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Background: Evidence about empathy in people high in social anxiety has produced mixed outcomes. The current study aimed to compare cognitive and emotional forms of empathy among university women who were high or low in social anxiety. Methods: Empathy was assessed using both self-report and a directly observable social interaction task. Sixty adult women with either high or low levels of social anxiety completed a self-report measure of empathy and also engaged with a female confederate online. The interpersonal exchange included disclosure of a recent stressful experience by the confederate and participants' responses were coded for indicators of cognitive and emotional empathy. Results were analysed with depression both controlled and not controlled. Results: When depression was statistically controlled, participants who were high in social anxiety demonstrated more robust indicators of empathy on both self-report and the interpersonal exchange for both cognitive and emotional measures of empathy. Results were very similar when depression was not statistically controlled, however the groups no longer differed significantly on the self-report measure of cognitive empathy. Conclusions: The implications for these findings on the interpersonal functioning of socially anxious individuals are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pre- and post-event rumination have been proposed to be key processes involved in the maintenance of social anxiety disorder. While the importance of addressing rumination in treatment is becoming increasingly clear, factors that mediate the relationship between changes in social anxiety and changes in rumination have yet to be investigated. Individuals with social anxiety disorder (N = 82) completed measures that assessed key cognitive and attentional processes of social anxiety, including pre- and post-event rumination, before and after cognitive behavioural treatment. Following treatment there were significant reductions in pre- and post-event rumination in addition to other cognitive and attentional aspects of social anxiety. Mediation analyses revealed that changes in state anxiety and performance and threat appraisals mediated the relationship between changes in social anxiety and pre-event rumination, while only changes in threat appraisals mediated the relationship between changes in social anxiety and post-event rumination. It appears that key cognitive and attentional processes have differing importance when anticipating feared social situations and when reflecting on it afterwards. This suggests that treatment that aims to reduce the role of pre-event rumination needs to consider multiple factors, while threat appraisals particularly need to be addressed when addressing post-event rumination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent evidence suggests that video feedback helps improve the accuracy of self-ratings of performance in speech-anxious participants (e.g., Rapee & Hayman, 1996. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 34, 315–322.). Evidence also suggests that this effect is stronger for participants who have a more negatively distorted impression of their performance (self-observer discrepancy; Rodebaugh & Chambless, 2002. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 26, 629–644.). Data collected in Rapee and Hayman’s study were analyzed to determine if similar results would be found in this independent sample. Evidence was found for moderating effects of self-observer discrepancy comparable to those shown in Rodebaugh and Chambless. The self-observer discrepancy itself showed relatively weak relationships with general indices of social anxiety, but a very strong relationship with initial self-rating of performance. The results suggest that self-observer discrepancy is a predictor of response to video feedback, and that clinicians may be able to estimate the discrepancy by examining self-rating in conjunction with behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current theories predict that following a social–evaluative performance, people high in social anxiety will ruminate about the negative features of the event and, in turn, will show a bias toward recalling the negative aspects of the event. In this study participants presented an impromptu speech and were then provided with half positive and half negative feedback on their performance. A free-recall task was used to test immediate recall for the feedback. Participants returned 1 week later and were again tested on recall for the feedback as well as completing a questionnaire indicating the extent to which they engaged in both positive and negative rumination regarding the speech task during the preceding week. Evidence for a negative memory bias in the high socially anxious group (HI) was found at both times, however this negative bias did not increase over time. The hypothesis that the HI group would spend more time than the low socially anxious group ruminating over perceived negative aspects of the speech task was also supported. Social anxiety and depression scores were both uniquely associated with negative rumination, however when controlling for depression the Group × Rumination–Valence interaction became nonsignificant. The HI group did engage in greater levels of overall rumination however, even when depression scores were statistically controlled. There was no significant relationship shown between negative recall bias and negative rumination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]