Symposia
Cognitive Science/ Cognitive Processes
Alvaro Sanchez-Lopez, Ph.D.
Complutense University of Madrid
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Ernst Koster, PhD
Full Professor
Ghent University
Ghent, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Rudi De Raedt, Ph.D.
Full Professor
Ghent University
Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Oscar Martin-Garcia, MA
Predoctoral researcher
Complutense University of Madrid
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Ivan Blanco, PhD
Assistant Professor
Autonomous University of Madrid
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
The beginning of COVID-19 pandemic comprised a significant major stressor for the general population, resulting in increased rates of depression and anxiety. Studies in the context of the COVID-19 lockdown situation of early 2020, showed that people characterized by more negative interpretation and attention biases reported higher levels of depression and anxiety during the lockdown period. Therefore, training attention and interpretation biases emerged as a clear target to improve emotion regulation and resilience in the context of the COVID-19 lockdown. The aim of this study was to establish the effectiveness of a novel smartphone-based attention and interpretation training, the OCAT, to transfer to improve emotion regulation and resilient psychological adjustment to COVID-19 derived stressors during the lockdown. Fifty-eight participants from the general population were randomized to undergo 10 days of active OCAT or a sham-control training, during the lockdown period at the beginning of the COVID-19 in 2020. The OCAT comprised the use of gaze-contingent procedures to train to attend positive over negative information maximizing the generation of positive interpretations of ambiguous information Transfer to attention and interpretation biases and emotional variables (depression and anxiety levels, rumination and reappraisal) were assessed immediately before and after completing the 10-day online training. Overall, as compared to the sham-control group, the training group demonstrated significant improvements in attention, group x time interaction(F)= 6.66; p = .013; ηp2 = .13, and interpretation biases, group x time interaction(F)= 24.63; p < .001; ηp2 = .35. More importantly, changes in cognitive biases accounted for (mediated) OCAT effects on pre-post lower levels of rumination and anxiety symptoms following the intervention, B=-1.8690, SE= 0.9266, CI: -3.8171 to -0.2019, and B= -1.8804, SE= 1.0931, CI:-4.2138 to -0.0245, respectively. These results show that OCAT can be effective in modifying cognitive biases hindering resilient adaptation to stress and, consequently, emotional regulation impairments, even under stressful situations.