title: Enhanced interoceptive awareness during anticipation of public speaking is associated with fear of negative evaluation.
abstract: Interoceptive awareness (IA)--the ability to detect internal body signals--has been linked to various aspects of emotional processing. However, it has been examined mostly as a trait variable, with few studies also investigating state dependent fluctuations in IA. Based on the known positive correlation between IA and emotional reactivity, negative affectivity, and trait anxiety, the current study examined whether IA, as indexed by heartbeat detection accuracy, would change during an anxiety-provoking situation. Participants in the experimental condition, in which they anticipated giving a speech in front of a small audience, displayed significant IA increases from baseline to anticipation. Enhancement in IA was positively correlated with fear of negative evaluation. Implications of the results are discussed in relation to the role of trait and state IA in emotional experience.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway , University of London , London , UK.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Durlik
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Manos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsakiris
mesh_terms: D059031:Anticipation, Psychological; D001364:Awareness; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D060805:Performance Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D013060:Speech; D055815:Young Adult