Seeking neutral: A VR-based person-identity-matching task for attentional bias modification - A randomised controlled...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Attentional bias modification (ABM) is a therapeutic approach aimed at reducing anxiety by diminishing focus on threatening stimuli.
• Virtual reality (VR) technology offers immersive environments for potential therapeutic interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of a VR-based ABM training using a person-identity-matching (PIM) task.
• To assess the impact of VR-ABM on attentional bias and anxiety symptoms in individuals with elevated social anxiety.

Main Methods:

• 100 participants with elevated social anxiety were randomized into four training groups.
• Attentional bias was measured pre- and post-training.
• Anxiety symptoms were assessed at baseline, post-training, and at 1-week and 3-month follow-ups.

Main Results:

• No significant change in attentional bias was observed after the VR-based ABM training.
• A significant reduction in anxiety symptoms was found over time across all participants (p < .001).
• The reduction in anxiety was not correlated with changes in attentional bias and was not specific to the active training groups.

Conclusions:

• A single session of VR-based PIM task did not effectively modify attentional bias.
• The observed anxiety reduction was not attributable to the VR-ABM intervention, suggesting other factors may be involved.
• The majority of participants did not achieve clinical recovery, with only 4% classified as recovered at 3-month follow-up.