Cognitive processes in social anxiety: a study of anticipatory processing, attentional biases and post-eventprocessing

Abstract

Cognitive models of social phobia (Clark & Wells, 1995; Rapee & Heimberg, 1997)

theorize that the dysfunctional cognitive processes maintain the fear people with

social anxiety have in social situations. Research has shown that there are three

stages of cognitive processes that contribute to social anxiety: anticipatory

processing, in-situation processing, and post-event processing. This study

investigated differences in these three cognitive processes between 252 individuals

with high and low social anxiety in Hong Kong. Study 1 developed

Chinese-language self-report measures of anticipatory processing by translating two

English measures. It also investigated anticipatory processing questionnaires in

terms of internal consistency, factor structure, and concurrent validity. It further

examined differences in anticipatory processing between the two groups. The

Chinese versions of the two measures of anticipatory processing—the Anticipatory

Processing Questionnaire (APQ) and the Measure of Mental Anticipation Processes

(MMAP)—showed good to excellent psychometric properties. The factor structure

of the Chinese APQ was consistent with the original version (Vassilopoulos, 2004).

The MMAP was best explained by two factors, as opposed to the original four.

Results from the surveys indicated that individuals with high social anxiety were

more likely to engage in maladaptive anticipatory processing.

Study 2 experimentally induced distraction, positive, and negative anticipatory

processing in sixty-three participants with high and low social anxiety who then

gave an impromptu speech. The effects of processing style on anxiety, confidence,

and cognitive processing during the speech (self-focused attention) were measured.

Positive anticipatory processing increased confidence before the speech for both

high and low socially anxious groups, whereas negative anticipatory processing

decreased confidence. There was no significant effect of processing manipulation

on anxiety. Negative anticipatory processing led to marginally higher scores on the

Self-focus Attention subscale of the Focus of Attention Questionnaire (FAQ).

Furthermore, people with high social anxiety were found to be more likely than their

low socially anxious counterparts to engage in self-focused attention and post-event

processing.

These findings give evidence that high and low socially anxious individuals differ in

anticipatory processing, self-focused attention, and post-event processing.

Furthermore, positive anticipatory processing increases confidence before social

situations, but fails to reduce anxiety. This contributes to the understanding of

differences in cognitive processing between individuals with high and low social

anxiety.