Intolerance to UncertaintyNCT06174311
The Effectiveness of Cognitive Bias Modification on Intolerance of Uncertainty
A study testing Active Cognitive Bias Modification in people with Intolerance to Uncertainty, run by Izmir University of Economics at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye).
Trial summary
The current study aims to reduce the intolerance of uncertainty levels with an internet-based cognitive bias modification intervention in young adults with high levels of intolerance to uncertainty aged between 18 and 40. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 40 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Intolerance to Uncertainty
- What is being tested?
- Active Cognitive Bias Modification
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 90 participants
- Where
- 1 siteTurkey (Türkiye)
- Study dates
- 23 Nov 2023to 20 Jun 2024
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 40 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Participants' willingness to participate in the CBM-I (Cognitive Bias Modification - Intervention)
- Having high levels of intolerance of uncertainty (receiving scores higher than the median of the initial sample by splitting the data based on the median)
- Having computer and internet access.
Who cannot join
- Being outside the targeted age range
- Having a psychiatric diagnosis and receiving current treatment
- Scoring psychotic questions and suicide questions above the midpoint on the Brief Symptom Scale
- Having color-blindness
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: The Effectiveness of Cognitive Bias Modification on Intolerance of Uncertainty: A Randomized Controlled Trial
The current study aims to reduce the intolerance of uncertainty levels with an internet-based cognitive bias modification intervention in young adults with high levels of intolerance to uncertainty aged between 18 and 40. Furthermore, it aims to examine the intervention's effectiveness on their intolerance to uncertainty, positive and negative emotions, depression and anxiety symptoms, and repetitive thinking.
Read the detailed description
Intolerance of uncertainty, a common factor in mental disorders (playing a transdiagnostic role), is critical to the development and maintenance of emotional problems (e.g., depression and anxiety) as it disrupts people's daily functioning. Studies have shown that intolerance of uncertainty is closely related to psychological problems, highlighting its importance for psychological interventions. Particularly considering the transdiagnostic nature of intolerance of uncertainty, attempting to reduce this trait in individuals also provides further intervention opportunities for various problems. Therefore, reducing intolerance of uncertainty is the focus of psychotherapy studies. The cognitive-behavioral conceptualization of intolerance of uncertainty emphasizes that people are unable to tolerate uncertainty because they misinterpret ambiguous situations in a biased manner, which leads to psychological problems. Accordingly, intervening in intolerance of uncertainty involves the modification of one's biased interpretations. At this point, Cognitive bias modification (CBM) is a method that involves paradigms in which a person is exposed to a series of stimuli to alter and reduce cognitive biases related to psychopathology. In recent years, the effectiveness of CBM in different psychological problems has been proven. In addition, current studies aim to reduce psychological symptoms through the use of CBM targeting transdiagnostic features and have shown promising results. Despite the importance of intolerance of uncertainty, only one study was found in the literature that examined the effect of CBM on intolerance to uncertainty in a randomized controlled design. In that study, it was concluded that a single-session CBM was successful in reducing intolerance to uncertainty by reducing interpretation biases in individuals. However, the study has some methodological shortcomings and requires further investigation in different samples. From this point of view, the present project aims to investigate the effectiveness of CBM on intolerance of uncertainty. The proposed project will examine the effect of internet-based CBM, focusing on interpretation bias related to uncertainty, on reducing intolerance of uncertainty and general psychological symptoms using self-report and behavioral measures in a randomized controlled design. In this way, the project aims to make a scientific contribution to the relatively limited literature in this area and to reduce participants' emotional symptoms by reducing their intolerance of uncertainty.
- Conditions
- Intolerance to Uncertainty
- Being tested
- Active Cognitive Bias Modification
- Keywords
- Intolerance to Uncertainty, Cognitive Bias Modification
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Active Cognitive Bias ModificationBehavioural
The intervention comprises three sessions and is provided online. Each session consists of two different tasks. To prevent order effects, these tasks will be presented to each participant in a random sequence. One of the tasks involves uncertain scenarios based on a scenario paradigm. At the end of these scenarios, participants will be asked to complete a missing letter in a word that in the scenario, followed by a comprehension question related to the scenario interpretation. Following each question, feedback will be provided regarding the correctness of the response. The other task is a word-sentence pair paradigm, where participants will be asked to assess whether these pairs are related, and feedback will also be provided.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Active Cognitive Bias Modification | Experimental | Based on the outcomes of pre-intervention measurements, 50 participants who score high on intolerance to uncertainty measurement will be chosen randomly to be included in this condition. This group of participants will receive three interventions targeting interpretation biases related to uncertainty, with each intervention administered at three-day intervals. Each session is scheduled to have an estimated duration of around 30 minutes. Receives: Behavioral: Active Cognitive Bias Modification |
| Control (Waitlist) Cognitive Bias Modification | No intervention | The waitlist control group will not receive any interventions during the process. They will only undergo pre-test, post-test, and follow-up measurements. If they still wish to receive the intervention, it will be provided to them after the follow-up assessment. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change in Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale
The 12 items, rated on a 5-point scale (1= strongly disagree, 5= strongly agree), aim to measure individuals' intolerance of uncertainty levels. The scale provides two subscales (prospective and inhibitory) and a total score. High scores indicate a high level of intolerance of uncertainty.
