Abstract
A negative mood-congruent attention bias has been consistently observed, for example, in clinical studies on major depression. This bias is assumed to be dysfunctional in that it supports maintaining a sad mood, whereas a potentially adaptive role has largely been neglected. Previous experiments involving sad mood induction techniques found a negative mood-congruent attention bias specifically for young individuals, explained by an adaptive need for information transfer in the service of mood regulation. In the present study we investigated the attentional bias in typically developing children (aged 6–12 years) when happy and sad moods were induced. Crucially, we manipulated the age (adult vs. child) of the displayed pairs of facial expressions depicting sadness, anger, fear and happiness. The results indicate that sad children indeed exhibited a mood specific attention bias toward sad facial expressions. Additionally, this bias was more pronounced for adult faces. Results are discussed in the context of an information gain which should be stronger when looking at adult faces due to their more expansive life experience. These findings bear implications for both research methods and future interventions.
Highlights
A mood-congruent attention bias, is assumed to maintain a sad mood, as postulated, for example, in the theoretical framework of the development and maintenance of major depressive disorder (MDD, Clasen et al, 2012)
Attentional Bias (Ratios Based on Total Fixation Duration)
We observed a mood-congruent visual attention bias toward sad facial expressions when a sad mood was induced in children
Summary
A mood-congruent attention bias (defined as a biased deployment of attention toward moodcongruent information), is assumed to maintain a sad mood, as postulated, for example, in the theoretical framework of the development and maintenance of major depressive disorder (MDD, Clasen et al, 2012). According to Beck’s schema theory of depression (e.g., Beck, 1967, 1976), negative schemas are presumed to be activated through negative stressors, which in turn affect thoughts and judgments about the self, the world, and the future (usually referred to as Beck’s cognitive triad). According to this model, depressed individuals attend to information that is congruent with their negative cognitive schemas. In the context of this scientific debate, both clinical studies and experiments with healthy individuals were conducted, the latter typically involving mood induction techniques to enhance our understanding of the functional role and underlying mechanisms of the mood-congruent attention bias
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