Attentional Bias Toward Forest Fires-Related Stimuli Among Firefighters and General Population

Abstract

Firefighters are first responders in emergencies, being repeatedly exposed to traumatic events and extreme conditions, much more so than the general population (Berger et al., 2012; Meda et al., 2012). There seems to be a relationship between emotions, cognitions and trauma, with critical incidents inducing more traumatic symptoms (Hayes et al., 2012; Pinto et al., 2015). Emotional reactions are organized by motivational systems – namely appetitive and defensive – that engage processes facilitating attention allocation to specific cues (Bradley et al., 2001; Lang & Bradley, 2013). Attentional bias is the phenomenon of hyper-attention to stimuli with ....