Friend or Foe? Memory and Expectancy Biases for Faces in Social Anxiety

Abstract

Studies examining memory biases for threat in social anxiety (SA) have yielded mixed results. In the present study, memory and expectancy biases were tested using a novel face recognition paradigm designed to offset methodological challenges that have hampered previous research. Following a social threat induction, undergraduates with high (n = 40) and low (n = 40) levels of SA viewed a series of neutral faces randomly paired with positive or negative social feedback. Recognition memory was tested for previously encountered faces, and for the categorization of each encoded face as having been associated with negative (mean) or positive (nice) interpersonal statements. For new faces, participants were asked whether the person seemed mean or nice. Results provided no evidence of a general memory bias to threat in SA, but suggested that high SA individuals lack a positive expectancy bias toward new social partners. Implications are considered for cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal models of SA.