Anxiety and interpretative bias of ambiguous stimuli: A review

In this article we review the studies investigating the effects of anxiety on interpretive bias, i.e., the proneness to generate, prioritize or select a threatening interpretation over a neutral interpretation of an ambiguous stimulus. The article is organized in three sections: Conceptualization, Research, and Application. First, we motivate theoretically the relationship between anxiety and interpretive bias, with particular emphasis on the functional role of such a bias in the alarm mechanism of the defensive system. Second, we examine the existing experimental evidence on the issue under investigation in several specific areas. And, third, we address the possibility that the experimental findings on anxiety and interpretive bias can be applied to therapeutical treatments aimed to control and reduce vulnerability to anxiety.