The proposed research seeks to identify characteristics and processes that potentially contribute to the persistence and disability of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). There is growing evidence that anhedonic processes (e.g., diminished pleasure) apply to excessive social anxiety and not just depression. We will test a model suggesting that normal feelings of social anxiety transform into pathology when individuals engage in rigid and inflexible internal struggles to regulate and avoid anxious experiences. The devotion of enormous time and energy toward experiential avoidance may interfere with movement toward pleasurable and valued directions. The proposed research will address limitations of prior work including an over- reliance on global self-reports, analogue samples, and an absence of theory. In the present study, individuals with SAD will be compared to a non-disordered control group. Cellular phones with interactive voice response (IVR) systems will be used to collect real-time data in each individual's natural environment for 14 consecutive days (e.g., self-monitoring of social anxiety and experiential avoidance during and after social interactions). IVR reporting will occur after each social interaction lasting at least 10 minutes, during random daily prompts, and at end-of-day interviews. Participants will self-monitor daily social anxiety, emotion regulation strategies (e.g., suppression), experiential avoidance, attentional focus, affect, life events, and other variables (e.g., perceived intimacy). After the 14 days of IVR reporting, data will be collected on each interaction partner (e.g., relationship quality). It is hypothesized that: (1) individuals with SAD will report diminished positive experiences, fewer positive events, and these relations will be moderated by social context (e.g., greater versus lower social status of interaction partner) and experiential avoidance (i.e., individuals with SAD reporting greater struggles to suppress and avoid anxious experiences will report particularly diminished positive experiences), (2) greater social anxiety during social interactions will be related to diminished positive experiences and more experiential avoidance, (3) experiential avoidance will mediate relationships between SAD and positive outcomes, and (4) effects will not be the result of comorbidity. This research will identify the experiences and processes of individuals with and without SAD in everyday life. Findings could ultimately lead to the development of more effective intervention efforts. ? ? ?
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