Global local processing refers to the cognitive ability to perceive information either as an integrated whole (global) or by focusing on its constituent details (local). Growing evidence suggests that a bias toward local processing may contribute to the onset and maintenance of psychopathologies, including anxiety disorders, OCD, and eating disorders. My doctoral research explores whether there exists a general global–local processing system that extends beyond the visual modality and examines its clinical implications. In the first branch, I investigate how individuals’ spontaneous tendency toward global or local processing in the visuospatial domain extends to other sensory modalities (auditory and tactile) and to higher cognitive domains such as memory and decision-making. In the second branch, I examine the potentially maladaptive role of local processing in psychopathology for example, how it may foster a preference for immediate emotional relief at the expense of long-term functional goals and test whether enhancing global processing can reduce avoidance and maladaptive behaviors.

By combining experimental cognitive paradigms with clinically relevant measures, this research aims to identify a transdiagnostic cognitive mechanism underlying different psychopathologies. Ultimately, these insights could inform new intervention strategies designed to promote global processing and thereby alleviate clinical symptoms.

Supervisor: Prof. Eyal Kalanthroff