A comprehensive analysis of cognitive bias in social anxiety

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23730674
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Clinical psychology
• Research Institution: Kanazawa Institute of Technology
• Principal Investigator: MATSUMOTO Kei 金沢工業大学, 基礎教育部, 准教授 (40367446)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-28 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 社交不安 / 認知バイアス / 認知行動療法 / 解釈バイアス / 自己評価バイアス / ライフイベント

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The distortion of cognitive processes in attention, memory, and interpretation of ambiguous stimulus, so-called cognitive bias increases and maintains social anxiety. The purpose of the present study was to examine comprehensively the association between cognitive bias and social anxiety. At first the experimental task to measure “online” interpretation bias was developed. “Online” interpretation bias is distorted interpretation occurs immediately after an ambiguous stimuli was perceived, and there were no studies that measured it in Japan. In addition, the influence of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to cognitive bias, especially self-evaluation bias which is dissociation between the evaluations of own performance in public and those from others was investigated. Finally, as progress of the future study, a preliminary investigation about the association between past life events and social anxiety was conducted.

Free Research Field

臨床心理学