Improving effectiveness of a mobile Cognitive Bias Modification to strengthen vitality: The personalized IVY app
Theme: Technological interventions in increasing well-being
Type of research: Experimental design
Description
A growing body of research shows that automatic and unconscious mental processes, so-called cognitive biases, play a causal role in health-related behaviors (healthy food, alcohol abuse), in somatic disease symptoms like chronic fatigue, and in mental health disorders. Traditional psychosocial interventions, however, do not target these cognitive biases. Computer-mediated techniques, Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM), have recently emerged that can correct these maladaptive biases with simple repetitive association tasks.
Recently, The BMS Lab has added a mobile CBM app in the TiiM platform, called IVY, targeting fatigue-related cognitive bias. In recent studies from our group (Geerts et al.) we have tested a standard version of this CBM with promising results.
In this thesis project, we will develop and test a personalized version, by allowing participants to pre-select their preferred ‘stimuli’ for their CBM training sessions.
We will conduct an experiment with a non-treatment control group, and two active CBM groups (standard vs. personalized), exposing each experimental condition to a few daily CBM sessions. Main outcome measure will be the change in cognitive bias, which will be measured with an IAT in a separate online application.
The general research aims are:
- Is CBM effective in correcting the fatigue bias to a vitality bias?
- Is personalized CBM more effective than standard CBM?
- Is personalized CBM more engaging for participants?
Some additional research questions for individual thesis topics include:
- How can personalization be offered best to participants?
- How personalized are the CBMs?
- Are CBM effects dependent on other characteristics?
- Does the change in cognitive bias translate into improved self-reported vitality?
Who do we look for?
Students with an interest in a novel treatment technique in (mental) health psychology
References
Some readings on the topic:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.07.034
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2022.102575
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.08.007
Prior studies in our group on CBM apps:
https://formative.jmir.org/2021/3/e18325/
https://mhealth.jmir.org/2020/4/e16217