Introduction: For many years, it has been emphasized on the role of attentional bias in addiction-related disorders, including its role in craving and relapse. This reseasrch aimed to investigate, the effectiveness of attentional bias modification on attention bias, pre-attentional bias and craving in abstinent addicts. Methods: Three groups (control, attentional bias modification and attentional bias modification with reinforcement and punishment) in three phases (pre-test, post-test, and follow up) assessed in attentional bias, pre-attentional bias, and craving. During the pretest and post-test, the control group received placebo training, while the second group received attentional bias modification training, and the third group received attentional bias modification training with reinforcement and punishment, respectively. To measure attentional bias, pre-attentional bias, and interventions, and to measure craving Dotprobe task test and Brief Substance Craving Scale were used respectively. Results: The results indicated that there was a significant difference between three groups in attentional bias in post-test and follow-up, the pre-attentional bias in post-test, and craving in the post-test. The control group obtained a higher score in pre-attentional bias than two experimental groups in the pre-attentional bias in follow up and attentional bias modification with reinforcement and punishment group obtained a lower score in craving than two other groups in craving in follow up. Conclusion: It seems that adding reinforcement and punishment to the classical intervention of attentional bias modification can lead to improving the effectiveness of this intervention. Besides, interventions based on attention bias modification are efficient interventions.

Attentional bias modification therapy is an emerging therapy for anxiety disorders. it seems that this method of treatment can also reduce the desire to use drugs and cognitive bias in addicts. The aim of the present study is to determine The effectiveness of Attentional Bias Modification Therapy with combining operant conditioning on the reduction of attentional bias in Addicts treated with methadon .. The method of this research was a semi-experimental type with a pre-test, post-test design of three groups with follow-up. Based on the desired criteria, 60 men were randomly selected and assigned to three groups (control, modification of attention bias, modification of attention bias with reinforcement and punishment). Two experimental groups received the interventions and the control group did not receive the intervention. To measure attention bias and interventions, the dot-probe test (McLeod et al., 1986) was used at two stimulus presentation times (600 milliseconds and 200 milliseconds(. The findings showed that there is a significant difference between all three groups in the post-test and follow-up of attention bias and pre-attention bias. In addition, the comparison between the attention bias modification and the attention bias modification group with reinforcement and punishment showed that the attention bias modification group with reinforcement and punishment had less attention bias in the post-test and follow-up. The result is that attention bias modification treatment is an effective intervention, and the use of bias modification treatment with reinforcement and punishment is a more efficient intervention to reduce the bias of addicts treated with methadone

This study examined the effect of attentional bias modification related to food’s stimuli in obese women. The present study used Pretest–Posttest Design with experimental and control groups. To this end, 35 obese women, matched in two separate groups based on weight, age and education level, participated in the study. First, amount of attentional bias toward food words evaluated using probe dot task. Then, attentional bias in one group modified with probe dot task and other group received aplacebo. Again, the amount of attentional bias towards food stimuli in groups was assessed to determine the effectiveness of attentional bias modification task.Results: The experimental group who received attentional bias modification task, comparing with control group, showed, significantly, less attentional bias towards food cues.Conclusion: Attentional bias modification task in obese women were able to reduce the amount of attentional bias towards food cues. Thus, cognitive therapy, beside the other treatment, could help obese woman to be treated.

The present quasi-experimental study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of attentional bias correction software on optimism in a pretest-posttest design with control group. The software was designed and built by the researchers. The statistical population consisted of all students of the Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences of Iran University of Medical Sciences in the academic year of 1996-97. Randomized to four experimental groups, each consisting of 15 subjects and a control group of 15 individuals. The experimental groups were divided into four groups: the first group played a positive face selection game among other facial emotions. The second group played the game of choosing positive images from other images in the field of animated and inanimate nature. The third group had to choose a word with a positive meaning from neutral words. The fourth group played a combination of all three groups above. Scheier et al. 's (1994) optimism questionnaire was used for data collection. The data were analyzed by SPSS software using mixed analysis of variance. The results showed that the designed software had sufficient content and differential validity and the results suggest that the use of facial expressions, words, combined group and animated and inanimate images on optimism was more than the control group. This difference was also significant at the follow-up stage. Also, the largest increase in optimism was related to the use of facial expression images.

Introduction: Many of the students' educational problems, including academic failure and maladaptive behaviors, stem from exam anxiety caused by students' cognitive bias. Cognitive bias modification can reduce attention biases of students to negative issues. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive bias modification intervention on reducing attention bias in students with test anxiety. Methods: This research was an experimental study with pre and post-tests and a control group design. Statistical population of the study included all high school female students with test anxiety in district 3 of Tehran city in 2018-2019 academic years. Research sample included 32 female students with test anxiety that were selected by cluster sampling and classified into two groups: experimental group (n=16 subjects) and control group (n=16 subjects). The research instrument used in this study was the Sarason Anxiety Questionnaire (1980) with a reliability of 0. 88 and dot probe task (2017) Which has good validity and reliability for hated face that is 0. 94 and for neutral face is 0. 95. The results were analyzed using univariate analysis of covariance in SPSS version 22. Results: The results of Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) showed that cognitive bias modification were effective in attention bias of students with test anxiety (P < 0. 05). Conclusions: According to the results, it can be said that using this intervention can reduce the attention bias of the students with test anxiety, and thus increase the mental health and concentration of the students with test anxiety.

