Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 80140, 3508, TC, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, the Netherlands.
Department of Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, 1018, BT, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2022 Sep;76:101727. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2022.101727. Epub 2022 Feb 7.
Interpretation bias plays a crucial role in anxiety. To test the causal role and potential clinical benefits, training procedures were developed to experimentally change interpretation bias. However, these procedures are monotonous and plain, which could negatively affect motivation and adherence. The aim of this study was to make the interpretation training more engaging and enjoyable, without compromising its effectiveness, through gamification.
The training was gamified by including extrinsically and intrinsically motivating elements such as points, scores, time-pressure, fun and adaptive elements (training at an individually challenging level). A 2 (Type: Gamified vs. Standard) x 2 (Training Valence: Positive vs. Placebo) between-subjects design was used with random allocation of 79 above-average anxious individuals. Post-training, we assessed the liking and recommendation of the training task, interpretation bias (Recognition task and the Scrambled Sentence Task) and anxiety.
Participants experienced the gamified training tasks as more engaging and enjoyable than the standard tasks, although it was not recommend more to fellow-students. Both positive training conditions (gamified and standard) were successful in eliciting a positive interpretation bias when assessed with the Recognition task, while only the standard positive training impacted on interpretations when assessed with the Scrambled Sentence Task. No differential effects were observed on anxiety.
The study involved only a single-session training and participants were selected for high trait (and not social) anxiety.
The gamified training was evaluated more positively by the participants, while maintaining the effectiveness of eliciting positive interpretations when assessed with the Recognition task. This suggests that gamification might be a promising new approach.
解释偏差在焦虑中起着关键作用。为了检验因果作用和潜在的临床益处，开发了训练程序来实验性地改变解释偏差。然而，这些程序单调乏味，可能会降低动机和依从性。本研究的目的是通过游戏化使解释训练更具吸引力和趣味性，同时又不影响其效果。
通过包括外在和内在激励因素（如积分、分数、时间压力、乐趣和自适应元素（以个人具有挑战性的水平进行训练））使训练具有游戏性。采用 2（类型：游戏化与标准）x2（训练效价：积极与安慰剂）被试间设计，随机分配 79 名高于平均水平的焦虑个体。在训练后，我们评估了对训练任务的喜欢程度和推荐程度、解释偏差（识别任务和乱序句子任务）和焦虑。
与标准任务相比，参与者认为游戏化的训练任务更具吸引力和趣味性，尽管他们不太推荐给其他学生。在识别任务中，两种积极的训练条件（游戏化和标准）都成功地诱发了积极的解释偏差，而只有标准的积极训练条件才会影响乱序句子任务中的解释。在焦虑方面没有观察到差异。
该研究仅涉及单次训练，参与者是根据高特质（而非社交）焦虑来选择的。
游戏化的训练得到了参与者更积极的评价，同时在识别任务中保持了诱发积极解释的有效性。这表明游戏化可能是一种很有前途的新方法。
