title: How do I look? Self-focused attention during a video chat of women with social anxiety (disorder).
abstract: We investigated the role of self-focused attention (SFA) in social anxiety (disorder) in an ecologically valid way. In Experiment 1 high (n = 26) versus low (n = 25) socially anxious single women between 18 and 30 years had a video ("Skype") conversation with an attractive male confederate, while seeing themselves and the confederate on-screen. The conversation was divided in four phases: (I) warm-up, (II) positive (confederate was friendly to the participant), (III) critical (confederate was critical to the participant), and (IV) active (participant was instructed to ask questions to the confederate). Participant's SFA was measured by eye-tracked gaze duration at their own image relative to the confederates' video image and other places at the computer screen. Results show that high socially anxious participants were more self-focused in the critical phase, but less self-focused in the active phase than low socially anxious participants. In Experiment 2 women diagnosed with SAD (n = 32) and controls (n = 30) between 18 and 30 years conducted the same experiment. Compared to controls participants with SAD showed increased SFA across all four phases of the conversation, and SFA predicted increased self-rated anxiety during the conversation. In conclusion, in subclinical social anxiety SFA is high only when the interaction partner is critical, whereas instructions to ask questions to the confederate reduces subclinical socially anxious' SFA, while clinical SAD is characterized by heightened self-focused attention throughout the interaction. Results support theories that social anxiety disorder is maintained by SFA, and imply that interventions that lower SFA may help prevent and treat social anxiety disorder, but that SFA can also be adaptive in certain types of interaction, such as when receiving compliments.
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Missionsstrasse 60/62, 4055 Basel, Switzerland; Present address: Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinic, University Psychiatric Clinic, University of Basel, Schanzenstrasse 13, 4056 Basel, Switzerland. Electronic address: noortje.vriends@upkbs.ch.
authors.forename: Noortje
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vriends
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Missionsstrasse 60/62, 4055 Basel, Switzerland; Department of Psychology, Izmir University of Economics, Sakarya Street, No:156, 35330 Balcova, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yasemin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Meral
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Missionsstrasse 60/62, 4055 Basel, Switzerland; Present address: Google User Experience Research, Brandschenkestrasse 110, 8002 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Javier A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Bargas-Avila
authors.affiliation: Present address: Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinic, University Psychiatric Clinic, University of Basel, Schanzenstrasse 13, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stadler
authors.affiliation: Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bögels
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000072861:Phobia, Social / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012649:Self Concept; D012919:Social Behavior; D049269:Videoconferencing; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Arousal; Cognitive model; Eye-tracking; Self-focused attention; Social anxiety disorder