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Enhanced Stroop interference for threat in social phobia
Nader Ami1, Melinda Freshman, Edna Foa
1Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens 30602-3013, USA. amir@egon.psy.uga.edu
Journal of Anxiety Disorders
|August 13, 2002
Summary
Socially anxious individuals show a heightened focus on threat. This study found that when social threat words were infrequent, individuals with social phobia experienced greater cognitive interference, confirming the hypothesis.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Social Neuroscience
Background:
- Socially anxious individuals exhibit an attentional bias towards threat-related stimuli.
- This bias may be reduced under conditions of heightened anxiety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if manipulating word frequency affects attentional bias in social phobia.
- To determine if individuals with social phobia show increased Stroop interference for social threat words when these words are infrequent.
Main Methods:
- Employed the Stroop task with varying frequencies of words and nonwords.
- Included participants with social phobia and assessed their cognitive interference.
- Utilized words related to social threat and neutral stimuli.
Main Results:
- Individuals with social phobia demonstrated increased Stroop interference.
- This interference was specific to social threat words when word frequency was low.
- Results supported the hypothesis that infrequent social threat words exacerbate attentional bias.
Conclusions:
- The attentional bias for threat in social phobia is context-dependent and influenced by stimulus frequency.
- Cognitive interference paradigms can reveal subtle biases in social anxiety.
- Findings contribute to understanding the cognitive mechanisms underlying social anxiety disorder.