Abstract
The present study examined the relationship between worry and threat-related confirmation bias in children. Forty non-clinical children aged 10-12 years completed the child version of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire as a cognitive index of anxiety proneness, and then were administered a modified version of the Wason Selection Task to assess verifying and falsifying reasoning strategies in response to conditional danger rules. Results demonstrated that children with high levels of worry displayed a stronger tendency towards verification and a weaker inclination towards falsification than children with low levels of worry. This finding indicates that confirmation bias occurs in individuals with a general vulnerability to anxiety, and fits well with current theoretical models in which cognitive distortions are viewed as risk factors predisposing to the development of fear and anxiety problems.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 604-609 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Child and Family Studies |
Volume | 23 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Apr 2014 |
Keywords
- Threat-related confirmation bias
- Worry
- Children
- ANXIETY
- FEAR
- QUESTIONNAIRE
- INFORMATION
- COGNITION