Emotion and social cognitive ability

Abstract

Social anxiety could cause significant distress and impairment in functioning to individuals. Recent studies investigate the social cognitive ability of perspective taking as a mechanism for social anxiety. In the present study, the relationship between social anxiety and perspective taking was investigated among young adults. Significantly, the current study also investigated the interactional effect of anxious state and trait social anxiety on perspective taking ability. 30 university students aged 18-26 years were administered Chinese translation of Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescence, 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, and N-back task. Each participant also completed the computerised Director Task (DT) thrice, in which participants clicked on objects in accordance with instructions given by the ‘Director’ who has occluded view to some objects. Correct response necessitated the perspective taking of the Director’s perspective to click on objects visible to the Director. In the control condition for task demands, participants followed a rule in ignoring objects placed in cubes with a grey background. The second and third DT block were administered after experimental manipulation of an anxious or a calm emotional state with Autobiographical Emotional Memory Task. Social anxiety was not correlated with perspective taking. Anxious state did not have an interactive effect with trait social anxiety on perspective taking ability. Emotional state had no effect on perspective taking. Results suggest that social anxiety and perspective taking may not be significantly associated in adults. Anxious state and trait social anxiety combined were irrelevant in influencing perspective taking measured with DT in the current study. Alternative methods for inducing emotion and measuring perspective taking among adults could further elucidate the relationship between social anxiety, anxious state, and perspective taking.