(PS2-96) Self-compassionately or assertively? Exploring how best to intervene on behalf of the self during imagery rescripting of negative social autobiographical memories

Abstract Text: Symptoms of social anxiety (SA) are often influenced and maintained by negative social autobiographical memories and the negative self-relevant meaning attributed to past experiences, which contributes to the internalization of distorted self-perceptions. Imagery rescripting (IR) is a therapeutic technique that involves recalling a distressing autobiographical memory and envisioning the self intervening on behalf of their younger self at the time of the memory. Through this process, the needs of the younger self are met, and participants’ self-beliefs are updated to reflect more adaptive views, generating affective change. Prior work has shown that participants with social anxiety disorder (SAD) employ various strategies to update their memories during IR, with some using assertive strategies (e.g., confronting a bully in their memory) and others using self-compassionate ones (e.g., soothing one’s younger self). Here, we conducted an experimental study in which we manipulated the type of IR strategy used to identify whether one strategy is more effective than the other and whether their relative benefits are moderated by SA symptom severity. We instructed 311 undergraduates (37% White, 77% female) to retrieve a specific negative social autobiographical memory where they felt socially excluded and then randomly assigned them to a self-compassionate IR condition, an assertive IR condition, or a reflective control condition in which they reflected upon the perceptual features of their memory without altering them. Participants completed standardized measures at pre- and post-intervention. Results showed that relative to the control condition, participants in the compassionate IR condition reported a significant boost in positive affect from pre- to post-intervention, M difference = 1.64, p = .021, whereas those in the assertive IR condition did not, p > .05. Further investigation revealed that the beneficial effects of compassion on changes in positive affect were especially strong for low SA compared to high SA participants, Mdiff = -2.69, p = .006. Moreover, irrespective of trait SA levels, participants in both the compassionate and assertive IR conditions experienced a decrease in negative affect and anxiety from memory retrieval to post-intervention relative to the control condition, Mdiff’s > -3.08, p < .001. In line with advancing therapeutic techniques, our research indicates that specific IR strategies can have varying effects depending on the outcome measure examined and participants’ severity of SA symptoms. These results pave the way for further exploration of how clinicians could best guide patients during IR to use strategies that are best tailored to meet their needs and yield the optimal outcomes.