An analysis of post-event processing in social anxiety disorder
Section snippets
Models of social anxiety disorder and post-event processing
Cognitive-behavioral models of social anxiety disorder (Clark and Wells, 1995, Rapee and Heimberg, 1997) provide useful frameworks for understanding the role of post-event processing. Most often socially anxious individuals possess assumptions about themselves and how they interact with others based on early experiences. When confronted with novel social situations, they tend to draw upon these assumptions to interpret social events in a threatening manner. These threatening interpretations
Review of studies of post-event processing
Researchers have employed a variety of methods to study post-event processing among individuals with social anxiety disorder as well as non-clinical populations. This review outlines and draws conclusions from studies utilizing self-report measures, diary records, social situations generated in the laboratory, and experimental manipulations. Table 1 summarizes the design and findings of each of these studies.
Future directions for post-event processing research
To date, researchers have focused on studying post-event processing from either a retrospective point of view on self-report measures or over the course of one to three weeks between laboratory sessions. Thus, studies in the current literature assess post-event processing at only one or two points. However, post-event processing is an ongoing process. It is likely that, as time passes, different thoughts unfold along the way. The cognitive-behavioral models postulate that, over time, post-event
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