A comparison of attentional biases and memory biases in women with social phobia and major depression.
Cognitive processes play an important role in the etiology and maintenance of anxiety and depression. Current theories differ, however, in their predictions regarding the occurrence of attentional biases and memory biases in depression and anxiety. To allow for a systematic comparison of disorders and cognitive processes, 117 women (35 with generalized social phobia, 27 with major depression, and 55 healthy controls) participated in a test of visual attention (visual search), an explicit memory test (free recall), and an implicit memory test (anagram solving). Both clinical groups exhibited attentional biases for disorder-related words, whereas only depressed participants showed clear evidence of explicit and implicit memory biases. The implications of these results for competing theories are discussed.
Rinck
Mike
M
General Psychology, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany. m.rinck@dmkep.unimaas.nl
Becker
Eni S
ES
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011930:Reaction Time; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014796:Visual Perception