An examination of attentional training in dysphoric and non-dysphoric individuals
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Abstract
The present study examined the longitudinal effects of attentional retraining on symptoms of depression. It was a replication and extension of an earlier study by Wells & Beevers (2010). Based on their baseline BDI scores, undergraduate psychology students were randomly assigned into one of 4 groups. Dysphoric participants were assigned into either the neutral training or the control condition. Non-dysphoric participants were assigned into either the dysphoric training or the control condition. All dysphoric participants showed a significant reduction in depressive symptoms throughout the study, F(2, 73.55) = 21.88, p<.001; however, no group differences were observed. The hypothesis that negative bias retraining condition would induce depressive symptoms from baseline to follow-up was not confirmed. Results were inconsistent with those of Wells and Beevers’ (2010). Implications of the findings on research on attentional retraining in the context of depression are discussed.