社交焦慮個體評價恐懼的特點及其機制

relation reaction reaction

中文摘要
本研究旨在考察高社交焦慮個體對正性或負性評價的預期，將如何影響他們對正性或負性情緒面孔的反應特點。本研究在研究範式上進行了改進，引入線索關聯操作，模擬被試形成評價預期的過程，並考察隨後的反應特點。研究共包括四個部分，嘗試探討以下問題：(1)線索關聯操作是否能使被試對線索形成不同的預期，並進而引發對評價預期的焦慮反應：(2)社交焦慮個體對正/負性評價預期是否表現出相對於非評價預期的注意偏向，線索情感色彩對注意偏向是否有調節作用；(3)社交焦慮個體對情緒面孔的接觸意願，受面孔情感色彩和預期評價性的互動影響；(4)評價性是否對上述反應特點具有因果作用；...>> 詳細
本研究旨在考察高社交焦慮個體對正性或負性評價的預期，將如何影響他們對正性或負性情緒面孔的反應特點。本研究在研究範式上進行了改進，引入線索關聯操作，模擬被試形成評價預期的過程，並考察隨後的反應特點。研究共包括四個部分，嘗試探討以下問題：(1)線索關聯操作是否能使被試對線索形成不同的預期，並進而引發對評價預期的焦慮反應：(2)社交焦慮個體對正/負性評價預期是否表現出相對於非評價預期的注意偏向，線索情感色彩對注意偏向是否有調節作用；(3)社交焦慮個體對情緒面孔的接觸意願，受面孔情感色彩和預期評價性的互動影響；(4)評價性是否對上述反應特點具有因果作用；(5)當評價不公開呈現，而只存在於解釋中時，是否還會引起高社交焦慮個體的焦慮。
本研究的四個部分均為實驗研究。研究一使用了高社交焦慮和低社交焦慮的兩組被試各23人，使用純色簡單圖形作為線索，使用線索關聯操作建立圖形與特定負性評價陳述之間的關聯，再將成為評價線索和非評價線索的兩個圖形作為點探測任務的刺激，考察線索關聯操作是否可以導致高社交焦慮被試對負性評價線索產生注意偏向。結果發現，高社交焦慮組被試對負性評價線索後的探測點的反應時顯著短於負性非評價線索，而低社交焦慮組則無此差異。這一結果證明了線索關聯操作的有效性，高社交焦慮個體對負性評價存在更高的注意偏向。
研究二仍然以高社交焦慮的被試35人和低社交焦慮的被試36人進行實驗，使用情緒面孔為線索，通過線索關聯操作，為被試建立情緒面孔與不同情感色彩的評價或非評價語句的關聯。之後，通過點探測任務，考察兩組被試對正性評價線索和負性評價線索分別的注意偏向，比較不同情感色彩下，高社交焦慮被試對評價線索注意偏向的相對特點。結果發現，高社交焦慮組被試對負性評價線索後的探測點的反應時顯著短於負性非評價線索，低社交焦慮組則無此差異。同時，高低社交焦慮組被試對正性評價線索後探測點的反應時都顯著短於正性非評價線索。表明社交焦慮個體對正性和負性的評價預期都具有更高的敏感，但這兩種注意偏向可能有不同的認知機制，對負性評價的敏感是社交焦慮所特有。
研究三考察經過線索關聯之後，評價預期會如何影響被試對情緒面孔的主觀接觸意願。同樣使用高社交焦慮被試41人和低社交焦慮被試40人，模仿研究二的操作，使用情緒面孔作為線索刺激，讓被試建立與正負性評價/非評價語句的關聯。通過他們對不同情感色彩和不同評價性的面孔評分差異，考察評價色彩對社交焦慮個體的作用機制。結果證明，高社交焦慮組被試對可能發出負性評價的面孔更迴避，低社交焦慮組則無此差異。而對於可能發出正性評價的面孔，兩組被試都有更高的迴避意願，這一迴避傾向與社交焦慮的水平無關。
外文摘要
The present study developed the experimental paradigm by adding a pre-task learning task and simulating the process of forming the anticipation for evaluation, aimed to investigate the response to different anticipation. The study consisted of four parts. Five main research questions were examined and discussed in this research, a) whether the link-establishing manipulation could be effective and succeeded in induce response biases towards specific anticipation; b) whether the attentional bias...>> 詳細
The present study developed the experimental paradigm by adding a pre-task learning task and simulating the process of forming the anticipation for evaluation, aimed to investigate the response to different anticipation. The study consisted of four parts. Five main research questions were examined and discussed in this research, a) whether the link-establishing manipulation could be effective and succeeded in induce response biases towards specific anticipation; b) whether the attentional bias towards evaluative anticipation existed, compared with non-evaluative one, and what role the emotion valance played; c) how the interaction between evaluative anticipation and emotion valance impacted the approachability to emotional faces in socially anxious people; d) whether the evaluative anticipation had causal relationship to the socially anxious response; and e) whether the evaluation could cause the arousal in socially anxious individuals while it was only perceived in mind and never publicly presented.
