predicting cognitive and bhavioural responses to social situations: exploring the roles of anxiety sensitivity and perfectionism
abstract
despite their relevance to social anxiety (sa), few studies have examined the influence of
perfectionism and anxiety sensitivity on sa-maintaining factors such as anticipatory and post-
event processing (i.e., repetitive negative thinking before and after social situations),
self-focused attention (i.e., detailed self-monitoring in response to anxiety), safety behaviours
(i.e., strategies aimed at reducing anxiety), and observer perspective self-imagery (i.e.,
spontaneously occurring mental self-images from an observer perspective). this study explored the
relative effects of multidimensional anxiety sensitivity (physical/cognitive/social concerns) and
perfectionism (trait socially prescribed perfectionism/perfectionistic
self-presentation/perfectionistic cognitions) on each of these sa-maintaining factors.
additionally, we explored whether differences emerged when sa-maintaining factors were measured at
a trait (i.e., dispositional) or state (i.e., situational) level. in part one, university 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛
(n = 376) completed online measures of trait sa, perfectionism, and anxiety sensitivity, as well as
perfectionistic self-presentation and cognitions, sa-maintaining factors, and depression. fear of
the social consequences of anxiety (anxiety sensitivity social concerns) and perfectionistic
self-presentation uniquely predicted trait anticipatory and post-event processing, self-focused
attention, and safety behaviours.
perfectionistic cognitions also predicted anticipatory processing, while post-event processing was
additionally influenced by a tendency to fear cognitive symptoms of anxiety (cognitive concerns)
and socially prescribed perfectionism. in part two, a subsample of participants (n =
158) attended an in-lab session where they engaged in two prototypical social situations (speech
and interaction) and reported on state levels of each sa-maintaining factor in response to the
stressor. [...]