Adults who stutter are at risk of developing a range of psychological issues, and those issueshave been implicated in failed speech rehabilitation. Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is the mostprevalent condition associated with stuttering. SAD has been prominent in psychologicalresearch in effort to understand the cause, maintenance and management of the condition. Toimprove the clinical management of stuttering it is critical to take account of cognitive theories ofSAD to further understanding of the mechanisms of anxiety onset and maintenance.Social anxiety disorder involves excessive, irrational, and debilitating fear of being humiliatedand embarrassed in social situations. Severe cases can result in high levels of avoidancewhich can lead to social isolation and failure to participate in many normal occupational, socialand interpersonal activities. However, not all situations can be avoided. A person with SAD islikely to encounter anxiety inducing situations on many occasions in absence of the fearedevent, and yet their fears persist. Hence, avoidance alone cannot account for this persistence ofanxiety. It is increasingly apparent that expectancies of social harm and fear of negative socialevaluation are central to the nature of anxiety associated with stuttering. Similar to theavoidance reported in SAD, avoidance is a common reaction reported by people who stutter,including avoidance of words, specific situations and eye contact.Cognitive theorists suggest that information processing biases are involved in maintenance offear and anxiety associated with SAD [Clark, D. M., & Wells, A. (1995). A cognitive model ofsocial phobia.In R. G. Heimberg, M. R. Liebowitz, D. A. Hope, & F. R. Schneier. (Eds.) SocialPhobia: Diagnosis, Assessment and Treatment. (pp. 69-93). New York: The Guildford Press;Rapee, R. M., &Heimberg, R. G. (1997). A cognitive-behavioral model of anxiety in socialphobia.Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35, 741-756]. These cognitive processes include (1)self-focused attention, (2) reduced processing of external social cues (3) intrusive mentalimagery, (4) rumination and (5) safety behaviors. Routine clinical psychology interventions toreduce anxiety in SAD involve identifying and eliminating information processing biases andclient safety behaviors. However, a recent publication has shown that during routine clinical treatment of stuttering speech-language pathologists commonly recommend that clients engagein a range of tasks that might function as safety behaviors. In other words, they may perpetuateclient social anxiety.The effects of information processing biases have been well documented in SAD and evidenceis emerging of such biases in adults who stutter. To improve clinical outcomes for people whostutter, there is a critical need for this research to continue. In particular, exploration of theextent to which people who stutter engage in information processing biases that are well knownto maintain anxiety in SAD. The application of models of SAD to stuttering research is crucial tothis line of research.