Cognitive Bias for Pictorial and Linguistic Threat Cues in Children

Authors: Kindt M.; van den Hout M.; de Jong P.; Hoekzema B.

Source: Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, Volume 22, Number 2, June 2000 , pp. 201-219(19)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

The present study was designed to test the conditions under which threat-related cognitive bias can be observed in anxious children. Measures of cognitive bias for threatening words and pictures were obtained from spider fearful children (N = 55) and non-fearful children (N = 58) aged 8–11 in the first experiment, and from spider fearful children (N = 44), and two control groups (N = 41; N = 36) aged 8 in the second experiment. Cognitive bias was assessed by the emotional Stroop task. In line with our previous findings, all children aged 8 showed a bias for spider words, but not for spider pictures. However, a relation between spider fear and bias was observed when age was taken into account: bias for spider words decreased with age in the non-fearful children whereas this bias maintained in the fearful group. This differential age effect too replicated earlier findings (Kindt, Bierman, & Brosschot, 1997). It is suggested that a bias for threat words is a normal characteristic in children aged 8. During development, normal children learn to inhibit this processing bias, whilst fearful children fail to learn this ability.

Keywords: cognitive bias; spider fear; children; pictorial and linguistic emotional stroop

Language: English

Document Type: Regular paper

Affiliations: 1: Department of Medical, Clinical and Experimental Psychology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands

Publication date: 2000-06-01