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.

Introduction: Attentional bias refers to grasping of attention by a stimulus in competition with others. The literature emphasizes on importance of attentional bias to addiction-related cues in drug following and relapse. In this paper, attentional bias modification used for decreasing attentional bias in smokers. Besides, the operant conditioning was combined with attentional bias modification method for the first time.Method: The design of this paper was experimental. Attentional bias of three groups (control, attentional bias modification and attentional bias modification with reinforcement and punishment) each consisting of 20 participant, was assessed in three times (pre-test, post-test and follow up). Between pre-test and post-test, the control group received a neutral training; while the second group received attentional bias modification training and the third group received attentional bias modification training with reinforcement and punishment, respectively. Dot-probe task was used for assessing, attentional bias modification and attentional bias modification with reinforcement and punishment.Results: The results indicated that there was a significant difference between three groups in attentional bias at post-test, the group of attentional bias modification with reinforcement and punishment had the least of attentional bias and the group of control had the highest attentional bias. Also, there was a significant difference between control group and two experimental groups, but there was not any difference between attentional bias modification group and attentional bias modification with reinforcement and punishment group in attentional bias in follow up.Conclusion: Basis on this paper, attentional bias modification is a significant and efficient intervention. Also, the operant conditioning could be added to classical method successfully. The research and clinical implications of this method was mentioned. This paper’s finding suggests more investigation on this new method for the other addiction disorders in future research.

Objective: The negative impacts of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)outbreak on public mental health are enhancing the number of individuals requiring psychotherapy. Besides, anxiety is becoming more frequent than any other mental health issue among individuals. Similar to other anxiety types, coronavirus anxiety is associated with elevated attentional bias. The present study aimed to examine the effects of Attentional Bias Modification (ABM) on attentional bias towards coronavirus-related stimuli, and coronavirus anxiety. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest-follow-up and a control group design. The research participants were 37 adults (aged 18 to 38 y), who were randomly assigned to the experimental (n=18) and control (n=19) groups. The experimental group received ABM, while no intervention was delivered to the controls. Attentional bias and coronavirus disease anxiety were assessed at pretest, posttest, and 2 months follow-up stages using the Dot-Probe Task (DPT) and the Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (CDAS). The collected data were analyzed using two-way repeated-measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Fisher’ s least significant difference in SPSS v. 26. Results: After receiving online ABM, the study participant’ s coronavirus-related attentional bias decreased, leading to a significant reduction in coronavirus anxiety (P<0. 05). These significant changes were evident at the posttest and maintained until the follow-up step. However, no significant changes occurred in the control group (P>0. 05). Conclusion: The presented ABM could decrease coronavirus anxiety; thus, its online implementation is a suitable approach to treat individuals with this anxiety while observing social distancing.

Objective: Previous research has shown that attentional bias toward game-related stimuli is a significant factor in the etiology, maintenance, and severity of internet gaming disorder (IGD). Therefore, interventions targeting attentional bias toward game-related stimuli can potentially ameliorate this disorder. The present research aims to examine the effectiveness of online Attentional Bias Modification (ABM) training in reducing gamerelated attentional bias and the severity of IGD in adolescents. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 33 adolescents with a DSM-5 diagnosis of IGD were sampled and randomly assigned to an experimental group (n=17) and a control group (n=16). The experimental group received online ABM, while no intervention was delivered to the control group. Attentional bias and IGD severity in these two groups were measured at pretest and posttest phases and then at 2 months follow-up via a modified Stroop test and internet gaming disorder-20 (IGD-20) questionnaire. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance and Fisher’, s Least Significant Difference (LSD) were implemented to analyze the data using SPSS software, version 26. Results: Game-related attentional bias and the severity of IGD were significantly decreased in the participants of the experimental group (P<0. 05). The reductions were also maintained at the 2-month follow-up, whereas such reductions were not evident in the control group at any stage (P>0. 05). Conclusion: Given our findings, it can be concluded that online ABM can be an auxiliary or standalone treatment for adolescents with IGD,further research is necessary to understand its mechanisms of effect.

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