Effects of a Multi-session Cognitive Bias Modification Program on Interpretative Biases and Social Anxiety Symptoms in a Sample of Iranian Socially-Anxious Students. Issue 4 (December 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Khalili-Torghabeh, Saemeh; Fadardi, Javad Salehi; Mackintosh, Bundy; Reynolds, Shirley; Mobini, Sirous
• Is Part Of: Journal of experimental psychopathology. Volume 5:Issue 4(2014)
• Page Start: 514
• Page End: 527
• Publication Date: 2014-12
• Subjects: negative interpretation -- cognitive bias modification -- social anxiety; Psychology, Pathological -- Periodicals; 616.89
• DOI: 10.5127/jep.037713
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2043-8087

Abstract

This study examines the effects of a multi-session Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM) program on interpretative biases and social anxiety in an Iranian sample. Thirty-six volunteers with a high score on social anxiety measures were recruited from a student population and randomly allocated into the experimental and control groups. In the experimental group, participants received 4 sessions of positive CBM for interpretative biases (CBM-I) over 2 weeks in the laboratory. Participants in the control condition completed a neutral task matched the active CBM-I intervention in format and duration but did not encourage positive disambiguation of socially ambiguous scenarios. The results indicated that after training the positive CBM-I group exhibited more positive (and less negative) interpretations of ambiguous scenarios and less social anxiety symptoms relative to the control condition at both 1 week post-test and 7 weeks follow-up. It is suggested that clinical trials are required to establish the clinical efficacy of this intervention for social anxiety.