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Reward-related attentional capture is associated with severity of addictive and obsessive-compulsive behaviors

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Albertella, Lucy 
Le Pelley, Mike E 
Chamberlain, Samuel  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7014-8121
Westbrook, Fred 
Fontenelle, Leonardo F 

Abstract

A cue that signals reward can capture attention and elicit approach behaviors in people and animals. The current study examined whether attentional capture by reward-related cues is associated with severity of addiction-related and obsessive-compulsive behaviors. Participants were recruited via Mechanical Turk and included 143 adults [mean age 34 years (SD = 8.5), 43% female] who had endorsed at least one addiction-related or obsessive-compulsive behavior in the past month. All assessment components were delivered via the internet, and included questionnaires to assess severity of compulsivity-related problems across addiction-related and obsessive-compulsive behaviors, as well as a visual search task to measure reward-related attentional capture. Reward-related attentional capture was associated with severity of compulsivity, transdiagnostically. These findings have implications for understanding the mechanisms that underlie compulsive behaviors and suggest that reward-related attentional capture is a promising transdiagnostic cognitive risk marker for compulsivity.

Description

Keywords

Adult, Attention, Behavior, Addictive, Female, Humans, Male, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Psychomotor Performance, Reward, Severity of Illness Index

Journal Title

Psychology of Addictive Behaviors

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0893-164X
1939-1501

Volume Title

33

Publisher

American Psychological Association
Sponsorship
Wellcome Trust (110049/Z/15/Z)