Modification of Information-Processing Biases in Emotional Disorders: Clinically Relevant Developments in Experimental Psychopathology

Experimental psychopathology research has provided abundant evidence to suggest information-processing biases in anxiety and depression. Recently, methods have been developed that allow the modification of information-processing biases. These cognitive bias modification (CBM) procedures are specifically designed to modify dysfunctional processing for those circumstances where patients are depleted from intentional control to override the bias. Through repeated practice, CBM intends to alter former biases and automate new, more adaptive cognitive processes. This methodology, which was originally designed as an experimental research paradigm, holds potential in the treatment of anxiety and depression. Within the field of mood-congruent attentional bias, we illustrate how these techniques work and how they might be applied in clinical treatment.