Abstract
Socially anxious individuals often hold a negative self-image in mind during social situations. The effect of self-imagery on post-event processing has yielded conflicting results, and its effect on anticipatory processing has yet to be examined. The primary aim of this study was to compare negative and positive self-imagery on anticipatory and post-event processing, and the secondary aim was to examine the impact on state anxiety, safety behaviors, and focus of attention. Participants (N = 80 students) were randomly assigned to a positive or negative self-imagery induction and then delivered an impromptu speech. Among those low in social anxiety, outcomes were generally better for the positive self-imagery condition but among those high in social anxiety, positive self-imagery led to similar or worse outcomes than negative self-imagery. Taken together, encouraging positive self-imagery may be useful for those with lower social anxiety, but not for those with higher social anxiety.
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This work was supported by the Ministry of Research and Innovation (ER09-06-227).
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Kocovski, N.L., Blackie, R.A., Fricker, M.W.L. et al. Positive Self-Imagery May Not Always Be Positive: Examining the Impact of Positive and Negative Self-Imagery in Social Anxiety. J Cogn Ther 12, 191–204 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41811-019-00049-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41811-019-00049-3