The effect of a cognitive behavioral intervention on the eye gaze behavior of socially anxious adolescents: Do cognitions play a mediating role?

The cognitive models of social anxiety disorder (SAD) reason that SAD is caused and maintained by self-focused attention and safety behaviors. The avoidance of eye contact is viewed as a safety-seeking behavior employed to reduce the risk of negative evaluation and is reported by both adults and children with SAD. In the light of growing evidence for the cognitive models of SAD, it seems likely that changing socially anxious individuals’ negative beliefs about themselves, and their performance could lead to more eye gaze behavior, which in turn could break the vicious cycle maintaining SAD. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of a cognitive behavioral intervention on the the relation between socially anxious adolescents’ cognitions and their eye gaze behavior. Cognitions were assessed by a questionnaire and eye gaze behavior was assessed using a wearable eye tracker during a public speaking task. The participants’ total fixation time, total fixation counts and average...Show moreThe cognitive models of social anxiety disorder (SAD) reason that SAD is caused and maintained by self-focused attention and safety behaviors. The avoidance of eye contact is viewed as a safety-seeking behavior employed to reduce the risk of negative evaluation and is reported by both adults and children with SAD. In the light of growing evidence for the cognitive models of SAD, it seems likely that changing socially anxious individuals’ negative beliefs about themselves, and their performance could lead to more eye gaze behavior, which in turn could break the vicious cycle maintaining SAD. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of a cognitive behavioral intervention on the the relation between socially anxious adolescents’ cognitions and their eye gaze behavior. Cognitions were assessed by a questionnaire and eye gaze behavior was assessed using a wearable eye tracker during a public speaking task. The participants’ total fixation time, total fixation counts and average fixation time on the faces of nine virtual audience members were measured. As expected, the results showed a significant increase in positive cognitions and a significant decrease in negative cognitions from pre-test to post-test. The group as a whole did not show a significant increase in eye gaze behavior, however participants who showed more substantial improvements in terms of positive self-statements on average fixated longer on the audience members’ faces. These findings offer support for the cognitive models of SAD and suggest that promoting more positive self-statements in socially anxious adolescents would be clinically beneficial.Show less

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The effect of a cognitive behavioral intervention on the eye gaze behavior of socially anxious adolescents: Do cognitions play a mediating role?