Abstract
This investigation examined attentional biases for illness-related information in persons varying in their degree of health anxiety (HA). Consistent with cognitive behavioural conceptualizations, it was hypothesized that individuals with high HA would be more likely than those with lower levels to exhibit attentional biases to illness-related information when tested using a modified Stroop colour-naming task. Participants were 26 individuals with each of high, medium, and low HA as assessed using the Illness Attitudes Scale (R. Kellner, P. Abbott, W. W. Winslow, & D. Pathak, 1987). Results indicated that participants with high HA, compared to those with lower levels of HA, selectively attend to illness-related but not other categories of emotionally laden stimuli. These findings, indicative of an attentional bias for illness-related cues in high HA, are discussed in the context of cognitive behavioural conceptualizations of HA. Future research directions are outlined.
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