Cited by 53Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentSchizophrenia research and treatment

“Fear guides the eyes of the beholder”: assessing gaze avoidance in social anxiety disorder via covert eye tracking of dynamic social stimuli

Weeks, Justin W., Howell, Ashley N., Srivastav, Akanksha, Goldin, Philippe R.·2019·Journal of Anxiety Disorders

Abstract

Gaze avoidance is an important feature of social anxiety disorder (SAD) and may serve as a biobehavioral marker of SAD. The purpose of the present study was to replicate and extend findings on gaze avoidance in SAD via eye tracking during a computerized social simulation. Patients with SAD (n = 27) and a (sub)sample of demographically-matched healthy controls (HC; n = 22) completed a computerized, dynamic social simulation task involving video clips of actors giving positive and negative social feedback to the participant. All participants were unknowingly eye tracked during the simulation, and post-study consent was obtained to examine responses. Consistent with the bivalent fear of evaluation (BFOE) model of social anxiety, fear of positive evaluation related systematically to state anxiety in response to positive social feedback, and fear of negative evaluation related systematically to state anxiety in response to negative social feedback. Moreover, compared to HCs, SAD patients exhibited significantly greater global gaze avoidance in response to both the positive and negative video clips. Our results provide strong additional support for gaze avoidance as a biobehavioral marker of SAD, as well as additional support for the BFOE model. Implications for the assessment and treatment of SAD are discussed.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.janxdis.2019.05.005

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Authors
Weeks, J. W., Howell, A. N., Srivastav, A., & Goldin, P. R.
Affiliations
  • Ohio University (US)
  • University of California, Davis (US)
Corresponding author
Weeks, Justin W.
Venue
Journal of Anxiety Disorders
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2019-06
Volume
65
Pages
56-63
ISSN
0887-6185 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2947763402
Cited by
53
References
43
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 1
FWCI
6.47
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Journal of Anxiety Disorders (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Ohio University
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
Keywords
gaze avoidance, social anxiety disorder, fear of positive evaluation, fear of negative evaluation, state anxiety, social feedback
MeSH terms
Phobia, Social, Adult, Eye Movements, Fear, Female, Fixation, Ocular, Humans, Male, Young Adult

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