Role of self-focused attention in asthma
Abstract
The effects of noncontingency on the demonstration of self-focus in asthma were tested by examining self-report measures of depression, mood, expectancy, and attributions, and performance on a self-focusing task. Forty participants (18-25 years of age) with histories of childhood asthma (AS) and a gender and SES-matched healthy cohort (HC) (N=40) received either contingent or noncontingent performance feedback on a computerized concept formation task. Following the experimental procedure, a behavioral evaluation of self-focus was obtained. Pre and post-test ratings of mood, expectancy, and attributions related to experimental task performance were also completed. It was hypothesized that individuals with asthma that were exposed to noncontingent feedback would exhibit increased preferences for self-focusing stimuli when compared to their healthy peers. Although the experimental treatment procedure was generally effective in producing transient mood states and in altering performance expectancies in both AS and HC participants in the noncontingent condition and in HC subjects in the contingent condition at the time of the post-test, results revealed that AS subjects exposed to noncontingent feedback did not spend more time self-focusing than their healthy cohorts. Possible interpretations of the current findings are discussed.
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- OSU Dissertations [11222]