Buildup of implementation intention reduces anticipatory anxiety in a high-anxiety population

Abstract

Previous research demonstrates that the cue–target paradigm is effective in inducing anticipatory anxiety, whereas the setup of implementation intention is effective in relieving anticipatory anxiety in a healthy sample. However, exploring whether this method can reduce anticipatory anxiety symptoms in high-anxiety individuals is necessary. The response to this question is of importance to clinical application. For this reason, this study applied the cue–target paradigm to induce anticipatory anxiety to potential negative pictures in subjects classified as high- vs. low-anxiety individuals. In addition, subjects were instructed to receive implementation intention or no-regulation instructions to examine the variation in the regulatory effects of implementation intention according to the severity of anxiety. The results demonstrated that high-anxiety participants exhibited increased anticipatory anxiety during uncertain and negative cues compared with those of low-anxiety subjects. In addition, anticipatory anxiety was reduced during implementation intention relative to the control condition. The size of this reduction was similar between the high- and low-anxiety groups. Third, the buildup of implementation intention reduced the anticipatory anxiety of high-anxiety individuals to a level similar to that of low-anxiety individuals in the control condition. These results suggest that setting up implementation intention can effectively down-regulate the symptoms of anticipatory anxiety in a high-anxiety population.