Social anxiety and ruminative self-focus.
Studies of rumination have supported the differentiation of self-focus into distinct modes of self-attention with distinct functional effects. Given that self-focused attention and rumination have been implicated in the maintenance of social anxiety, the present study investigated the effects of these two distinct forms of self-focused attention on mood and cognition in social anxiety. High and low socially anxious individuals (n=29 in each group) either thought analytically about, or focused on their momentary experience of, identical symptom-focused induction items from [Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Morrow, J. (1993). Effects of rumination and distraction on naturally occurring depressed mood. Cognition and Emotion, 7, 561-570] rumination task. As predicted, in high socially anxious individuals, the experiential (low analysis) self-focus condition decreased ratings of anxious mood pre- to post-manipulation and was associated with more positive thoughts on a thought-listing exercise, whereas the analytical (high analysis) self-focus condition resulted in no significant effects on mood and cognition. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
Vassilopoulos
Stephanos P
SP
Department of Education, University of Patras, Patras 26 110, Greece. stephanosv@upatras.gr
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001288:Attention; D001364:Awareness; D003071:Cognition; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010555:Personality Inventory; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013850:Thinking