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Psychopathology, Anxiety or Attentional Control: Determining the Variables Which Predict IRAP Performance

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Abstract

Background & Objectives

The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) is a widely used measure of implicit cognition which has detected biases pertaining to various psychological constructs from spider fear to cocaine dependence. One issue which emerges in the IRAP literature is that of participants failing to meet or uphold the necessary criteria to complete the IRAP, which results in their elimination from the study, which can be rather detrimental to results. The present study sought to delineate which factors may contribute to high attrition rates in IRAP research.

Methodology

A previously used IRAP measuring spider fear was employed along with an n-back task and a series of questionnaires.

Results

Results indicated that the ability to inhibit prepotent responses and focus attention on the task at hand was the best predictor of accuracy on the IRAP, irrespective of spider fear or current levels of anxiety.

Conclusions

These results are promising for the use of the IRAP in clinically-relevant domains as they suggest that the psychopathology of participants does not affect performance on the IRAP.

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Notes

  1. We acknowledge that by using cognitive terms such as central executive and working memory we are drawing from two separate literatures, however, these terms are ill-defined in behavioral psychology and are the accepted terms in the field of cognitive psychology. Thus, we simply use them here because they are used to investigate the variable of interest.

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Acknowledgements

The preparation for this article was supported by the John and Pat Hume Scholarship Scheme and the Irish Research Council. Correspondence concerning this article should be sent to Emma Nicholson (email: Emma.Nicholson@nuim.ie)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland

    Emma Nicholson, Aife Hopkins-Doyle, Dermot Barnes-Holmes & Richard A. P. Roche

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  1. Emma Nicholson
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  2. Aife Hopkins-Doyle
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  4. Richard A. P. Roche
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Correspondence to Emma Nicholson.

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Nicholson, E., Hopkins-Doyle, A., Barnes-Holmes, D. et al. Psychopathology, Anxiety or Attentional Control: Determining the Variables Which Predict IRAP Performance. Psychol Rec 64, 179–188 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-014-0020-4

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