Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Sep:64:133-148.
doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2019.04.003. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

A systematic review of the word sentence association paradigm (WSAP)

Meghan Gonsalves  1 , Randy L Whittles  2 , Risa B Weisberg  3 , Courtney Beard  4
Affiliations

A systematic review of the word sentence association paradigm (WSAP)

Meghan Gonsalves et al. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2019 Sep.

Abstract

Background and objectives: The Word Sentence Association Paradigm (WSAP) was originally designed to assess and modify interpretive biases (IB) in socially anxious individuals. Researchers have since modified the WSAP for use across various populations. Despite its widespread use, no studies have systematically reviewed the WSAP to determine its validity and reliability.

Methods: We review variations to the WSAP, populations in which the WSAP has been used, reliability data, and effect sizes across 41 studies published between 2008 and March 2018.

Results: Results indicate that the WSAP has been utilized to target 18 disorders and symptoms in adults and children. Modifications include stimulus content, timing parameters, and presentation order of word and sentence pairs. Reported internal consistency and test-retest reliability suggest good to excellent reliability. Medium to large effect sizes were reported when comparing control samples to those with psychopathology and in pre-post comparisons of the modification version of the WSAP.

Limitations: Studies varied regarding which indices of the WSAP were presented and specific task parameters used, making it challenging to compare effects.

Conclusions: The WSAP is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing and modifying interpretive biases with unique characteristics compared with other IB assessment and modification tasks.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA Flow Diagram
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. *Amir N, Bomyea J, & Beard C (2010). The Effect of Single Session Interpretation Modification on Attention Bias in Socially Anxious Individuals. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 24, 178–182. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Amir N, Foa EB, & Coles ME (1998). Negative interpretation bias in social phobia. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36, 945–957. - PubMed
    1. *Amir N, Kuckertz JM, Najmi S, Conley SL (2015). Preliminary Evidence for the Enhancement of Self-Conducted Exposures for OCD Using Cognitive Bias Modification. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 39, 424–440. - PMC - PubMed
    1. *Amir N, Prouvost C, & Kuckertz JM. (2012). Lack of a Benign Interpretation Bias in Social Anxiety Disorder. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 41, 119–129. - PMC - PubMed
    1. *Amir N, & Taylor C (2012). Interpretation training in individuals with generalized social anxiety disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80, 497–511. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types