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Symposia

Adult - Anxiety

Novel Approaches to Delineating the Cognitive Mechanisms and Treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder

2 - (SYM 34) The Presence of Others Amplifies Negative Semantic Networks in Social Anxiety

Saturday, November 22, 2025
10:22 AM - 10:39 AM CST
Location: Bolden 2, Level 2
Keywords: Social Anxiety, Cognitive Processes, Technology / Mobile Health
Recommended Readings: Flynn, A. J., & Yoon, K. L. (2024). Post-event processing in social anxiety: A scoping review. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 102947.,   Hofmann, S. G. (2007). Cognitive factors that maintain social anxiety disorder: A comprehensive model and its treatment implications. Cognitive behaviour therapy, 36(4), 193-209.,   Moscovitch, D. A. (2009). What is the core fear in social phobia? A new model to facilitate individualized case conceptualization and treatment. Cognitive and behavioral practice, 16(2), 123-134.,   ,  
Abstract Body

Post-event processing (PEP) is a recursive negative thought pattern that individuals with social anxiety engage in after situations of possible scrutiny. Despite its importance in maintaining social anxiety, mechanisms underlying PEP are poorly understood. A biased semantic network characterized by more prominently connected negative, “social-related” concepts might underlie PEP. We further hypothesized that the presence of others would amplify the connections among negative, social-related concepts for individuals with high levels of social anxiety due to their concern for being judged.

To this end, 127 university students completed a modified free association task either alone (n = 48) or as part of a group (n = 79). Participants were presented with an initial cue word that were either social or non-social. Participants were instructed to respond with the first word that came to mind. Critically, their own response became the next cue word, such that participants chained their responses and generated 10 responses within one trial. The number of successive negative responses within a trial was used as an index of a negatively-biased semantic network. Participants’ social anxiety levels were assessed using the Social Phobia Scale (SPS).

A condition (alone vs. group) x cue word type (social vs. nonsocial) x social anxiety (SPS) general linear model was conducted. Preliminary results revealed a cue word type x social anxiety interaction, F(1, 123) = 4.57, p = .035, which was qualified by a condition x cue word type x social anxiety interaction, F(1, 123) = 3.80, p = .05. Follow-up analyses indicated that the high social anxiety group exhibited more sequential negative responses than the low anxiety group, but only in response to social cue words when they were in a group.

Thus, in individuals with high levels of social anxiety, the presence of others may more easily activate related negative concepts in response to social cues. Increased activation of related negative concepts in memory may make it difficult to turn off negative thinking once activated, thereby contributing to PEP in individuals with high levels of social anxiety.