Emotion Beliefs Among Socially Anxious Individuals: Their Associations with Anxiety Risk Factors and Emotional Experiences During Social-Evaluative Stress
Open Access
Author:
Minnick, Mark Richard
Graduate Program:
Psychology
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
May 06, 2019
Committee Members:
Jose Angel Soto, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor Jose Angel Soto, Committee Chair/Co-Chair Michelle Gayle Newman, Committee Member Koraly Elisa Perez-Edgar, Committee Member Sonia Angele Cavigelli, Outside Member
Keywords:
anxiety anxiety sensitivity working memory emotion beliefs attention modification
Abstract:
There is an increasing interest in the role that beliefs about emotions play in emotional reactivity and regulation, especially in the context of mental health concerns. The present study explored whether anxiety risk factors, namely anxiety sensitivity and working memory capacity, contribute to the quality of emotion beliefs of a sample of university students reporting significant levels of social anxiety. In addition, this study investigated the role that emotion beliefs played in emotional responding and regulation during a social evaluative speaking task, as well as whether emotion beliefs influenced the effectiveness of a computerized attention modification intervention designed to reduce distress during the speech. Self-report and psychophysiological indices of emotional responding and regulation in response to the speech were collected. Findings indicated that higher levels of anxiety sensitivity were associated with greater beliefs that emotions constrain behavior and hijack self-control, as well as with greater beliefs that attempts to regulate emotional experience are worthwhile. Further, the study provided evidence that the extent to which anxiety sensitivity is predictive of beliefs about the worth of emotion regulation depends on working memory capacity. The study also found some support that self-reported emotion regulatory behavior in response to the speaking task depended on the extent to which individuals believe that emotions constrain behavior and hijack self-control. However, effectiveness of the attention modification intervention was not moderated by emotion beliefs.
