Modifying automatic approach action tendencies in individuals with elevated social anxiety symptoms

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Abstract

Research suggests that social anxiety is associated with a reduced approach orientation for positive social cues. In the current study we examined the effect of experimentally manipulating automatic approach action tendencies on the social behavior of individuals with elevated social anxiety symptoms. The experimental paradigm comprised a computerized Approach Avoidance Task (AAT) in which participants responded to pictures of faces conveying positive or neutral emotional expressions by pulling a joystick toward themselves (approach) or by moving it to the right (sideways control). Participants were randomly assigned to complete an AAT designed to increase approach tendencies for positive social cues by pulling these cues toward themselves on the majority of trials, or to a control condition in which there was no contingency between the arm movement direction and picture type. Following the manipulation, participants took part in a relationship-building task with a trained confederate. Results revealed that participants trained to approach positive stimuli displayed greater social approach behaviors during the social interaction and elicited more positive reactions from their partner compared to participants in the control group. These findings suggest that modifying automatic approach tendencies may facilitate engagement in the types of social approach behaviors that are important for relationship development.

Highlights

► We manipulated automatic action tendencies in socially anxious participants. ► A computerized Approach Avoidance Task modified approach of positive social cues. ► We examined differences in behavior and partner reactions during a social task. ► Approach-positive training led to greater approach behavior and partner liking. ► Increasing automatic approach tendencies may facilitate relationship development.

Section snippets

Participants

Participants were 47 undergraduate psychology students drawn from a pool of undergraduate students at a large university. Data from three participants were excluded from the analysis: two participants displayed less than 50% accuracy on the AAT assessment or training tasks, and one participant had response latencies on the AAT tasks that were greater than three SDs from the sample mean. Thus, the final sample comprised 44 participants (18 men, 26 women). Participants were selected on the basis

Demographic and clinical characteristics

Table 1 presents demographic information and self-report symptom scores for participants in the approach-positive and control groups. Participants in the two conditions did not differ on any of the demographic or symptom measures, all p > .10.

Manipulation check

The experimental manipulation comprised a difference in the frequency with which positive versus neutral pictures were presented in the pull (approach) format. Thus, to establish that groups differed following the manipulation on automatic action

Discussion

The goal of the current study was to examine the effects of manipulating automatic action tendencies on the behavior of individuals with elevated levels of social anxiety during a controlled social interaction. Consistent with our prediction, participants trained to repeatedly pull pictures of faces displaying positive emotional expressions toward them displayed greater social approach behavior during the relationship-building task relative to participants in the control group. Groups differed

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health awarded to the first author (K99MH090243) and second author (R01MH087623). We would like to thank Laura Greathouse, Karalani Cross, John Plocharczyk, Daniel Fry, and Acacia Schmidt for their help with data collection and management.

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