of anxiety and attention processing. Results also revealed the task to have high internal reliability. Our findings indicate that the masked-target antisaccade task provides a psychometrically reliable, low-cost, mobile, and scalable assessment of anxiety-linked differences in attentional control.
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Publication status
- Published
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- Published version
Journal
Behavior Research MethodsISSN
1554-351XPublisher
SpringerExternal DOI
Department affiliated with
- Psychology Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2022-03-08First Open Access (FOA) Date
2022-04-11First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2022-03-07Usage metrics
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