Augmentation Study of A Computerized Treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder

The LSAS is a commonly used measure of social anxiety that measures fear as well as avoidance behaviors concerning social interactions. The study will use a computerized, self-report version of the LSAS, which has demonstrated little deviation from clinician-administered LSAS scores.

The LSAS is a commonly used measure of social anxiety that measures fear as well as avoidance behaviors concerning social interactions. The study will use a computerized, self-report version of the LSAS, which has demonstrated little deviation from clinician-administered LSAS scores.

The LSAS is a commonly used measure of social anxiety that measures fear as well as avoidance behaviors concerning social interactions. The study will use a computerized, self-report version of the LSAS, which has demonstrated little deviation from clinician-administered LSAS scores.

The 12-item, self-report Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale measures fear of negative evaluation by others, which is a distinguishing characteristic of social anxiety. The scale is derived from the original 30-item Fear of Negative Evaluation measurement.

The 12-item, self-report Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale measures fear of negative evaluation by others, which is a distinguishing characteristic of social anxiety. The scale is derived from the original 30-item Fear of Negative Evaluation measurement.

The 12-item, self-report Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale measures fear of negative evaluation by others, which is a distinguishing characteristic of social anxiety. The scale is derived from the original 30-item Fear of Negative Evaluation measurement.

The ASC is a 20-item self-report questionnaire that focuses on cognitions present in socially anxious patients. It measures concerns about negative evaluation, observable symptoms, and perceived social helplessness.

The ASC is a 20-item self-report questionnaire that focuses on cognitions present in socially anxious patients. It measures concerns about negative evaluation, observable symptoms, and perceived social helplessness.

The ASC is a 20-item self-report questionnaire that focuses on cognitions present in socially anxious patients. It measures concerns about negative evaluation, observable symptoms, and perceived social helplessness.

This measure of interpretation bias involves a series of trials in which an ambiguous sentence describing a social situation is presented, followed by the presentation of a single word corresponding to either a threat interpretation or a benign interpretation of the sentence. The participant's task is to indicate whether the sentence and the word are related.

The ASSIQ is an alternative measure of interpretation bias, involving the presentation of an ambiguous social scenario, and the subsequent listing of three possible explanations corresponding to positive, neutral, and negative interpretations. Participants rate these explanations based on their likelihood of explaining the scenario. Stimuli are to be developed by the authors of the current study. In contrast to the WSAP, the ASSIQ is being used to assess more reflective aspects of interpretation bias.

The BSTAI is a self-report measure comprised of six items taken from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, which together measure state anxiety. The BSTAI is highly correlated (r=0.93) with the full 20-item STAI. The instrument measures current state anxiety levels, but will also be administered immediately after the speech tasks to assess peak anxiety during the speech itself. During these instances, the wording of the BSTAI questions will be adapted to reflect this timing.

This adapted 17-item measure will ask subjects to predict how others would rate the subject's own speech performance. It includes questions about both specific (voice steadiness) and global (appearance of confidence) items.

The SBSA is a self-report measure that includes 15 items assessing the presence of three types of self-beliefs common in socially anxious individuals: (a) excessively high self-standards, (b) conditional self-beliefs, and (c) unconditional self-beliefs. Assessments from this scale will be examined as a potential moderator of social phobia and interpretation bias improvement.

The IPES is a 13-item self-report questionnaire assessing negative interpretations of positive social events. Assessments from this scale will be examined as a potential moderator of social phobia and interpretation bias improvement.

The BDI-II is a self-report scale that is among the most commonly used measures of depression. Assessments from this scale will be examined as a potential moderator of social phobia and interpretation bias improvement.

The dot probe task will be used in the current study to determine whether attentional bias moderates change in interpretation bias. The computerized paradigm involves the repeated presentation of two stimuli simultaneously, with one stimulus representing threat and the other stimulus representing safety. 500ms after stimulus onset, both stimuli are removed and one is replaced with a probe (for example, a letter would appear behind the former location of the threat stimulus or the safety stimulus). The participant's task is to determine the location of the probe. Attentional deployment prior to probe onset is inferred by response time latencies to probe location. Assessments from this task will be examined as a potential moderator of social phobia and interpretation bias improvement.