Lack of a benign interpretation bias in social anxiety disorder

Amir, Nader; Prouvost, Caroline; Kuckertz, Jennie M.

doi:10.1080/16506073.2012.662655

Cited by 79Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesPsychological Treatments and AssessmentsChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Lack of a benign interpretation bias in social anxiety disorder

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Amir, Nader, Prouvost, Caroline, Kuckertz, Jennie M.·2012·Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

DOI 10.1080/16506073.2012.662655PMC PMC3708600

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Abstract

Cognitive models of social anxiety posit that recurrent interpretation of ambiguous information as threatening maintains symptoms (e.g. Clark & Wells, 1995, pp. 69-93, Social phobia: Diagnosis, assessment, and treatment. New York: Guilford Press; Rapee & Heimberg, 1997, pp. 741-756, Behavior Research and Therapy, 35). However, biased interpretation may also be represented as a failure to make a benign interpretation of the ambiguous event. Furthermore, interpretation bias can be characterized by both an online (automatic) component and an offline (effortful) component (Hirsch & Clark, 2004, pp. 799-825, Clinical Psychology Review, 24). To measure both benign and threat biases, as well as examine the effect of social anxiety on offline versus online interpretations, Beard and Amir (2009, pp. 1135-1141, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 46) developed the Word Sentence Association Paradigm (WSAP). In the current study, we administered the WSAP to a group of participants diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (SAD) as well as to a group of non-anxious control (NAC) participants. We found that participants with SAD demonstrated a lack of benign online bias, but not an online threat bias when compared to NACs. However, when examining offline biases, SAD patients endorsed social threat interpretations and rejected benign social interpretations to a greater degree than non-anxious individuals. Our results, when taken together, clearly implicate the role of reduced bias toward benign information in SAD.

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People with SAD experience diminished positive affect and increased negative affect in social interactions in general.
“For example, people with SAD experience diminished positive affect and increased negative affect in social interactions in general (32), and reduced positivity in response to social acceptance and enhanced negativity in response to social rejection (33).”
From MDMA-Assisted Therapy as a Means to Alter Affective, Cognitive, Behavioral, and Neurological Systems Underlying Social Dysfunction in Social Anxiety Disorder (2021) · cites this paper as [32]
The Discussion says people with SAD may be less likely to experience positive affect in social situations, supporting that part as a possibility rather than an established finding. The Results report greater endorsement of threatening interpretations of social sentences, but do not establish increased negative affect during social interactions in general. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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“For example, people with SAD experience diminished positive affect and increased negative affect in social interactions in general (32), and reduced positivity in response to social acceptance and enhanced negativity in response to social rejection (33).”
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Interpretation Bias in Social Anxiety: Research Paradigms, Characteristics and Modification
Ta, L. (2013)

Authors: Amir, N., Prouvost, C., & Kuckertz, J. M.
Affiliations: San Diego State University (US)
Corresponding author: Amir, Nader
ORCID: Amir, Nader
Prouvost, Caroline
Kuckertz, Jennie M.
Venue: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Published: 2012-04-30
Volume: 41
Issue: 2
Pages: 119-129
ISSN: 1650-6073 (ISSN-L)
1651-2316
DOI: 10.1080/16506073.2012.662655
PMC: PMC3708600
OpenAlex: W2045271008
Cited by: 79
References: 32
Citations by year: 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 2
FWCI: 6.85
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: green
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Locations: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders: National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH087623, R34MH077129, R34MH073004)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychological Treatments and Assessments
Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
Keywords: social anxiety disorder, interpretation bias, threat interpretation, ambiguous information
MeSH terms: Adult, Affect, Arousal, Attention, Cues, Fear, Humans, Judgment, Personality Inventory, Phobic Disorders, Psychometrics, Reaction Time, Reading, Semantics, Social Behavior, Social Perception, Word Association Tests, Anticipation, Psychological

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Lack of a benign interpretation bias in social anxiety disorder

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