The Effect of Negative External Cues on Self-Focus and Negative Recollections of an Interaction

Social anxiety is characterized by a fear of negative evaluation and avoidance of social situations. Clark and Wells (1995) suggest that socially anxious individuals tend to self-monitor, but Rapee and Heimberg (1997) posit that this may interact with another inclination to search for external threat cues, which could exacerbate social anxiety. In the current study, participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions in a conversation task. Confederates gave critical and judgmental cues in the critical condition and neutral cues in the neutral condition Results show a trend toward significance for an interaction such that socially anxious participants in the critical condition engaged in self-focused attention more than the low social anxiety group, while social anxiety groups had similar levels of self-focused attention in the neutral condition. In the critical condition, socially anxious individuals reported significantly fewer positive thoughts about themselves than those in the low social anxiety group. Introduction Social anxiety disorder is a relatively common disorder, with a13% lifetime prevalence (Rapee & Heimberg, 1997). Social anxiety is characterized by intense and persistent fear of social situations (Brunello et al., 2000). Individuals with social anxiety disorder suffer from symptoms ranging from moderate to severe, also varying in the degree to which the disorder impedes the individual’s ability to function normally. Social anxiety disorder is often comorbid with depression, other anxiety disorders, substance use and eating disorders (Brunello et al, 2000). Social anxiety disorder is a problem that affects a relatively large number of people, and it can have serious implications for the individual experiencing it. There are still many questions left unanswered about the mechanisms involved in the development and maintenance of social anxiety, and for this reason research concerning the disorder is ongoing. Social anxiety disorder is characterized by the fear of negative evaluation, as well as the strong desire to make a favorable impression on others (Rapee & Heimberg, 1997). Because of this fear and desire, socially anxious individuals feel uncomfortable in social situations and often try to avoid them (Clark & Wells, 1995). Individuals with elevated levels of social anxiety commonly shift their focus of attention in order to determine the likelihood of negative evaluation by others. Cognitive models of social anxiety have pointed to these shifts in attentional focus as an important factor in maintaining the disorder. These models, however, deviate in terms of where the focus is shifted. For example, Clark and Wells (1995) emphasize the tendency for socially anxious individuals to devote all of their attention to self-monitoring. This means that a socially anxious individual in a social situation is likely to use more attentional resources to focus on his or her own behaviors and physiology. The goal of this self-monitoring is to ensure that he or she is meeting social expectations, either real or imagined, so that he or she can avoid negative evaluation. Rapee and