Date of Award

Winter 12-16-2010

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Page Anderson

Second Advisor

Erin B. Tone

Third Advisor

Akihiko Masuda

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate changes in attentional biases following CBT for Social Phobia. It was found that 1.) consistent with previous investigations, the overall sample displayed vigilance toward threatening facial stimuli prior to receiving treatment, and 2.) participants’ pattern of responding to threatening facial stimuli changed following treat-ment, but only when the sample was divided into those who were vigilant and those who were avoidant prior to treatment. Findings provide support for the presence of two distinct sub-groups with differing attentional styles, one with a tendency for vigilance toward social threats, and a second with a tendency to avoid threat cues. These findings have important implications for how individuals may differentially respond to treatment and may help explain some of the mixed findings in the extant literature on Social Phobia and attention bias.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.57709/1666332

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