Measured: Pre-intervention and up to 4 months
Change in The Beads Task
This task is designed to behaviorally evaluate how and how quickly individuals make decisions in an uncertain situation (Huq et al., 1988; Phillips and Edwards, 1966).
Measured: Pre-intervention and up to 4 months
Change in Interpretation Bias for Intolerance of Uncertainty
This task is used in Bias Modification for Interpretation studies to assess cognitive biases in participants before and after interventions. These tasks measure how individuals respond to stimuli similar to those they will encounter during the intervention phase, and the extent to which they make biased evaluations. The intervention in this project will consist of both a scenario task and a word-sentence association task. Therefore, in the interpretation bias task, participants' tendency to interpret uncertain scenarios and words negatively will be recorded. Participants will be presented with 10 scenarios, and they will be asked to assess the relatedness of four sentences for each scenario. Afterward, participants will be presented with 20 word-sentence pairs and expected to provide a yes or no response regarding whether they are related. The extent to which participants associate words signaling uncertainty with negative sentences will be used as a measure of interpretation bias.
Measured: Pre-intervention and up to 4 months
Secondary outcomes (3)
Change in Brief Symptom Measure
The scale consists of 25 items, rated on a 7-point scale (1= not at all, 7= extremely). The scale aims to assess individuals' general psychopathological symptoms. Obtaining a high score on the scale indicates a high level of symptomatology.
Measured: Pre-intervention and up to 4 months
Change in Positive and Negative Affect Schedule
The scale consists of 20 emotion expressions, half of them positive and half negative, rated on a 5-point scale (1= very little or not at all, 5= very much). Participants are asked to assess how much they have felt these 20 emotions in the past week. The scale includes 10 emotion expressions related to Positive Emotions such as excited, alert, and 10 emotion expressions related to Negative Emotions such as distressed, guilty. Scores from these subscales indicate that a high level of positive emotion suggests contentment, while a high level of negative emotion indicates discontent.
Measured: Pre-intervention and up to 4 months
Change in Repetitive Thinking Questionnaire
The scale comprises 10 items, rated on a 5-point scale (1= not at all true, 5= very true), and it is designed to measure individuals' general repetitive thinking tendencies as a trait. The scale provides a single score, with high scores indicating a high level of repetitive thinking tendencies.
Measured: Pre-intervention and up to 4 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted18 Dec 2023
- Study start23 Nov 2023
- Primary completion20 Mar 2024
- Study completion20 Jun 2024
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Intolerance to UncertaintyStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- Condition 1: Cognitive Bias Modification for active group Condition 2: Cognitive Bias Modification for waitlist control group
- Masking
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Care provider
- Enrolment
- 90 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Izmir University of Economics
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Selin Dumlu Gündoğan, Izmir University of Economics
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06174311
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- SGundogan
- Other IDs
- CGokdag, YMeralOgutcu, EYuvruk
- Status last verified
- Jan 2026
- First submitted
- 8 Dec 2023
- Last updated
- 23 Jan 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided: It is planned to add some files to the OSF (Open Science Framework) link created for the study.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 23 Jan 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Effectiveness of Cognitive Bias Modification on Intolerance of Uncertainty: A Randomized Controlled Trial
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06174311
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- SGundogan
- Conditions
- Intolerance to Uncertainty
- Keywords
- Intolerance to Uncertainty, Cognitive Bias Modification
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 90 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Izmir University of EconomicsUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey
- Study start
- 23 Nov 2023 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 20 Mar 2024 (actual)
- Study completion
- 20 Jun 2024 (actual)
- First posted
- 18 Dec 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The current study aims to reduce the intolerance of uncertainty levels with an internet-based cognitive bias modification intervention in young adults with high levels of intolerance to uncertainty aged between 18 and 40. Furthermore, it aims to examine the intervention's effectiveness on their intolerance to uncertainty, positive and negative emotions, depression and anxiety symptoms, and repetitive thinking.
