Exploring nonconscious behaviour change interventions on mobile devices

Modern cognitive psychology theories such as Dual Process Theory suggest that the source of much habitual behaviour is the nonconscious. Despite this, most behaviour change interventions using technology (BCITs) focus on conscious strategies to change people’s behaviour. We propose an alternative avenue of research, which focuses on understanding how best to directly target the nonconscious via mobile devices in real-life situations to achieve behaviour change

Gamification of cognitive bias modification for interpretations in anxiety increases training engagement and enjoyment

Background and objectives: 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. Methods: 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. Results: 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. Limitations: The study involved only a single-session training and participants were selected for high trait (and not social) anxiety. Conclusions: 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

Gamification of cognitive bias modification for interpretations in anxiety increases training engagement and enjoyment

Background and objectives: 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. Methods: 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. Results: 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. Limitations: The study involved only a single-session training and participants were selected for high trait (and not social) anxiety. Conclusions: 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

Tomorrow’s world: Current developments in the therapeutic use of technology for psychosis

There is now an established evidence base for the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to support mental healthcare (‘e-mental health’) for common mental health problems. Recently, there have been significant develop-ments in the therapeutic use of computers, mobile phones, gaming and virtual reality technologies for the assessment and treatment of psychosis. We provide an overview of the therapeutic use of ICT for psychosis, drawing on searches of the scientific literature and the internet and using interviews with experts in the field. We outline interventions that are already relevant to clinical practice, some that may become available in the foreseeable future and emerging challenges for their implementation

Cognitive Bias Modification on Tabletops

Interest in Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM) has been increasing in the field of Human Computer Interaction recently. CBM is usually presented as a training mechanism in desktops computers in the context of psychology therapy. Tabletop technologies can provide an interesting platform for delivering CBM training effectively due to their unique characteristics. However, no evidence of previous CBM interventions over Tabletop has been found. Furthermore, Smartphones are part of our daily life and although using these devices is highly enjoyable, most users develop a psychological dependency over them and lose control on its usage creating an addictive behaviour. Smartphone addicts can experiment problems such as low productivity, social isolation, mood changes, and sleeping disorders among others. In this report we present an experimental study that explore the feasibility of a CBM intervention on a Tabletop to counter Smartphone addiction. An Approach Avoidance Task (AAT) prototype was developed an deployed in a Microsoft Surface. 40 participants were recruited to receive CBM training. Our preliminary results provide evidence of a possible approach bias towards the Smartphone device and interesting interactions between the factors of our experiment. Although further data analysis is required to strongly support these claims, our study provide interesting insights for both Smartphone addiction and CBM research fields.Agencia Nacional de Investigación e Innovació