Emotional Dot Probe
Background
The Emotion Dot-Probe Task runs a dot probe procedure especially targeting automatic attentional bias towards words (or images) depicting emotional information such as negative or positive information.
The Emotion Dot Probe can be run with words or images.
Emotion Dot Probe with Words
The Millisecond Emotion Dot Probe task with words is based on a publication by Tina M. Sutton and Jeanette Altarriba in 2011 who found that attentional bias towards negative content can even be documented with subliminally presented material, thus supporting the automatic processing of possibly threating emotional information.
Task Procedure
Each trial starts out with the presentation of a fixation cross in the center of the screen for 500ms. The fixation cross is followed by the brief the presentation (default: 180ms) of word pairs consisting of one emotion word (e.g. 'agony') and one matched control word (e.g. 'arrow') that are flashed onto the screen to the left (top) or right (bottom) of a center fixation cross for a short duration. The word pairs are immediately followed by the letter 'R' or 'P'(= the probe). An optional mask can also be run. The probe is presented either in the location of the emotion word or in the location of the control word. Participants are asked to press the respective keys (R or P) to categorize the probes.
Two types of emotions (positive vs. negative) and two congruency conditions (congruent = probe follows the emotion word; incongruent = probe follows the control word) are tested in a mixed design with the two type of emotions being blocked. The order of the two emotion blocks is counterbalanced across participants. Each test block is preceded by a practice block of 6 trials with fixed word pairs that are run in random order. The 14 test trials start without further notice. Practice and test pairs use emotion words that come from the same general emotion category (e.g. 'negative') but are paired with control words from different categories (e.g. practice: fruit vs. test: sports equipment).
Main Performance Metrics
- Attention Bias Index: Response Time Measure of Attentional Bias towards Information that captures attention (here: positive and negative information)
Emotion Dot Probe with Images
The Millisecond Emotion Dot Probe tasks with images are based on publications by Eva Kimonis and colleagues who study callous-unemotional (CU) traits and their impact on emotional processing in children and adolescents. Her research focuses on how youth with these psychopathic traits react to distressing stimuli, such as images of people or animals in pain.
Task Procedure
Each dot probe trial starts with a fixation cross in the center of the screen (500ms), followed by a brief presentation of two (paired) images (500ms). One image is presented above the fixation cross and the other is presented below it. Once the image pair is erased, a probe stimulus (e.g., a black dot) appears in the position of one of the images and participants are asked to press the T(op) or B(ottom) keys as fast as possible to indicate the position of the dot.
The image pairs come from different categories:
- neutral-neutral pairings (control)
- threat-neutral pairings
- positive-neutral pairings
After a short practice block that runs 16 trials, participants work on 4 blocks with 24 trials each (96 trials total). Each blocks runs 8 trials per category. Position of targets and probes are balanced for each of the three categories. The order of the 24 trials is randomly determined.
Note that the preschool version of the emotion image dot probe task runs a similar procedure but only tests 2 categories (neutral-neutral vs. threat-neutral) and uses a child appropriate cover story.
Main Performance Metrics
- Facilitation Index: a numerical value that represents the speed of attentional orienting toward emotional stimuli by subtracting reaction times for emotional trials from neutral baseline trials.
What it Measures
The Emotion Dot Probe Task measures implicit attentional bias towards emotion information
Psychological domains
- Implicit Cognition: Cognitive Processes not under conscious control
- Selective Attention: Focusing on a specific stimulus or task while filtering out distractions
Psychiatric Conditions
DPT measures have been successfully used to study the following patient groups (amongst others):
- Anxiety Disorders
- Major Depressive Disorder
- Substance Abuse
- Eating Disorders
- Psychopathy
Test Variations
The Emotion Dot Probe Task as described by Sutton & Altarriba (2011).
Emotion Dot Probe Task procedure based on published studies by E. Kimonis.
Emotion Dot Probe Task procedure based on Kimonis et al (2016) for preschoolers
References
Search Google Scholar for peer-reviewed, published research using the Inquisit Emotional Dot Probe.
Kimonis, E. R., Frick, P. J., Fazekas, H., & Loney, B. R. (2006). Psychopathy, aggression, and the processing of emotional stimuli in non-referred girls and boys. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 24(1), 21–37. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.668
Kimonis, E. R., Frick, P. J., Munoz, L. C., & Aucoin, K. J. (2007). Can a Laboratory Measure of Emotional Processing Enhance the Statistical Prediction of Aggression and Delinquency in Detained Adolescents with Callous-unemotional Traits? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 35(5), 773–785. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-007-9136-1
Kimonis, E. R., Frick, P. J., Munoz, L. C., & Aucoin, K. J. (2008). Callous-unemotional traits and the emotional processing of distress cues in detained boys: Testing the moderating role of aggression, exposure to community violence, and histories of abuse. Development and Psychopathology, 20(2), 569–589. https://doi.org/10.1017/S095457940800028X
Tina M. Sutton & Jeanette Altarriba (2011). The automatic activation and perception of emotion in word processing: Evidence from a modified dot probe paradigm. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 23:6, 736-747, DOI: 10.1080/20445911.2011.554392
Kimonis, E. R., Frick, P. J., Cauffman, E., Goldweber, A., & Skeem, J. (2012). Primary and secondary variants of juvenile psychopathy differ in emotional processing. Development and Psychopathology, 24(3), 1091–1103. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579412000557
Kimonis, E. R., Fanti, K. A., Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous, X., Mertan, B., Goulter, N., & Katsimicha, E. (2016). Can Callous-Unemotional Traits be Reliably Measured in Preschoolers? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 44(4), 625–638. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-015-0075-y