Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Gaze in Action: Head-mounted Eye Tracking of Children's Dynamic Visual Attention During Naturalistic Behavior
Published on: November 14, 2018
A failure to show the efficacy of a dot-probe attentional training in dysphoria: Evidence from an eye-tracking study
Almudena Duque1, Carmelo Vazquez2
1Pontifical University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.
Objective:
This study examines whether a 4-day dot-probe attentional training to orient attention toward positive words could lead participants with dysphoria to change selective attention to emotional faces. It was also explored whether this positive attentional bias training could lead to a decrease in depressive symptoms.
Methods:
Participants were randomly assigned to Positive Training Group (PTG) and No Training Group (NTG). PTG was composed of 16 subjects, whereas NTG was composed of 15 subjects. All participants were women with a mean age of 22.87 (SD = 3.21).
Results:
Results showed that dysphoric participants in the PTG did not show changes in attentional patterns to emotional faces. Furthermore, depressive symptoms did not significantly change after the 4-session training.
Conclusions:
These results suggest that cognitive training procedures based on dot-probe paradigms are probably not adequate to modify attentional patterns in individuals with depressive symptoms. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Related Concept Videos
The Evidence for Evolution
The Dot Product
Dot Product
In engineering, the dot product of any two vectors is the product of the magnitudes of the vectors and the cosine of the angle between them. It is denoted by a dot symbol between the two vectors.
Consider a vehicle pulling an object along the ground using a rope. If the rope makes an angle with the horizontal axis, the work done can be calculated using the dot product of the force applied and the object's displacement.
The dot...
Self-Efficacy
Dot Product: Problem Solving
Identify the problem: Start by reading the problem and...
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Diagnostic Criteria and Symptoms
To diagnose ADHD, symptoms must manifest before age 12 and be evident across multiple settings....

