The Recognition of Embarrassment

Two experiments were conducted to determine whether embarrassment is a recognizable emotion independent of the nonverbal associates of humor. In the first experiment subjects attempted to identify embarrassment or amusement from silent videotape recordings presented under three viewing conditions: body, face, or face and body together. Correct recognition of embarrassment required both face and body cues while amusement required only facial cues. Embarrassment was incorrectly identified as amusement from facial cues. Experiment 2 investigated the relative importance of facial versus bodily cues for the recognition of embarrassment and amusement. Subjects, who viewed only the face plus body condition, indicated on a schematic drawing of a person which part they were utilizing to make their judgments. While the mouth signaled amusement, the eyes, hands, lower legs, and mouth were all important signals of embarrassment. The part played by amusement in an embarrassing incident is discussed in the light of these findings.

The etiology of social phobia: toward a developmental profile

Social phobia is an extremely disruptive and distressing anxiety disorder that can impact on many areas of an individual's life. Yet, despite the fact that lifetime prevalence rates are relatively high, its etiology is still poorly understood. The aim of this review is to draw together findings from the broad base of nonclinical literature associated with behavioral inhibition (BI), shyness, social anxiety, and passive-anxious withdrawal and to compare these findings with those from the limited number of clinical studies with social phobics. Such comparison is not unproblematic due to conceptual differences between terms used and methodological divergence; these issues are discussed in some detail. The consonance of findings, however, suggests a viable profile for the developmental course of social phobia. This profile incorporates temperament variables, behavioral motivational, parenting styles, peer relationships, and internalization problems. Finally, specific suggestions for future research are offered.

Phobic anxiety in 11 nations. Part I: Dimensional constancy of the five-factor model

The Fear Survey Schedule-III (FSS-III) was administered to a total of 5491 students in Australia, East Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, and Venezuela, and submitted to the multiple group method of confirmatory analysis (MGM) in order to determine the cross-national dimensional constancy of the five-factor model of self-assessed fears originally established in Dutch, British, and Canadian samples. The model comprises fears of bodily injury-illness-death, agoraphobic fears, social fears, fears of sexual and aggressive scenes, and harmless animals fears. Close correspondence between the factors was demonstrated across national samples. In each country, the corresponding scales were internally consistent, were intercorrelated at magnitudes comparable to those yielded in the original samples, and yielded (in 93% of the total number of 55 comparisons) sex differences in line with the usual finding (higher scores for females). In each country, the relatively largest sex differences were obtained on harmless animals fears. The organization of self-assessed fears is sufficiently similar across nations to warrant the use of the same weight matrix (scoring key) for the FSS-III in the different countries and to make cross-national comparisons feasible. This opens the way to further studies that attempt to predict (on an a priori basis) cross-national variations in fear levels with dimensions of national cultures.

Behavioural inhibition and symptoms of anxiety and depression: is there a specific relationship with social phobia?

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the study was to examine the relationships between tendencies towards different mental health problems assessed via questionnaires (social phobia, agoraphobia, general anxiety/panic, depression), the two latent dimensions of behavioural inhibition (childhood social/school fears, non-social fears/ illness), and sensory-processing sensitivity.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional design was employed.

METHOD

Volunteer participants (N = 234) from anxiety and depression self-help organizations completed five mailed questionnaires. These were the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory II and Beck Anxiety Inventory; the Highly Sensitive Person Scale, a measure of trait sensitivity to environmental stimuli; and the Retrospective Self-Report of Inhibition.

RESULTS

Higher levels of anxiety, but not depression, were associated with increased self-reported sensitivity to environmental stimuli. Recalled childhood social/school fears were related to elevated scores on measures of social phobia and depression, while recalled non-social fears/illness were not associated with any index of psychopathology.

CONCLUSION

These results extend those of previous research by suggesting specific patterns of relationships of both sensitivity to environmental stimuli and behavioural inhibition with symptoms of anxiety and depression. It is suggested that in investigating long-term outcome, prospective behavioural inhibition studies would benefit from examining the temporal corollaries of the underlying social and non-social dimensions. Sample and design limitations are discussed.

Is social phobia related to lack of social skills? Duration of skill-related behaviours and ratings of behavioural adequacy

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the current study was to investigate whether social phobics differ from clinically anxious and non-clinical comparison groups with regard to either the duration of skill-related behaviours displayed during a social conversation or their behavioural adequacy as perceived by observers.

DESIGN

A between-group design was used for the first part of the study. The duration of specified skill-related behaviours of a group of socially phobic participants was compared with the behaviours of clinically anxious and non-clinical participants. A within-group design was used for the second part of the study. Observers' ratings of the adequacy of the behaviour of a subgroup of the participants from the three groups were evaluated.

