There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.
Abstract
Information processing was examined in a sample of social phobic individuals using
a revised version of the Stroop color-naming task. In the first of two experiments,
the response latencies of social phobics and matched community controls were compared
when color-naming socially threatening words, physically threatening words and color
words. Social phobics demonstrated greater response latencies regardless of type of
stimulus word and additional interference in color-naming social threat words compared
to the control group. The second experiment examined the cognitive structural change
that has been hypothesized to accompany successful treatment of individuals with an
anxiety disorder. Social phobics who were treated with cognitive-behavioral group
therapy, phenelzine or pill placebo were classified as treatment responders or nonresponders,
and their latencies to color-naming on the Stroop task were compared. Treatment responders
showed a significant reduction in latencies to color-name social threat words (vs
matched control words) while nonresponders did not. This effect was not demonstrated
with color words or physically threatening words. Clinical implications and future
research directions are discussed.