The impact of imagery rescripting on memory appraisals and core beliefs in social anxiety disorder

Social anxiety is characterized by biased learning about performance and the self

People learn about their self from social information, and recent work suggests that healthy adults show a positive bias for learning self-related information. In contrast, social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by a negative view of the self, yet what causes and maintains this negative self-view is not well understood. Here the authors use a novel experimental paradigm and computational model to test the hypothesis that biased social learning regarding self-evaluation and self-feelings represents a core feature that distinguishes adults with SAD from healthy controls. Twenty-one adults with SAD and 35 healthy controls (HCs) performed a speech in front of 3 judges. They subsequently evaluated themselves and received performance feedback from the judges and then rated how they felt about themselves and the judges. Affective updating (i.e., change in feelings about the self over time, in response to feedback from the judges) was modeled using an adapted Rescorla-Wagner learning model. HCs demonstrated a positivity bias in affective updating, which was absent in SAD. Further, self-performance ratings revealed group differences in learning from positive feedback-a difference that endured at an average of 1 year follow up. These findings demonstrate the presence and long-term endurance of positively biased social learning about the self among healthy adults, a bias that is absent or reversed among socially anxious adults. (PsycINFO Database Record

The efficacy of imagery rescripting compared to cognitive restructuring for social anxiety disorder

Imagery rescripting (IR) aims to alter negative meanings associated with distressing autobiographical memories. The current study aimed to extend demonstrated benefits of IR for social anxiety disorder (SAD), including direct comparison of IR with cognitive restructuring (CR) to assess the relative impact of these interventions on symptoms and processes. SAD individuals (N=60) were randomly allocated to IR, CR or Control conditions, and completed two speech tasks (before and after) their assigned intervention. Participants completed measures of symptomatology and state affective/cognitive variables in relation to the intervention and speech tasks. Results support the benefits of IR for SAD, with both IR and CR yielding large and equivalent reductions in trait social anxiety. However, IR and CR may function via differing pathways. Outcomes suggest that IR may be most effective in the treatment of SAD when delivered across multiple sessions or preceded by CR to target verbal and imaginal self-representations.

Early memories in social anxiety: A meaningful and enduring collaboration with my Dad

In this short paper in honour of my father's Festschrift, I describe a recent collaboration with him in which we joined forces to investigate the nature of autobiographical images and memories in social anxiety. I outline our work together and the unique insights that were gleaned from our interactive contributions. Then, I reflect on how this collaboration has helped to lay the foundation for subsequent work in my lab and illuminate new directions in my program of research, enhance my career as a scientist-practitioner, and ultimately, enrich both my personal and professional identities. In so doing, I aim to highlight one of the most important and enduring aspects of my father's legacy: the profound positive impact he has on the people with whom he has worked.