Only 3 preliminary studies, including one from the investigators' lab, have examined the effects of IR as a stand-alone intervention for SAD. These studies found that a single 90-min session of IR produced large improvements in SAD symptoms at post-treatment, but both relied exclusively on self-report measures. Moreover, neither study incorporated an active imagery-based control condition against which the specific mechanisms of IR could be experimentally isolated and understood. Understanding the mechanisms of IR will help to facilitate the development of effective treatment and relapse prevention strategies for SAD as well as the future dissemination of efficient but potent CBT interventions to patients diagnosed with SAD.