The role of excessive reassurance seeking: An eye tracking study of the indirect effect of social anxiety symptoms on attention bias

We sought to explore the daily association between shame and self-criticism, and the extent to which this association varies as a function of social anxiety symptoms. Fifty-nine undergraduate students completed a measure of social anxiety symptoms at a baseline meeting and then completed measures of shame experienced during significant social interactions and self-criticism following those interactions twice daily for 10 days. Social anxiety symptoms predicted more shame during daily social interactions and more self-criticism following them. Additionally, shame predicted subsequent self-criticism. This relationship was moderated by levels of social anxiety symptoms, such that those with higher levels of social anxiety symptoms exhibited high levels of self-criticism following daily social interactions characterized by both high and low shame, whereas those with lower levels of social anxiety symptoms showed high levels of self-criticism only after interactions with high levels of shame. These findings are consistent with the notion that self-criticism may serve as a regulatory coping method when experiencing shame, and that social anxiety difficulties are related to an inflexibly high level of self-criticism.

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Eye-Tracking Evidence of a Maintenance Bias in Social Anxiety

Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy ◽

10.1017/s1352465817000418 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 46 (1) ◽

pp. 66-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Catarina Fernandes ◽

Susana Silva ◽

Joana Pires ◽

Alexandra Reis ◽

Antónia Jimenez Ros ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Anxiety ◽

Eye Tracking ◽

Dwell Time ◽

Time Course ◽

Personality Structure ◽

Socially Anxious ◽

Dynamic Measures ◽

High Social Anxiety ◽

Depressive Personality

Background: The mechanisms and triggers of the attentional bias in social anxiety are not yet fully determined, and the modulating role of personality traits is being increasingly acknowledged. Aims: Our main purpose was to test whether social anxiety is associated with mechanisms of hypervigilance, avoidance (static biases), vigilance-avoidance or the maintenance of attention (dynamic biases). Our secondary goal was to explore the role of personality structure in shaping the attention bias. Method: Participants with high vs low social anxiety and different personality structures viewed pairs of faces (free-viewing eye-tracking task) representing different emotions (anger, happiness and neutrality). Their eye movements were registered and analysed for both whole-trial (static) and time-dependent (dynamic) measures. Results: Comparisons between participants with high and low social anxiety levels did not yield evidence of differences in eye-tracking measures for the whole trial (latency of first fixation, first fixation direction, total dwell time), but the two groups differed in the time course of overt attention during the trial (dwell time across three successive time segments): participants with high social anxiety were slower in disengaging their attention from happy faces. Similar results were obtained using a full-sample, regression-based analysis. Conclusion: Our results speak in favour of a maintenance bias in social anxiety. Preliminary results indicated that personality structure may not affect the maintenance (dynamic) bias of socially anxious individuals, although depressive personality structures may favour manifestations of a (static) hypervigilance bias.

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Self-Report Versus Informant Responses: Exploring the Relationship between Excessive Reassurance Seeking and Depression

Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology ◽

10.1521/jscp.2019.38.1.1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 1-27

Author(s):

Vasiliki Anagnostopoulos ◽

Michele M. Carter

Keyword(s):

Self Report ◽

Interpersonal Competence ◽

Mediation Model ◽

Reassurance Seeking ◽

Time Points ◽

Treatment And Prevention ◽

Excessive Reassurance Seeking ◽

The Relationship ◽

Reporting Source

Introduction: This study expanded on prior research exploring the relationship between excessive reassurance seeking (ERS) and depression by conducting a longitudinal study evaluating two reporting sources (participants and informants). The current research was also the first to examine a sequential mediation model, with interpersonal competence as an antecedent in this relationship. Method: One hundred and ten participants completed measures at two time-points separated by five weeks. Corresponding informants completed comparable measures at participants' Time 2. Results: Results revealed differences based on reporting source, with more significant correlations found among participant- as compared to informant-reported variables. Moreover, findings supported interpersonal competence as an antecedent to the ERS-depression relationship. Finally, this research highlighted the role of brooding, in addition to ERS, in the development of depressive symptoms. Discussion: This study offers support for further consideration of methodology on outcomes, underlines the role of interpersonal competence as a precursor to depression, and encourages clinicians to target both brooding and ERS behavior in the treatment and prevention of depression.

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