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Updated: Sep 12, 2025
Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults
Published on: October 19, 2014
Threat-related attentional bias in individuals with different looming cognitive styles: An ERP study
Bin Tian1, Shuai Chen2, Yu Pan3
1Psychological center, Institute of Student Affairs, Shanghai Jian Qiao University, Shanghai, China.
Objective:
This study aimed to investigate the effect of looming cognitive styles (LCS) on threat-related attentional bias by comparing the characteristics of threatening and neutral images in subjects with different LCS.
Methods:
The Looming Maladaptive Style Questionnaire (LMSQ) was administered to 200 college students to assess their anxiety vulnerability. Based on their scores, participants were categorized into high looming cognitive style (high-LCS) and low looming cognitive style (low-LCS) groups. Attention allocation to threatening picture information was examined using a dot-probe and event-related potentials (ERPs) technology, comparing the effects of different types of pictures on attentional bias.
Results:
(1) Significant differences in attentional bias for threat information were observed between high-LCS and low-LCS groups, with high-LCS individuals exhibiting stronger attentional bias toward threat information; (2) ERP components (N100, P200, and P300) showed significant differences between high-LCS and low-LCS groups, with high-LCS individuals displaying higher volatility in these components.
Conclusion:
The between-group pattern in reaction time and ERP waveforms suggests that the high-LCS group exhibited heightened alertness and attentional preference toward threat information, and invested great investment of psychological resources in processing threatening information.
