Private and public self-awareness in social anxiety

Abstract

Clark and Wells' [(1995). A cognitive model of social phobia. In R.G. Heimberg, M. Liebowitz, D.A. Hope, & F. Schneier (Eds.). Social phobia: Diagnosis, assessment and treatment. New York: Guildford Press] cognitive model of social phobia proposes that self-focused attention and construction of the self as a social object maintain anxiety. This study examines the effect of two different self-focus manipulations (mirror and video) on public and private self-awareness, perspective taking, anxiety, and attributions. Thirty one high socially anxious participants (26 female, 5 male) with a mean age of 19.58 (SD=1.89) and 32 low socially anxious participants (21 female, 11 male) with a mean age of 20.47 (SD=3.69) took part in a conversation with a stooge. Public self-awareness increased in both groups but was higher overall in the high socially anxious group. Private self-awareness decreased for the low socially anxious group, but did not change for the high socially anxious group. High socially anxious participants were also more aware of their surroundings than low socially anxious participants. High socially anxious participants used the field perspective less, and experienced more anxiety. High socially anxious participants also made fewer internal attributions for the conversation going well and more for the conversation going badly than low socially anxious participants who did the opposite. The implications of the results for the cognitive model are discussed.