Eye tracking and attentional bias for depressive internet memes in depression

AKRAM, Umair, ELLIS, Jason, CAU, Ghlenda, HERSHAW, Frayer, RAJENTHRAN, Ashileen Arriveena, LOWE, Mollie, TROMMELEN, Carissa and DRABBLE, Jennifer (2021). Eye tracking and attentional bias for depressive internet memes in depression. Experimental Brain Research, 239, 575-581.

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Open Access URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-0... (Published version)
Link to published version:: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-020-06001-8

Abstract

Previous research highlights the potential benefits of engaging with depressive internet memes for those experiencing symptoms of depression. This study aimed to determine whether: compared to non-depressed controls, individuals experiencing depressive symptoms were quicker to orient and maintain overall attention for internet memes depicting depressive content relative to neutral memes. N = 21 individuals were grouped based on the severity of reported depression symptoms using the PhQ-9. Specifically, a score of:  ≤ 4 denoted the control group; and  ≥ 15 the depressive symptoms group. Participants viewed a series of meme pairs depicting depressive and neutral memes for periods of 4000 ms. Data for the first fixation onset and duration, total fixation count and total fixation and gaze duration of eye-movements were recorded. A significant group x meme-type interaction indicated that participants with depressive symptoms displayed significantly more fixations on depressive rather than neutral memes. These outcomes provide suggestive evidence for the notion that depressive symptoms are associated with an attentional bias towards socio-emotionally salient stimuli.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Neurology & Neurosurgery; 11 Medical and Health Sciences; 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-020-06001-8
Page Range: 575-581
SWORD Depositor: Symplectic Elements
Depositing User: Symplectic Elements
Date Deposited: 02 Dec 2020 10:51
Last Modified: 17 Mar 2021 13:15
URI: https://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27710

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