The Relationship Between Social Anxiety and Anxious Thinking Styles

This study aims to investigate whether reductions in negative interpretation biases, induced via an experimental manipulation (Cognitive Bias Modification for Interpretation; CBM-I), lead to reductions in symptoms of social anxiety amongst individuals experiencing high levels of social anxiety. The study further aims to investigate the relationship between multifaceted measures of interpretation bias, psychopathological symptoms, neurophysiological indices, behavioral indices of stress reactivity, and SAD symptoms. To achieve these aims a sample of individuals experiencing high levels of social anxiety will be recruited. After completing multi-faceted measures of interpretation bias, including neurophysiological indices, participants will be randomized to complete an online one-week daily CBM-I or sham training control condition training schedule. Following the one week training, individuals will return to the lab to complete further multi-faceted measures of interpretation bias and social anxiety symptoms. One week after this (i.e. 2 weeks post-basline), participants will complete a final set of symptom and bias measures online.