Working memory load elicits attentional bias to threat

Anxious individuals tend to show attentional bias to threats and dangers; this is usually in-terpreted as a specific bias in threat-processing. However, they also tend to show general working memory and cognitive control impairments. We hypothesised that the lack of work-ing memory resources might contribute to attentional bias, by limiting anxious individuals’ ability to regulate their responses to emotional stimuli. If this is true, then loading working memory should elicit attentional bias to threat, even in non-anxious participants. We tested this hypothesis in two experiments, with participants unselected for anxiety. In Experiment 1, a phonological working memory load (remembering a string of digits) elicited an attentional bias to fear-conditioned Japanese words. In Experiment 2, a visuo-spatial working memory load (remembering a series of locations in a matrix of squares) elicited an attentional bias to emotional schematic faces. Results suggest that working memory and cognitive control may moderate the attentional bias to threat commonly observed in anxiety.