The self-focused attention and the threat monitoring in social anxiety: Optimization of the intervention to attentional dysfunction.

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K04389
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Clinical psychology
• Research Institution: Waseda University
• Principal Investigator: Kumano Hiroaki 早稲田大学, 人間科学学術院, 教授 (90280875)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 富田 望 早稲田大学, 人間科学学術院, 講師(任期付) (30823364)
• Research Collaborator: ARAKI Minori ; KUMAGAI Makoto ; KAI Keitaro
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 社交不安症 / 自己注目 / 脅威モニタリング / 注意訓練法 / 状況への再注意法 / メタ認知療法 / 光トポグラフィー / 視線追尾

Outline of Final Research Achievements

First, we developed subjective and objective measurements of self-focused attention and threat monitoring for social anxiety. It was revealed that the hyperactivity in the frontopolar area is an objective measurement of self-focused attention, whereas hyperactivity in the superior temporal gyrus is an objective measurement of external attention. Second, we investigated the mechanism of the "Situational Attentional Refocusing (SAR)" that is an intervention for threat monitoring. It was suggested that the change of metacognition to threat monitoring is important for the SAR. Finally, we revised the Attention Training Technique (ATT) to improve the self-focused attention in social anxiety and investigated its effect. As a result, the score of the fear of social situation and the rumination about social situation were significantly decreased only in the group treated by the revised ATT.

Free Research Field

臨床心理学、行動医学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

研究成果の学術的意義は、従来独立して研究されていた社交不安における自己注目と外的刺激への脅威モニタリングの問題を、統一的に評価する指標を作成し両者の関連性を検討したことで、社交不安症における注意のプロセスを解明するための作業仮説を立てることができた点である。また、これらの指標を用いて実施した２つの介入研究についても、神経心理学的手法を臨床現場で十分に活用していくための基礎的知見を提供した点で社会的意義を有している。