Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 20, 2026

Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance
Published on: July 19, 2017
The effect of self-imagery on symptoms and processes in social anxiety: a systematic review
Ashlen S Ng1, Maree J Abbott1, Caroline Hunt1
1Clinical Psychology Unit, School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Australia.
Background:
Cognitive models of Social Anxiety Disorder suggest that negative self-images maintain social fears despite repeated exposure to benign social situations. An accumulating body of evidence supports this notion, and preliminary data indicate that modifying self-imagery can potentially reduce fears of negative evaluation in socially anxious individuals. This systematic review aims to evaluate the existing research on the effect of self-imagery on symptoms and processes in social anxiety.
Methods:
The following databases were searched: PsycInfo, Medline, PubMed, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Articles were limited to adult samples and English language papers that examined the effect of self-imagery on at least one measure related to social anxiety. Risk of bias and study results were reviewed for each study.
Results:
In the 17 studies that were identified, negative self-imagery had a consistently adverse effect on anxiety, self and observer-rated performance appraisals, and negative thoughts for both socially anxious and non-clinical participants. Effects of negative self-imagery were generally not significantly greater for socially anxious participants.
Conclusions:
Further research is warranted to determine the precise role of different types of self-imagery for both clinical and non-clinical individuals.
More Related Videos
09:14Exploring the Neural Correlates of Cognitive Reappraisal in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Using Task-based Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: March 14, 2025
08:31Conscious and Non-conscious Representations of Emotional Faces in Asperger's Syndrome
Published on: July 31, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Social Anxiety Disorder
Self-Discrepancy and Its Effects
Self-Discrepancy Theory
Sources of Self-Esteem III: Social Comparison
Social Foundations of Self III: Self-Evaluation
Self-Evaluation Maintenance Model