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The experiment tested whether patients with social phobia direct their attention to or away from faces with a range of emotional expressions. A modified dot probe paradigm (J. Abnorm. Psychol. 95 (1986) 15) measured whether participants attended more to faces or to household objects. Twenty patients with social phobia were faster in identifying the probe when it occurred in the location of the household objects, regardless of whether the facial expressions were positive, neutral, or negative. In contrast, controls did not exhibit an attentional preference. The results are in line with recent theories of social phobia that emphasize the role of reduced processing of external social cues in maintaining social anxiety.

Type

Journal article

Journal

Behav Res Ther

Publication Date

06/2002

Volume

40

Pages

677 - 687

Keywords

Adult, Attention, Face, Female, Fixation, Ocular, Humans, Male, Phobic Disorders, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Severity of Illness Index