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Gaze-Based Assessments of Vigilance and Avoidance in Social Anxiety: a Review

  • Anxiety Disorders (A Pelissolo, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

A broad base of research has sought to identify the biases in selective attention which characterize social anxiety, with the emergent use of eye tracking-based methods. This article seeks to provide a review of eye tracking studies examining selective attention biases in social anxiety.

Recent Findings

Across a number of contexts, social anxiety may be associated with a mix of both vigilant and avoidant patterns of attention with respect to the processing of emotional social stimuli. Socially anxious individuals may additionally avoid maintaining eye contact and may exhibit a generalized vigilance via hyperscanning of their environment.

Summary

The findings highlight the utility of eye tracking methods for increasing understanding of the gaze-based biases which characterize social anxiety disorder, with promising avenues for future research.

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Notes

  1. In this study, the latency to saccade away from a given stimulus following initial orienting was examined. While this was termed attentional maintenance by the authors, it is consistent with the present manuscript’s definition of attentional disengagement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for the Advancement of Research on Emotion, School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Nigel T. M. Chen & Patrick J. F. Clarke

  2. School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Bentley, Perth, WA, Australia

    Nigel T. M. Chen & Patrick J. F. Clarke

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Correspondence to Nigel T. M. Chen.

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Chen, N.T.M., Clarke, P.J.F. Gaze-Based Assessments of Vigilance and Avoidance in Social Anxiety: a Review. Curr Psychiatry Rep 19, 59 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-017-0808-4

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