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Appraisal of danger and proximity in social phobics
1Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety Disorders, University of New South Wales, St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst, Australia.
Abstract:
A central tenet in Beck's theory of anxiety and phobias is that appraisal of danger in phobic individuals increases with increasing proximity to a feared situation. Appraisal of danger in social phobics and a control group of stutterers was compared before, during and following a challenging task (pubic speech). Support for Beck's theory was not found. Social phobics danger appraisals were greatest in anticipation of a speech. In contrast, the control group's danger appraisals were highest when in the situation. State anxiety paralleled the pattern observed for danger appraisal. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to current theories of maintenance of phobias.