Covariation bias for social events and signs of (dis)approval in high and low socially anxious individuals

Abstract In two covariation bias experiments, we investigated whether socially anxious women overestimate the contingency between social events and signs of rejection and/or to underestimate the contingency between social events and approval. Participants were exposed to descriptions of ambiguous or...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry 2009-06, Vol.40 (2), p.359-373
Main Authors: de Jong, Peter J, de Graaf-Peters, Victorine, van Hout, Wiljo J.P.J, van Wees, Rineke
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Anxiety - psychology
Anxiety disorders
Anxiety disorders. Neuroses
Belongingness
Biological and medical sciences
Covariation bias
Cues
Data Interpretation, Statistical
Expressed Emotion - physiology
Facial Expression
Fear - psychology
Female
Humans
Interpretation bias
Judgmental bias
Male
Medical sciences
Phobia
Phobic Disorders - psychology
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Rejection
Social anxiety
Social Environment
Social events
Women
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Summary:Abstract In two covariation bias experiments, we investigated whether socially anxious women overestimate the contingency between social events and signs of rejection and/or to underestimate the contingency between social events and approval. Participants were exposed to descriptions of ambiguous or negative social events, situations involving animals, and nature scenes that were randomly paired with disgusting, happy, and neutral faces. Socially anxious participants reported enhanced belongingness between ambiguous events and signs of rejection, together with reduced belongingness between negative events and approval. This contributes to previous findings suggesting that socially anxious individuals suffer from fear-confirming interpretive biases. There was no evidence for enhanced negative or reduced positive covariation bias in socially anxious individuals.
ISSN:0005-7916
1873-7943
DOI:10.1016/j.jbtep.2009.02.001