The four parts of this study are all experimental studies. The first part used simple graphics with different colors as the cues and established links between graphics and specific negative evaluative or non-evaluative statements in 23 high socially anxious (HSA) and 23 low socially anxious (LSA) participants. Then the graphics associated with evaluative and non-evaluative statements were used in dot-probe detection paradigm, to examine whether the link-establishing manipulation could lead to attentional bias towards negative evaluation anticipation in HSA group. The results showed that HSA group had significantly shorter reaction time towards negative evaluation cues compared to negative non-evaluation, while low social anxiety group had no such tendency. The results proved the effectiveness of the linkestablishing manipulation and the higher attentional bias towards the negative evaluation in socially anxious participants.
The second part of the study also consisted of link-establishing manipulation and dot probe task in 35 HSA and 36 LSA participants. Different emotional faces were designed as cues for different emotional evaluation or non-evaluation statements. Attentional bias towards positive and negative evaluative cues was separately explored through the dot probe paradigm in two groups. The results showed that HSA group had heightened attention towards the negative evaluative faces compared to non-evaluative ones, and LSA group had no such tendency. Meanwhile, both groups showed shorter reaction time to positive evaluative faces. The results indicated that socially anxious individuals were sensitive to both positive and negative evaluation, but with different underlying mechanism. The sensitiveness to negative evaluation was unique to social anxiety.
The third part of the study aimed to examine the impact the evaluative anticipation had on the approachability of emotional faces after the link-establishing manipulation. Forty-one HSA participants and forty LSA participants were asked to rate the approachability of different faces after the faces were learnt as cues of positive and negative evaluative or non-evaluative statement. It was found that HSA participants had a higher avoidant tendency to faces with negative evaluation than LSA participants. Both groups had higher avoidant tendency to faces with positive evaluation and the tendency was proved to be irrelevant with social anxiety.
Forty HSA participants participated in the last part and were randomly allocated to two groups. Emotional faces were manipulated as evaluative in one group and non-evaluative in the other one. Attentional bias between positive-neutral faces and negative-neutral faces as well as the approachability ratings were investigated before and after the manipulation. The comparison between the pre- and post- manipulation results have showed a failure of changing the attentional bias and the approachability in positive faces. However, the non-evaluative anticipation made the socially anxious participants less sensitive towards negative faces and more willing to approach. The results proved that the positive evaluation could be threatening to socially anxious people only when it was publicly presented, and the negative evaluation had a causal effect on the anxious response in social anxiety. Reduce in perceived negative evaluation could cause a significant reduction in anxious response.
Based on these four studies, the research improved the methodology in this field, simulating the evoking process of the fear of evaluation in laboratory study. The study investigated the way that positive and negative evaluation separately impacted on the socially anxious individuals and evoked anxiety. The main conclusions inculed: a) Perceived positive evaluation could not directly evoke anxiety except it was believed to be publicly presented; b) The anticipation for publicly praising was also related to fear of future negative evaluation in socially anxious people; and c) Perceived negative evaluation, whenever it was publicly presented, would evoke anxious response in socially anxious people. The underlying mechanism and clinical implications of each route were further discussed in the discussion part.
Key Words: social anxiety, positive evaluation, negative evaluation, fear of evaluation, emotional face