351— Social Attention Bias in the Real World - Pilot Study

Attention bias is defined as the elevated processing of certain stimuli over others. Past research has discovered that attention bias is related to anxiety through behavioral experiments. Studies found that in a lab setting those who are more anxious are more vigilant towards a threat. Previous research is however limited in the study of examining how these behavioral experiments relate to a real-world context since most of the experiments that have been done occurred in a lab setting. To address this phenomenon, two Empatica E4 Wristbands were utilized in order to measure a participant’s anxiety through skin conductance, electrodermal activity, and heart rate. The current study is pilot work done to test the equipment’s accuracy and reliability as well as create a protocol for data collection. To assess the equipment, SED lab members have been following safe covid practices in order to minimize the risk of contracting or spreading the virus. Based on data collected by the Empatica E4 wristbands, we hypothesize that when put in a real-world situation, a more anxious person will focus their attention on threatening stimuli rather than non-threatening stimuli.