Construction and Validation of Dot-probe Test for Measurement of Selective Attention towards Attachment Related Pictures

Recent evidences in attachment literature have pointed to the critical role of attachment in affect regulation and cognitive functioning through the selective processing of attachment-relevant information. The purpose of this study was developing and validation of a Dot-Probe Test for measurement of selective attention towards attachment related pictures. the stimulus that used for the dot-probe task comprised of two categories of positive and negative attachment related pictures. Based on these categories and after several phases of screening 275 pictures were selected. Then 50 student and 5 practitioner psychologists rated each picture on pleasant-unpleasant and attachmentrelevance. Finally five picturess of each subscale and a total of 45 pictures that have the highest scores in both features were selected and matched with 45 neutral pictures that had no particular emotional valence. Therefore the dot-probe test was comprised of these 90 pictures. 161 students (86 male and 85 female) of Shahid Beheshti University were selected by convenient sampling method and completed Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the dot-probe task. Result show high validity of pictures and high reliability of participant answer to dot-probe test. According to the results of this study can be said that designed test is suitable for measurement of automatic features of attachment.