Background & aim: Inability to control drug use is one of the main aspects of drug dependence. Part of this disability is due to the cognitive biases that result from people's constant exposure to substances. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the effectiveness of cognitive bias correction in real and placebo modes. Methods: The present research was a quasi-experimental study with pretest and posttest design and control group. of Kerman's opiate users in 2018, 75 individuals were selected by purposive sampling and were randomly divided into three equal groups(experimental, placebo, and control). Computer tasks were used to correct cognitive bias in both experimental and placebo groups. These tasks included: dot probe task (to correct attentional bias) and avoidance task(to correct tendency bias) that were used in each treatment session in combination. In the real group for 8 sessions, the real version of the cognitive bias correction task was presented and the placebo group received the placebo version for 8 sessions, but the control group received no intervention. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance. Results: The results revealed that after intervention, attention bias in the real group(M=28. 28 SD=38. 57) compared to the placebo group(M=0. 16 SD=34. 36) and the control group decreased significantly. A significant decrease was also observed in (SD=33. 73 M=16. 03) and attentional bias correction treatment decreased attentional bias (p≥ 0. 05), but placebo of this intervention had no effect on attentional bias. There was also a meaningful difference in tendency bias between the real and placebo groups (p≥ 0. 05). Conclusion: The results of the present study indicated the effectiveness of cognitive bias correction intervention on attentional bias and tendency bias in opiate abusers and may be used as a complementary and low cost intervention in addiction treatment.

Repeated diet failure leading to lowered self-esteem, a sense of guilt and even self-hatred. Studies have suggested that attentional biases for food cues may play an essential role in the development and the maintenance of maladaptive eating behaviors. This research aimed to investigate the effectiveness of attentional bias modification Food-Related stimuli and food craving in dieters. The method was quasi-experimental with two-group pretest-posttest design. 30 people were selected based on the inclusion criteria and were randomly assigned to the two groups of experiment and control. The experimental group received the intervention attentional bias modification training. To measure attentional bias and interventions Dot-probe task test (MacLeod et al, 1986) and to measure food craving, Food Craving Questionnaire (Cepeda-Benito, 2000) were used respectively. The results indicated that there was a significant difference between two groups in attention bias and food craving in the pre-test and post-test. The results also showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the dimensions of intention and planning to consume food, anticipation of positive reinforcement, anticipation of relief from negative feelings, lack of control over eating, thoughts or preoccupation with food, emotions before or during food craving and guilt from craving (P<0/05).

There is strong evidence that high anxious individuals selectively attend to threatening information. But the results of attentional bias in trait and state anxiety is inconsistent in this filed.In this article, the authors were aimed to investigate the attentional bias in state and trait anxiety. In a causal- comparative research, 120 male and female students were selected randomly from Ferdowsi University. Instruments involving, State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Dot- Probe Test, were administered on the participants. The data of 76 (76.1% female) participants which determined as high and low trait and state anxious individuals were analyzed. The results of ANCOVA analysis showed that main effect of trait anxiety was significant (F (1,75)=8.174, p≤0.01, d=0.68), But there is no significant interaction between trait and state anxiety in interference scores in Dot-probe test. High trait anxious individuals selectively has Oriented Attention toward the threatening information. Attentional bias toward to threatening sources is correlated threatening information that is the component of hypervigilance in these persons.

There has been an increasing interest in optimism and its underlying characteristics after the development of positive psychology. Many studies suggest that there is a significant difference between the optimists and pessimists in attention to positive and negative information and stimuli. Because of the cognitive nature of attention, however, people’s expectancies and goals also may play a role. The aim of this study was to investigate the interactional effect of optimism and having a goal on attention bias.60 participants were divided into two groups (optimists and pessimists) using the Life Orientation Test (LOT) (Scheier and Carver, 1985).They looked at positive and negative stimuli each of which was either associated with their goals or not. Subject’s gaze was measured using an eye-tracking device (SMI Model).Analysis showed that goal oriented optimists looked significantly more than their non goal oriented counterparts at positive stimuli. However, pessimists with and without goal orientation did not differ in this respect. There were no significant differences between the groups as far attention to negative stimuli was concerned. Results support the interactional effect of optimism and goal orientation on attention bias and suggest that they moderate each other as cognitive and affective constructs.