Measuring Attentional Bias Using the Dot-Probe Task in Young Women: Psychometric Properties and Feasibility of Response-Based Computations, Dwell Time, and the N2pc Component

Measuring Attentional Bias Using the Dot-Probe Task in Young Women: Psychometric Properties and Feasibility of Response-Based Computations, Dwell Time, and the N2pc Component | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Measuring Attentional Bias Using the Dot-Probe Task in Young Women: Psychometric Properties and Feasibility of Response-Based Computations, Dwell Time, and the N2pc Component Sandra Klonteig, Elise Solbu Roalsø, Rune Jonassen, Eva Hilland, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4642037/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Attentional bias (AB) is characterized by preferential cognitive and emotional processing of mood-congruent stimuli and considered a central mechanism in mood disorders. Considerable research has focused on improving AB measures to enhance mechanistic understanding and clinical utility. The present study examines psychometric properties of a range of AB measures with a multimodal setup. Methods A nonclinical sample of 62 women aged 20–30 years completed the facial dot-probe task while behavioral responses (reaction time), eye-gaze patterns (eye tracking), and electrical brain potentials (electroencephalography) were recorded. AB metrics from four types of AB measures – traditional, response-based, dwell time, and the N2pc component– were examined with internal consistency and short-term test-retest calculations. AB metrics with an internal consistency score over .4 were considered reliable, and their validity was explored by examining relations to depression and anxiety symptoms. In addition, the consistency between reliable metrics across trials were examined. Results Findings show that traditional AB metrics exhibited no degree of reliability, whereas response-based and dwell time metrics overall demonstrated better internal consistencies and higher test-retest reliability. The previously reported reliability of the N2pc component was not observed. As for validity, no linear associations were found between the reliable measures, depression, and anxiety. There were no relations between metrics across trials. Conclusions This study provides insights for future AB research, emphasizing the potential of novel metrics over traditional ones and the use of multimodal setups to develop reliable and potentially hybrid measurements for clinical assessment. Cognitive Neuroscience Psychology attentional bias depression anxiety reaction time electroencephalography eye-tracking technology Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files SupplementaryMaterial.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4642037","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":319269358,"identity":"86f15418-e29a-4c4c-94c3-6ea49db3a07e","order_by":0,"name":"Sandra 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Computations, Dwell Time, and the N2pc Component\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"attentional bias, depression, anxiety, reaction time, electroencephalography, eye-tracking technology","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4642037/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4642037/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground \u003c/strong\u003eAttentional bias (AB) is characterized by preferential cognitive and emotional processing of mood-congruent stimuli and considered a central mechanism in mood disorders. Considerable research has focused on improving AB measures to enhance mechanistic understanding and clinical utility. The present study examines psychometric properties of a range of AB measures with a multimodal setup.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods \u003c/strong\u003eA nonclinical sample of 62 women aged 20–30 years completed the facial dot-probe task while behavioral responses (reaction time), eye-gaze patterns (eye tracking), and electrical brain potentials (electroencephalography) were recorded. AB metrics from four types of AB measures – traditional, response-based, dwell time, and the N2pc component– were examined with internal consistency and short-term test-retest calculations. AB metrics with an internal consistency score over .4 were considered reliable, and their validity was explored by examining relations to depression and anxiety symptoms. 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