Aberrant attention allocation has been implicated in the etiology and maintenance of a range of psychopathologies. However, three decades of research, relying primarily on manual response-time tasks, have been challenged on the grounds of poor reliability of its attention bias indices. Here, in a large, multisite, international study we provide reliability information for a new eye-tracking-based measure of attention allocation and its relation to psychopathology and age. Data from 1567 participants, across a wide range of psychiatric diagnoses and ages, were aggregated from nine sites around the world. Of these, 213 participants also provided retest data. Acceptable overall internal consistency and test-retest reliability were observed among adult participants (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.86 and r(213) = 0.89, respectively), as well as across all examined psychopathologies. Youth demonstrated lower internal consistency scores (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.65). Finally, the percent dwell time index derived from the task statistically differentiated between healthy participants and participants diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, major depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. These results potentially address a long-standing reliability crisis in this research field. Aberrant attention allocation patterns in a variety of psychiatric disorders may be targeted with the hope of affecting symptoms. The attention allocation index derived from the matrix task offers reliable means to measure such cognitive target engagement in clinical contexts.

Cognitive -motivational models point to attention bias (AB) as an important factor in the persistence of problematic drinking behavior. Unfortunately, the measures that have been used to examine AB in addiction typically showed poor psychometric properties. To bring research on AB a critical step further it would be crucial to develop tasks with acceptable reliability and construct validity. Recently, Lazarov and colleagues (2016) developed a multi-stimulus free-viewing task (participants were free to look at any part of the screen and there was no secondary task involved) that showed excellent psychometric properties in the context of social anxiety as well as depression. We, therefore, adapted this task and examined its psychometric quality within the context of alcohol use. Participants with varying levels of alcohol use (N = 100) were presented with 54 matrices each containing 8 alcoholic and 8 non-alcoholic drinks. Each matrix was presented for 6 s. First fixation (100 ms) location and latency and total dwell time were assessed for alcohol and soda pictures. Assessment of AB, craving, and alcohol use (problems) was repeated after 3–8 days. Specifically, the dwell-time based AB-measure showed excellent internal reliability and considerable stability. Supporting the validity of the current AB-measures, it was found that participants with higher scores on craving and alcohol problems (i) dwelt longer on alcohol stimuli, and (ii) more often showed a first fixation on alcohol, whereas (iii) stronger craving was associated with shorter latency of first alcohol fixations. The AB-measure showed promising psychometric properties. Thus, this free-viewing eye-tracking task seems a welcome new tool for being used in future research on AB in addiction.

Framing is a crucial skill for connecting problem and solution spaces in the creative design process, both for individuals and teams. Frames are implicit in individuals’ cognitive thinking, but the creation of shared frames plays a vital role in collaborative design. Many studies have attempted to describe the framing process, but little is still known about how to support designers in framing, specifically in teams. This paper addresses this gap, by exploring the connection between sketching and framing within interdisciplinary teams. Following a qualitative and explorative approach, we have investigated the process and outcome of five interdisciplinary teams. We identified that sketching assists in the creation and elaboration of frames. Furthermore, in tandem with discussion and reflection, sketching helps increase the chance of a frame to survive within the design process. Our findings have practical and educational implications for improving the creative design process in interdisciplinary teams.