Cognitive biases for social cues in social phobia
Year: 2005
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The literature review examines theories and research concerning informative processing biases in social phobia, with a particular focus on selective attention for, and interpretation of, external social cues. After highlighting the clinical presentation and psychosocial impact of social phobia, theoretical conceptualizations are discussed, empirical findings are critically evaluated, and relevant therapeutic interventions are outlined. The subsequent empirical paper describes an investigation of biases in initial orienting, and maintenance, of attention towards social cues (faces), in individuals with generalized social phobia (GSP) and healthy volunteers. Eye-movements within a modified visual probe task were monitored. There were two trial types: (i) trails in which an emotional face (angry or happy) was paired with a socially-relevant control stimulus (neutral face), and (ii) trials in which face (angry, happy or neutral) was paired with a non-social control stimulus (household object). For each condition, the direction, speed and duration of initial gaze fixation were assessed. Results indicated that, in general, participants directed their gaze more often towards, and looked at, emotional (angry and happy) faces relative to neutral faces. In addition, participants (irrespective of group) initially oriented more often towards, and fixated for longer on, faces relative to objects. The magnitude of the latter bias (i.e. longer duration of initial fixation on faces) was significantly more pronounced in individuals with GSP, compared with controls. These findings are discussed in relation to the existing literature on attentional biases for external cues in GSP. Clinical implications and potential avenues for future research are considered.
Author: Rutherford, Donna Lynn
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7027399480