Attention Bias to Sad Faces and Images: Which Is Better for Predicting Depression?

Bita Ajilchi, Vahid Nejati

Department of Psychology, Faculty of Human Science, Science and Research Branch University, Islamic Azad University (IAU), Tehran, Iran.
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Human Science, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

DOI: 10.4236/ojd.2013.23005                

Abstract

This study aims to compare emotion face and emotion image dot-probe tasks in predicting depression. The study uses descriptive correlational methods. The subjects studied during the research included the people between the ages of 19 - 40 years, who visited a particular psychology clinic in Tehran, Iran from 2011 to 2012. The patients studied received a clinical diagnosis, based on an unstructured interview, as per the 4th Edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), and a screening test using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI, cut off point 21 and higher). Then 82 individuals were selected, using the convenience sampling method. Two computerized dot-probe tasks (emotional faces and images) were administered to the participants. Pearson’s correlation coefficients and univariate regression analysis showed that, in both tasks, attention bias was significantly linked with depression and could predict it (P < 0.01). Fisher’s Z-test further showed that the emotion face dot-probe task could predict depression more precisely than the emotion image dot-probe task (P < 0.01).

Keywords

Attention Bias; Dot-Probe Task; Emotional Face; Emotional Image; Depression

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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