METHODS

Fifty-four participants, 18 socially phobic, 18 clinically anxious but not socially phobic and 18 who formed a non-clinical comparison group, took part in a 9-min conversation with a confederate of the experimenters. Participants were screened by diagnostic interview. Each conversation was videotaped, and from these recordings, the percentage time spent talking, spent in silence, smiling, maintaining eye contact while talking and while listening and while making manipulative gestures was extracted. A subset of 30 participants, 10 from each of the three groups, provided stimulus material for the second part of the study. The sixth minute of each of these 30 participants' recorded conversations was shown to 21 observers who rated the performance for adequacy of gestures, adequacy of eye contact, adequacy of smiling, clarity of speech, fluency of speech and overall adequacy of performance. Observers were also asked to categorize the participants based on the observed behaviour into one of three diagnostic groups: socially phobic, clinically anxious or non-clinical.

RESULTS

Social phobics exhibited significantly less eye contact while talking in comparison with the non-clinical participants and significantly more manipulative gestures than either the clinically anxious or non-clinical participants. There were no other between-group differences in duration of skill-related behaviours. With regard to ratings of perceived behavioural adequacy for gestures, speech fluency and overall performance, the social phobic group was rated as significantly less adequate than both comparison groups. With regard to ratings of perceived adequacy of eye contact and speech clarity, while the anxious groups did not differ from each other, both were rated as significantly less adequate than the non-clinical comparison group. There was also a marked within-group variation in perceived adequacy of behaviour and wide variation in ratings provided by observers.

CONCLUSIONS

Possible competing explanations for the results are discussed; these include the skills deficit hypothesis and the possibility that group differences in both duration of skill-related behaviour and observed behavioural adequacy reflect awkward, anxious behaviours and/or safety behaviours.

Self-reported and actual physiological responses in social phobia

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the current study was to compare physiological reactions and self-reports of bodily sensations for social phobics, clinically anxious and non-anxious controls across four tasks.

DESIGN

A within-group design was used in which each participant took part in four tasks. Two were designed to be demanding, either physically (riding an exercise bicycle) or mentally (mental arithmetic task), while two, a mental imagery task (personally relevant situation) and a social conversation, were designed specifically to be anxiety provoking.

METHODS

Of the 54 participants, 18 were generalized social phobics, 18 were clinically anxious but not socially phobic (8 with panic disorder, 6 with generalized anxiety disorder and 4 simple phobics), and 18 were non-anxious. Heart rate, skin conductance, and facial and neck temperatures were recorded continuously during four different tasks and rest periods with corresponding self-report ratings of bodily sensations taken to reflect 13 sampling points.

RESULTS

There were no group differences on any of the physiological measures during any of the four tasks. However, there were a number of between-group differences with regard to ratings of bodily sensations. Both clinical groups had higher ratings of racing heart than the non-anxious control group during the imagery task. In addition, social phobics had significantly higher ratings of racing heart during the social conversation in relation to both comparison groups. With regard to ratings of body heat, the anxious group had greater ratings than the non-anxious controls during the imagery task. Finally with regard to ratings of sweaty hands, both clinical groups had higher ratings than the non-anxious controls during the social conversation. All three groups were generally inaccurate in their ratings of bodily sensations.

Interrogative suggestibility in opiate users

The present study investigated interrogative suggestibility in opiate users. A group of patients undergoing a methadone detoxification programme in an in-patient drug treatment unit (Detox group, n = 21), and a group of residents who had come off drugs and were no longer suffering from withdrawal syndrome (Rehab group, n = 19) were compared on interrogative suggestibility and various other psychological factors. Significant differences were found between the two groups, with the Detox group having more physical and psychological problems, and a higher total suggestibility score in comparison with the Rehab group. These findings are discussed in relation to the context of police interrogations and the reliability of confessions made by suspects and witnesses dependent on opiates.

Social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation and the detection of negative emotion in others

The present study sought to investigate whether social anxiety is associated with enhanced ability to detect negative emotion in others. Subjects scoring high and low on Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE) performed two tasks before and after a social threat induction. The first task involved identifying the affect (negative vs neutral) in briefly presented (60 msec) slides of faces. The second involved rating the overall emotion conveyed in brief video clips of an actor and detecting discrepancies in the affect conveyed by the visual and auditory channels of the video. Overall the results suggest that high social anxiety subjects have a bias towards identifying others' emotional expressions as negative in the absence of an enhanced ability to discriminate between different emotional states in others. Implications and limitations of the results are discussed.

