This study examined several aspects of the anxiety program described in the Clark and Wells' (1995; Clark, 2001) cognitive model of social phobia, and provided information about the relationship between some of these variables. This study also examined the effect of social appraisals on cognition, affect, and self-protection. Positive and negative interpersonal appraisals were manipulated in 42 patients with social phobia and 42 community control participants. Participants then engaged in a social interaction with a confederate based on the reciprocity self-disclosure paradigm. Participants completed measures of cognitive appraisal, focus of attention, recall, affect, and self-disclosure. Personnel completed similar measures. Results revealed that, consistent with the cognitive model, individuals with social phobia displayed more self-focused attention, more negative affect, and more selfprotective behaviours, i.e. were less self-disclosive, than non-phobic control participants. There were no differences on the recall measure. The results suggested that it was possible to manipulate social appraisals. Interestingly, the largest discrepancy between participants with social phobia and controls occurred for self-disclosure in the positive social appraisal condition. The results also provided some clarification about the temporal sequence among the components of the anxiety program, and the role of self-focused attention in social phobia.

This study examined the impact of positive or negative interpersonal feedback on standard-setting, affect, and motivational concerns, within the framework of selfregulation theories of social anxiety. Thirty-two individuals who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (rev. 3rd ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) criteria for social phobia and 32 nonclinical controls participated in a successful or unsuccessful conversation with an assistant. Subjects rated two aspects of self-regulation (self-efficacy and standards), positive and negative affect, and motivational concerns. Consistent with predictions, socially phobic subjects displayed a discrepancy between what they believed they could achieve (efficacy) and what they believed others expected of them (standard) and the magnitude of this discrepancy increased when they had succeeded at the social task. In addition, anxious subjects reported higher levels of positive affect after experiencing social success than they did after experiencing social failure but they did not relinquish protective concerns. There was no evidence that socially phobic subjects were distressed by social success but the results illuminate dysfunctional standard-setting. Specifically, socially phobic individuals perceive larger discrepancies between their ability and expectations following success than they do following failure.

Previous studies examining memory biases for threatening faces in social anxiety (SA) have yielded inconclusive results. In the present study, memory and expectancy biases were tested within the context of a novel face recognition paradigm that was designed to offset some of the methodological challenges that have hampered previous research. Undergraduates with high (n = 40) and low (n = 40) levels of SA viewed a series of neutral faces randomly paired with phrases that communicated positive or negative social feedback. Participants’ recognition memory was tested for previously encountered faces, and for their categorization of each encoded face as having been associated with negative (mean) or positive (nice) interpersonal statements. For new faces, participants were asked whether the person seemed mean or nice. Results provided no evidence in support of a general memory bias for threatening (mean) faces among high SA individuals, but instead suggested that high SA individuals lack a positive expectancy bias to appraise new social partners as being nice. Implications are considered for cognitive behavioral and interpersonal models of SA.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Feb. 28, 2008). Directed by Heidi Gazelle; submitted to the Dept. of Psychology. Includes bibliographical references (p. 41-47).

Thesis (M.A.)--Marshall University, 2008. / Title from document title page. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: contains 59 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 39-42).

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1996. / Includes tables. Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Leah Blumberg Lapidus. Dissertation Committee: Harold F. Abeles. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-113).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Psychology, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Justin Schwartz, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Psychology. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 24, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-78). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-78). Also available on the Internet.