Detailed description
Intolerance of uncertainty, a common factor in mental disorders (playing a transdiagnostic role), is critical to the development and maintenance of emotional problems (e.g., depression and anxiety) as it disrupts people's daily functioning. Studies have shown that intolerance of uncertainty is closely related to psychological problems, highlighting its importance for psychological interventions. Particularly considering the transdiagnostic nature of intolerance of uncertainty, attempting to reduce this trait in individuals also provides further intervention opportunities for various problems. Therefore, reducing intolerance of uncertainty is the focus of psychotherapy studies. The cognitive-behavioral conceptualization of intolerance of uncertainty emphasizes that people are unable to tolerate uncertainty because they misinterpret ambiguous situations in a biased manner, which leads to psychological problems. Accordingly, intervening in intolerance of uncertainty involves the modification of one's biased interpretations. At this point, Cognitive bias modification (CBM) is a method that involves paradigms in which a person is exposed to a series of stimuli to alter and reduce cognitive biases related to psychopathology. In recent years, the effectiveness of CBM in different psychological problems has been proven. In addition, current studies aim to reduce psychological symptoms through the use of CBM targeting transdiagnostic features and have shown promising results. Despite the importance of intolerance of uncertainty, only one study was found in the literature that examined the effect of CBM on intolerance to uncertainty in a randomized controlled design. In that study, it was concluded that a single-session CBM was successful in reducing intolerance to uncertainty by reducing interpretation biases in individuals. However, the study has some methodological shortcomings and requires further investigation in different samples. From this point of view, the present project aims to investigate the effectiveness of CBM on intolerance of uncertainty. The proposed project will examine the effect of internet-based CBM, focusing on interpretation bias related to uncertainty, on reducing intolerance of uncertainty and general psychological symptoms using self-report and behavioral measures in a randomized controlled design. In this way, the project aims to make a scientific contribution to the relatively limited literature in this area and to reduce participants' emotional symptoms by reducing their intolerance of uncertainty.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind (participant, care provider)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- Condition 1: Cognitive Bias Modification for active group Condition 2: Cognitive Bias Modification for waitlist control group
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Active Cognitive Bias Modification | Experimental | Behavioral: Active Cognitive Bias ModificationBased on the outcomes of pre-intervention measurements, 50 participants who score high on intolerance to uncertainty measurement will be chosen randomly to be included in this condition. This group of participants will receive three interventions targeting interpretation biases related to uncertainty, with each intervention administered at three-day intervals. Each session is scheduled to have an estimated duration of around 30 minutes. |
| Control (Waitlist) Cognitive Bias Modification | No intervention | –The waitlist control group will not receive any interventions during the process. They will only undergo pre-test, post-test, and follow-up measurements. If they still wish to receive the intervention, it will be provided to them after the follow-up assessment. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 40 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Participants' willingness to participate in the CBM-I (Cognitive Bias Modification - Intervention)
- Having high levels of intolerance of uncertainty (receiving scores higher than the median of the initial sample by splitting the data based on the median)
- Having computer and internet access.
Key exclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Being outside the targeted age range
- Having a psychiatric diagnosis and receiving current treatment
- Scoring psychotic questions and suicide questions above the midpoint on the Brief Symptom Scale
- Having color-blindness
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Active Cognitive Bias ModificationThe intervention comprises three sessions and is provided online. Each session consists of two different tasks. To prevent order effects, these tasks will be presented to each participant in a random sequence. One of the tasks involves uncertain scenarios based on a scenario paradigm. At the end of these scenarios, participants will be asked to complete a missing letter in a word that in the scenario, followed by a comprehension question related to the scenario interpretation. Following each question, feedback will be provided regarding the correctness of the response. The other task is a word-sentence pair paradigm, where participants will be asked to assess whether these pairs are related, and feedback will also be provided. | Behavioural | Active Cognitive Bias Modification |
Primary outcome
Change in Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale
Time frame: Pre-intervention and up to 4 months
The 12 items, rated on a 5-point scale (1= strongly disagree, 5= strongly agree), aim to measure individuals' intolerance of uncertainty levels. The scale provides two subscales (prospective and inhibitory) and a total score. High scores indicate a high level of intolerance of uncertainty.
Change in The Beads Task
Time frame: Pre-intervention and up to 4 months
This task is designed to behaviorally evaluate how and how quickly individuals make decisions in an uncertain situation (Huq et al., 1988; Phillips and Edwards, 1966).
Change in Interpretation Bias for Intolerance of Uncertainty
Time frame: Pre-intervention and up to 4 months
This task is used in Bias Modification for Interpretation studies to assess cognitive biases in participants before and after interventions. These tasks measure how individuals respond to stimuli similar to those they will encounter during the intervention phase, and the extent to which they make biased evaluations. The intervention in this project will consist of both a scenario task and a word-sentence association task. Therefore, in the interpretation bias task, participants' tendency to interpret uncertain scenarios and words negatively will be recorded. Participants will be presented with 10 scenarios, and they will be asked to assess the relatedness of four sentences for each scenario. Afterward, participants will be presented with 20 word-sentence pairs and expected to provide a yes or no response regarding whether they are related. The extent to which participants associate words signaling uncertainty with negative sentences will be used as a measure of interpretation bias.
3 secondary outcomes
Change in Brief Symptom Measure
Time frame: Pre-intervention and up to 4 months
Change in Positive and Negative Affect Schedule
Time frame: Pre-intervention and up to 4 months
Change in Repetitive Thinking Questionnaire
Time frame: Pre-intervention and up to 4 months
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 23 Jan 2026.
- OSF (Open Science Framework) file of the studyLink provided by the sponsor.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided. It is planned to add some files to the OSF (Open Science Framework) link created for the study.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Active Cognitive Bias Modification in people with Intolerance to Uncertainty, run by Izmir University of Economics at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye).
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 23 Jan 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye). Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Change in Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (time frame: Pre-intervention and up to 4 months). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 23 Jan 2026.