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Social Interaction Anxiety and the Discounting of Positive Interpersonal Events

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 July 2010

Stephanos P. Vassilopoulos  and
Robin Banerjee
Stephanos P. Vassilopoulos*
Affiliation:
University of Patras, Greece
Robin Banerjee
Affiliation:
University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
*
Reprint requests to Stephanos P. Vassilopoulos, Department of Primary Education, University of Patras, Patras 26 110, Greece. E-mail: stephanosv@upatras.gr
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Abstract

Background: Recent research has indicated that individuals with social interaction anxiety make biased interpretations of positive social interactions, with greater general apprehension in response to such events and more negative predictions about the future. There has also been some preliminary evidence for a second facet of interpretation bias, namely a failure to accept others’ positive reactions at face value, but this has so far not been adequately studied. Method: The present study developed a new measure of this “discounting” dimension and utilized a nonclinical sample of undergraduate students to provide an initial analysis of the scale. Results: Results provide early support for the psychometric properties of our scale, and indicate that discounting mediates the relationship between social interaction anxiety and low positive affect, over and above the previously studied aspect of positive event interpretation bias. Conclusions: The implications for treatment interventions and further research are discussed.

Keywords

Anxietysocial anxiety disordersocial phobiapositive affectnegative interpretation
Type
Research Article
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 38 , Issue 5 , October 2010 , pp. 597 - 609
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2010

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