Cognitive Bias Modification Interventions

Our research is centered on investigating the efficacy and mechanisms of Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM) interventions to improve mental health outcomes, as well as exploring new approaches to enhance the effectiveness of these interventions. Central to our approach is the understanding that cognitive biases underpin addictive behaviors, and modifying these biases through CBM can lead to significant treatment improvements. The effects of CBM have been tested in different addictions, populations (e.g., students, patients), settings (e.g., laboratory study, clinical randomized controlled trials), and a range of addictive behavior outcomes (e.g., cognitive bias score, relapse, substance consumption).

Our recent projects expand on traditional CBM paradigms by exploring innovative approaches and developing new theories regarding the operational mechanisms of CBM. This work includes comparing the associative approach in CBM (conventional CBM) and the inferential approach (i.e., the ABC-training), and evaluating the impact of these interventions on real-world addictive behaviors (e.g., alcohol, smoking).

Selected Publications:

• Wiers, R. W., Eberl, C., Rinck, M., Becker, E. S., & Lindenmeyer, J. (2011). Retraining automatic action tendencies changes alcoholic patients’ approach bias for alcohol and improves treatment outcome. Psychological Science, 22(4), 490-497. [PDF]

• Wiers, R. W., Boffo, M., & Field, M. (2018). What’s in a trial? On the importance of distinguishing between experimental lab studies and randomized controlled trials: The case of cognitive bias modification and alcohol use disorders. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 79(3), 333-343. [PDF]

• Wiers, R. W., Van Dessel, P., & Köpetz, C. (2020). ABC training: A new theory-based form of cognitive-bias modification to foster automatization of alternative choices in the treatment of addiction and related disorders. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(5), 499-505. [PDF]

• Van Dessel, P., Cummins, J., & Wiers, R. W. (2023). ABC-training as a new intervention for hazardous alcohol drinking: Two proof-of-principle randomized pilot studies. Addiction, 118(11), 2141-2155. [PDF]