FOCUS OF ATTENTION AND SOCIAL ANXIETY - THE ROLE OF NEGATIVE SELF-THOUGHTS AND PERCEIVED POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES OF THE OTHER

Using a thought-listing protocol that directed subjects to separately list their thoughts for self and an interaction partner, this study tested the unique contribution of perceptions of the other person to social anxiety when interacting with a stranger. After viewing a picture of their partner in an upcoming interaction, undergraduate men completed two thought-listing protocols and then engaged in a 5-min conversation with an attractive female confederate. Multivariate hierarchical regression indicated that the percentage of negative self-thoughts was inversely related to self-efficacy ratings collected prior to and early during the conversation and positively related to subjective anxiety at the end of the interaction. After controlling for self-thoughts, perceptions about the partner's positive attributes contributed to prediction of behavioral signs of anxiety, but not self-efficacy or subjective anxiety. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that an attentional focus on positive attributes of the other person may increase one's social anxiety beyond that attributable to negative self-thoughts. Possible mechanisms that may account for this relationship are discussed.