| The present study investigated the following areas of social anxiety research: (i) attentional biases with the use of the modified Stroop task, and (ii) coping styles and coping strategies used in socially anxious situations.; Participants were 112 (64 women, 48 men) undergraduate students, comprising a high social evaluation trait anxiety group (n = 55; 34 women, 21 men) and a low social evaluation trait anxiety group (n = 57; 30 women, 27 men). Participants completed a modified Stroop task once in a low social evaluation threat condition and once in a high social evaluation threat condition (after being told they would have to deliver a speech). For the Stroop task, socially threatening and control words were presented in a random (rather than a blocked) format and control words were from one semantic category. Participants also completed questionnaires assessing trait coping styles, coping strategies aimed at socially anxious situations, and perceived control over social situations. The dependent variables were reaction time on the Stroop task, coping styles and strategies, and perceived control. The independent variables were social evaluative threat condition (high vs. low), word type (socially threatening vs. control words), and social evaluation trait anxiety group.; The results indicated that participants in the high social evaluation trait anxiety group had longer response latencies on the Stroop task compared to participants in the low social evaluation trait anxiety group. Contrary to expectations, this effect did not depend on either word condition or social evaluative threat condition, possibly due to the methodological issues that were addressed in the present study.; With respect to coping, as hypothesized, high social evaluation trait anxiety participants were higher on emotion-oriented and emotional-preoccupation coping than low social evaluation trait anxiety participants. Additionally, high social evaluation trait anxiety participants were found to use distraction coping strategies aimed at socially anxious situations to a lesser extent than participants low in social evaluation trait anxiety. After controlling for trait depression, only an emotion-oriented coping style differentiated the two social evaluation trait anxiety groups. Additionally, high social evaluation trait anxiety participants were found to have lower perceptions of control over social situations compared to low social evaluation trait anxiety participants.; The results were discussed in terms of Endler's Multidimensional Interaction Model of Anxiety (1983, 1997) and the Clark and Wells (1995) cognitive model of social phobia. The implications of these results for cognitive models of social anxiety were outlined and discussed. |
