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Open AccessHow pre-processing decisions affect the reliability and validity of the approach–avoidance task: Evidence from simulations and multiverse analyses with six datasets
Reaction time (RT) data are often pre-processed before analysis by rejecting outliers and errors and aggregating the data. In stimulus–response compatibility paradigms such as the approach–avoidance task (AAT)...
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Approach-Bias Retraining and Other Training Interventions as Add-On in the Treatment of AUD Patients
In the past two decades, a variety of cognitive training interventions have been developed to help people overcome their addictive behaviors. Conceptually, it is important to distinguish between programs in wh...
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Article
Open AccessPandemic related changes in social interaction are associated with changes in automatic approach-avoidance behaviour
People’s natural tendencies to either approach or avoid different stimuli in their environment are considered fundamental motivators of human behaviour. There is a wealth of research exploring how changes in a...
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Article
Open AccessFace masks impair facial emotion recognition and induce specific emotion confusions
Face masks are now worn frequently to reduce the spreading of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Their health benefits are undisputable, but covering the lower half of one's face also makes it harder for others to recogniz...
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Open AccessChanging Metacognitive Appraisal Bias in High-Worriers Through Reappraisal Training
Worry-related negative metacognitive beliefs about worrying maintain and predict pathological worry. For the current proof-of-principle study, we developed a computerized cognitive bias modification based—reap...
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Open Access“Push it!” or “Hold it!”? A comparison of nicotine-avoidance training and nicotine-inhibition training in smokers motivated to quit
Recently, experimental paradigms have been developed to strengthen automatic avoidance or inhibitory responses for smoking cues. However, these procedures have not yet been directly compared regarding their ef...
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Open AccessIs a Negative Attentional Bias in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder Explained by Comorbid Depression? An Eye-Tracking Study
Heightened attention towards negative information is characteristic of depression. Evidence is emerging for a negative attentional bias in Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), perhaps driven by the high comorbidity...
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A Cognitive Control Training as Add-On Treatment to Usual Care for Depressed Inpatients
There is a growing body of research supporting the potential therapeutic value of the Cognitive Control Training (CCT) for depression, even though more research including a control condition is necessary to in...
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Open AccessMeasuring approach–avoidance tendencies towards food with touchscreen-based arm movements
Most tasks for measuring automatic approach–avoidance tendencies do not resemble naturalistic approach–avoidance behaviors. Therefore, we developed a paradigm for the assessment of approach–avoidance tendencie...
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Lernpsychologische Grundlagen
In diesem Kapitel wird beschrieben, welche Rolle grundlegende Lernformen bei der Entstehung, Aufrechterhaltung und Therapie von psychischen Störungen spielen. Die Grundprinzipien und wichtigsten Begriffe der k...
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Are Socially Anxious Children Really Less Liked, or Do They Only Think So?
The purpose of this study was to examine the relation of social anxiety with self-perceived and peer-reported likability, while controlling for the possible influence of depression. In total, 586 children (7 t...
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Open AccessContent-Specific Interpretation Bias in Children with Varying Levels of Anxiety: The Role of Gender and Age
The current study examined whether children varying in their levels of social anxiety, separation anxiety and spider fear exhibit a negative interpretation bias specific for their fears. Furthermore, age and g...
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Open AccessThe Role of Self-reports and Behavioral Measures of Interpretation Biases in Children with Varying Levels of Anxiety
We investigated the role of self-reports and behavioral measures of interpretation biases and their content-specificity in children with varying levels of spider fear and/or social anxiety. In total, 141 selec...
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Open AccessEye-Tracking Based Attention Bias Modification (ET-ABM) Facilitates Disengagement from Negative Stimuli in Dysphoric Individuals
To address shortcomings of purely reaction-time based attention bias modification (ABM) paradigms, a novel eye-tracking based ABM training (ET-ABM) was developed. This training targets the late disengagement f...
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The dopamine D2 receptor mediates approach-avoidance tendencies in smokers
Dopamine D2 receptors (DRD2) have been strongly implicated in reward processing of natural stimuli and drugs. Using the approach-avoidance task (AAT), we recently demonstrated that smokers show an increased ap...
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Reducing Approach Bias to Achieve Smoking Cessation: A Pilot Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial
This study aimed to provide a preliminary test of the efficacy of a brief cognitive bias modification program for reducing approach bias in adult smokers motivated to quit. Participants were 52 smokers who wer...
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Open AccessThe Role of Cognitive Factors in Childhood Social Anxiety: Social Threat Thoughts and Social Skills Perception
Models of cognitive processing in anxiety disorders state that socially anxious children display several distorted cognitive processes that maintain their anxiety. The present study investigated the role of so...
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Open AccessInvestigating the (cost-) effectiveness of attention bias modification (ABM) for outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD): a randomized controlled trial protocol
Despite the range of available, evidence-based treatment options for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), the rather low response and remission rates suggest that treatment is not optimal, yet. Computerized attent...
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Open AccessCan’t Look Away: An Eye-Tracking Based Attentional Disengagement Training for Depression
To address shortcomings of purely reaction-time based attentional bias modification (ABM) paradigms, we developed an ABM task that is controlled by eye-tracking. This task allows to assess and train both disen...
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Open AccessAlways Approach the Bright Side of Life: A General Positivity Training Reduces Stress Reactions in Vulnerable Individuals
Emotional disorders are characterized by cognitive biases towards negative stimuli, and a lack of biases towards positive ones. Therefore, we developed a cognitive bias modification training, modifying approac...