Perceived support and counselling needs in relation to in vitro fertilization

This paper reports findings from a study investigating perceived support and desire for support in a sample of 101 men and 117 women who were consecutive referrals to an in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinic. Both men and women perceived their partners as providing the most support and there were only small gender differences in the extent to which other people were perceived as supportive. There were also only modest gender differences in the types of support participants felt to be desirable and both men and women felt that support would be most desirable after a failed IVF cycle. Both men and women also felt that a routinely provided information booklet about the practical aspects of IVF would improve knowledge of and passage through an IVF cycle. There was a tendency for women who expressed a desire for some form of counselling or support to obtain higher General Health Questionnaire scores. Implications of the results for counselling provision are discussed.

The meaning of parenthood and couples' reactions to male infertility

This paper reports findings from a postal survey of 205 couples belonging to the National Association for the Childless who saw their infertility as due to the male partner. Two self-report scales used in previous studies were administered to measure personal and social identity needs as a basis for parenthood (the Meaning of Parenthood scale), and emotional distress and marital problems. Endorsement of items on the Meaning of Parenthood (MOP) scale showed only small mean gender differences for each item and a consistent item rank order for men and women. Factor analysis confirmed that the scale tapped dimensions pertaining to social and personal identity needs. For women, distress was associated with ratings on the MOP scale which emphasized the link between femininity and motherhood, while for men distress was associated with ratings which emphasized masculinity and fatherhood. Implications of the results for further research and counselling in relation to male infertility are discussed.

Psychological aspects of in vitro fertilization: a gender comparison

This paper reports findings from a study investigating gender differences on the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and questionnaire ratings of the impact of in vitro fertilization (IVF), stressful aspects of treatment and reaction to a failed IVF attempt. The participants were 101 men and 117 women who were consecutive referrals to an IVF clinic. In line with previous research, women in comparison to men, rated IVF as having more impact upon emotional state. Scores on the GHQ were also consistent with greater emotional distress for women than men in relation to infertility diagnosis and treatment. With regard to the impact of IVF on the couple's sexual and marital relationship there were few gender differences, although both men and women felt that there was a greater likelihood that IVF had decreased the female partner's desire for sex. Both men and women agreed that a negative outcome and waiting for results were the most stressful aspects of IVF and, although the mean differences were again small, women reported experiencing more stress than men at a number of stages of treatment. Women were also more likely than men to endorse negative reactions in relation to IVF failure. The results are discussed in relation to counselling issues.

Coping strategies and psychological adjustment of couples presenting for IVF

The study was designed to examine the extent to which the psychological profiles of couples entering an IVF programme were influenced by evidence of previous fertility, the history of fertility investigations, the diagnosis made, and the coping strategies adopted. A sample of 152 couples was administered a number of standardized psychological instruments and a coping strategies questionnaire. They showed little variation from the normative range on the standardized measures. There was little evidence of differences between couples referred for primary or secondary infertility, between those with some evidence of fertility and those with none, or between different diagnostic groups. In relation to coping strategy, for women at least, taking direct action appears to be effective if it is associated with some degree of acceptance of one's position. For males, the picture is less clear, though direct action and acceptance again appear to be effective coping strategies.

Patients with chronic pelvic pain and/or infertility: psychological differences pre- and post-treatment

This study investigated the psychological differences between gynecological clinic attenders with either pelvic pain or infertility, or with both pelvic pain and infertility both before and after laparoscopic investigation with concurrent treatment. Given the differing meaning attached to the procedure by these groups, it was hypothesized that infertility patients would be more anxious but with less evidence of psychopathology in comparison with the pain group prior to laparoscopic surgery. Postsurgery and in the short term, pain reduction was expected to be associated with decreased pathology for the pain group. Contrary to the hypotheses, pain patients obtained higher anxiety scores in comparison with the infertility group both pretreatment as well as post-treatment. The latter group's scores were comparable to normative data. Other results were generally in line with the hypotheses, pain reduction for both pain groups being associated with a reduction in psychopathology. Patients with pain plus infertility resembled pain patients at pretreatment, while at post-treatment, they bore a closer resemblance to infertility patients in their psychological profile. This was despite the fact that for both pain groups, pain relief was similar. This reinforces the notion that in the patient groups studied anxiety is associated with pain rather than with infertility.

An evaluation of counselling for couples undergoing treatment for in-vitro fertilization

Fertility difficulties, along with their investigation and treatment, are widely believed to cause significant psychological problems. This study was designed to investigate the efficacy of a non-directive counselling intervention with couples undertaking their first cycle of in-vitro fertilization treatment. Couples were randomly assigned to either a control group, given information about the treatment programme, or to an experimental group, given the same information plus three sessions of counselling before, during and on conclusion of the first treatment cycle. Psychological assessments were made at three points in the treatment process. Ratings were also obtained from the couples on the stress engendered by different parts of the treatment, the effects on their relationship and satisfaction with counselling. The results showed the patients to be generally well adjusted and anxiety levels dropped over the course of treatment. Counselling compared to information alone did not lead to any enhanced reduction in levels of anxiety or depression. The implications of the findings for service provision are discussed.

