Social anxiety and the interpretation of morphed facial expressions following exclusion and inclusion.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Negative interpretation biases are postulated to play etiological and maintaining roles in social anxiety (SA) However, empirical support for interpretation biases of facial expression in SA is inconsistent. Given the importance of signals of (dis)approval in SA, our objective was to examine whether SA is associated with enhanced sensitivity to such signals especially following exclusion. METHODS In Study 1, participants (N 139) underwent an exclusion/inclusion manipulation and were then presented with video clips of smiles gradually changing into disgust expressions (smile to disgust) In Study 2 (N 203) participants saw smile to disgust as well as disgust to smile clips following an exclusion/inclusion manipulation. Participants' task in both studies was to detect the offset of the initial expression. RESULTS Results of Study 1 show that detection latency of smiles' disappearance is negatively associated with SA severity. The results of Study 2 suggest that this association is stronger following exclusion, and specific to the smile to disgust as opposed to the disgust to smile, transitions. LIMITATIONS Our studies did not examine whether the observed interpretation bias was specific to SA. CONCLUSIONS Our findings support and refine cognitive theories of SA, suggesting that interpretation biases for facial information in SA may be especially pronounced following exclusion.
Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry