Emotional Stroop task: valence effect of the word and anxiety over the pupil variation

Abstract

Psychological tests have been used in large scale for anxiety assessment. Anxiety is an emotional response of anticipation of a future threat, usually associated to muscular tension and vigilance to be prepared for an eventual danger, as well as to escape and avoidance behavior. Anxiety diseases can be assessed from different diagnostic instruments and, more currently, the Emocional Stroop Task have been used in large scale to identify the emotional interferences caused by anxiety. The Emotional Stroop task involves the color naming with an emotional content and can be used to indicate the behavioral responses pattern modified by anxiety symptoms, like reaction time, pupil dilation, number of fixations and hit rate. The aim of this study is to analyze the eye movement pattern and behavioral responses with the Emotional Stroop Task and to correlate it with anxiety levels. 60 adults of both gender, varying from 18 to 30 years old, will participate in this study. The follow down instruments will be applied to sample characterization: Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Word Reading Competence Test (WRCT) and Standard Progressives Matrices Sets A-E. The computerized version of the Emotional Stroop Task will be applied with an equipment able to registry the eye movements pattern and the pupil variations during the visual stimulus inspection. Correlations will be conducted between the ocular measures and the inventories results. Furthermore, the pupil variation will be compared according to the anxiety level. (AU)