To Approach or to Avoid: The Role of Ambivalent Motivation in Attentional Biases to Threat and Spider Fear

People with anxiety difficulties show different patterns in their deployment of attention to threat compared people without difficulties. These attentional biases are assumed play a critical role the development and persistence anxiety. However, little is known about factors that influence threat. An emerging body evidence suggests visual varies across time course according one’s motivation approach vs. avoid In order better understand relationship between motivation, threat, anxiety, we had participants high spider fear complete sustained-attention task full view live tarantula while eye movements were tracked. Participants who ambivalent whether look at or looking exhibited unique pattern spider, reported higher more negative affect than did other end study. Our findings suggest may have do goal prioritization innate biases. Future studies should take into account study course. Ambivalent also be targeted exposure therapy.