A psychological profile of endometriosis patients in comparison to patients with pelvic pain of other origins

In order to investigate the possibility of a specific psychological profile associated with endometriosis, 81 women with pelvic pain were studied, of whom 40 were diagnosed as having endometriosis and 41 other gynaecological problems. Each patient completed six standardized psychometric tests to assess personality, psychopathology, marital state and pain. Endometriosis patients obtained higher psychoticism, introversion and anxiety scores in comparison to the other pain patients, although the two groups did not differ on pain ratings. Both groups obtained neuroticism, anxiety and psychiatric morbidity scores which were elevated relative to normative data. The possibility that there are certain psychological characteristics which make some women vulnerable to endometriosis is discussed.

The impact of infertility on psychological functioning

To explore the impact of infertility on psychological functioning 130 couples presenting with primary infertility were assessed at their initial visit to an infertility clinic. Of these, 116 couples were assessed on a second occasion some 7-9 months later when in most cases the medical tests were complete. Measures of personality, psychopathology, perceived social support, sex role identity and marital state were obtained from both partners. The set was subsequently divided into five subgroups on the basis of the diagnosis made or the outcome (female cause, male cause, female and male cause, unexplained and pregnant). The results show little evidence of psychopathology in the sample, depression scores remained low throughout the period of investigation. The results also indicated stable marital relationships. Scores on tests of anxiety and psychiatric morbidity declined between the first and second assessment except in the case of men who were diagnosed with a fertility problem. The implications of these findings are discussed in the increased use of donor insemination which circumvents rather than treats the problem of male infertility.

Identity patterns and self- and teacher-perceptions of problems for deaf adolescents: a research note

The present study investigated self- and teacher-perceptions of deaf adolescents in relation to cultural identity. Fifty-one deaf adolescents completed the Porteous Checklist and Deaf Identity Scale presented in British Sign Language. Subjects were assigned to deaf, hearing or dual identity groups. Results suggest that deaf adolescents' self-perceived concerns are not dissimilar in content or severity to those of their hearing peers, although certain issues may assume a particular significance in the presence of deafness. The hypothesis that the hearing identity group would report most problems was not supported. Teachers rated the dual identity group as having the fewest difficulties.

Compliance with a low calorie diet for two weeks and concurrent and subsequent mood changes

One hundred people intending to use the Cambridge Diet for a 2 to 3-week period were asked about their weight, dieting, eating behaviours and demographic factors and completed the Profile of Mood States, Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist, Beck Depression Inventory, Locus of Control Scale, Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire and Dieting Motivation Questionnaire. They were also asked to complete the Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist and the Profile of Mood States daily for a period of 14 days and on a further two occasions at weekly intervals. Complete follow-up data was collected on 47 of the original participants. In these people, a slight decrease in depression occurred during the diet. Approximately one fifth of the people who attempted to use the diet for a two-week period succeeded in complying with it fully. None of the factors assessed reliably predicted compliance with the diet.

Correlates of chronic blushing

In order to investigate factors associated with chronic blushing, 108 self-defined chronic blushers completed a series of self-report inventories. Severe chronic blushing was associated with social anxiety, state and trait anxiety and depression, but not with general physical sensations. Implications of the results for understanding chronic blushing are discussed.

An analysis of the abstinence violation effect in a sample of illicit drug users

Studies using samples of alcoholics and cigarette smokers show that the occurrence of the abstinence violation effect predicts the likelihood of a full-blown relapse following an initial slip from voluntary abstinence. The present study investigated this process in a sample of 31 illicit drug users. The attributional styles of abstainers and relapsers were examined in addition to the types of initial slip situations for the relapse group. No significant differences were found in attributional styles, although relative to the relapse group there was a tendency for abstainers to score higher on internality and stability of attribution for negative events, but lower on globality. Both negative affect and interpersonal conflict, but not social pressure, were found to be important precipitants for relapse. Demographic differences between the groups are discussed in addition to the implications of the results for models of relapse, prediction of relapse and cognitive therapy in relapse prevention.

Reactions to anger and anxiety-provoking events: psychopathic and nonpsychopathic groups compared

A psychopathic offender group (N = 17) and a nonpsychopathic, non-offender control group (N = 15) were presented with descriptions of anxiety and anger-provoking situations (derived from a pilot study) together with a series of questions designed to evaluate their cognitive appraisal and anticipated reactions of self and other to the situation. The psychopathic group rated the anxiety situations as more anxiety-, fear-, and threat-inducing than did the control group, while the reverse was true for the anger situations. Both sets of scenarios were seen as more anger-inducing by the psychopathic group. There was little difference between the groups in anticipated reactions of self and others. Implications of the results for cognitive interventions aimed at anger management are discussed.