Affect labeling enhances exposure effectiveness for public speaking anxiety

Niles, Andrea N.; Craske, Michelle G.; Lieberman, Matthew D.; Hur, Christopher

doi:10.1016/j.brat.2015.03.004

Cited by 92 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 50 publications

(63 reference statements)

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“…This link might help explain robust associations between elevated alexithymia and poor mental health outcomes (3). Critically, affect labeling and emotional granularity are modifiable and thus potential targets of intervention: affect labeling interventions have been shown to improve physiological recovery following a stressful speech task (30). Undergoing an 8-week mindfulness based stress reduction course has been shown to result in increased emotional granularity (31).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quadratic Relationship Between Alexithymia and Interoceptive Accuracy, and Results From a Pilot Mindfulness Intervention

et al. 2020

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Alexithymia, or a reduced ability to label and describe one's emotions, is a transdiagnostic construct associated with poor psychosocial outcomes. Currently, the mechanisms underlying affective deficits associated with alexithymia are unclear, hindering targeted treatment delivery. Recent research suggests deficient interoceptive awareness, or reduced awareness of one's internal bodily state, may be key in the etiology of alexithymia. It has long been demonstrated that mindfulness meditation can alter perceptions of one's own emotions and bodily cues. Therefore, it is possible that mindfulness meditation may reduce affective deficits associated with alexithymia by improving interoceptive awareness. In this study, we aimed to (1) elucidate the role of interoceptive accuracy and sensibility, two dimensions of interoceptive awareness, in alexithymia, and (2) test the efficacy of a brief mindfulness meditation for improving interoceptive accuracy, interoceptive sensibility, and emotional awareness. Seventy six young adults completed a baseline heartbeat detection task, to assess interoceptive accuracy and sensibility, and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 item. They were randomly assigned to a brief mindfulness-based body scan meditation intervention or control condition. Afterwards, participants completed tasks assessing emotional awareness (i.e., affect labeling, emotional granularity) and follow-up heartbeat detection task. Relationships between alexithymia and interoceptive accuracy and sensibility were best described as quadratic (p = 0.002) and linear (p = 0.040), respectively. Participants in both conditions showed robust improvements in interoceptive accuracy from baseline to follow-up (p < 0.001; η 2 p = 0.15); however, there were no group (meditation or control) differences in degree of improvement. Similarly, there were no group differences in affect labeling or emotional granularity. These preliminary results suggest that heightened alexithymia may be associated with either relatively high or low interoceptive accuracy. The meditation condition did not result in improved interoceptive accuracy or sensibility above and beyond that of a control group. Improvements in interoceptive accuracy, interoceptive sensibility, and emotional awareness may require longer or more interactive intervention approaches. More research is needed to parse the potentially complex relationship between alexithymia and interoceptive awareness, and to develop targeted treatment approaches to ameliorating associated affective deficits.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quadratic Relationship Between Alexithymia and Interoceptive Accuracy, and Results From a Pilot Mindfulness Intervention

et al. 2020

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“…Affect labeling, the act of putting feelings into words, is considered an ‘incidental’ or ‘implicit’ form of emotion regulation and has been shown to be an effective regulatory strategy, diminishing the intensity of emotional reactions to labeled stimuli (Kircanski et al, 2012; Lieberman et al, 2011; Niles et al, 2015; Tabibnia et al, 2008). It is commonly used in the laboratory to investigate emotional regulation as it provides a way to measure activation in emotion regulation circuitry independent of the effort or intentionality that is typically required to engage in voluntary regulation (Creswell et al, 2007; Lieberman et al, 2007; Payer et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Treatment for social anxiety disorder alters functional connectivity in emotion regulation neural circuitry

Young

Burklund

Torre

et al. 2017

Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging

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Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized at a neurobiological level by disrupted activity in emotion regulation neural circuitry. Previous work has demonstrated amygdala hyperreactivity and disrupted prefrontal responses to social cues in individuals with SAD (Kim et al., 2011). While exposure-based psychological treatments effectively reduce SAD symptoms, not all individuals respond to treatment. Better understanding of the neural mechanisms involved offers the potential to improve treatment efficacy. In this study, we investigated functional connectivity in emotion regulation neural circuitry in a randomized controlled treatment trial for SAD. Participants with SAD underwent fMRI scanning while performing an implicit emotion regulation task prior to treatment (n=62). Following 12 weeks of cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, or wait-list, participants completed a second scan (n=42). Psychophysiological interaction analyses using amygdala seed regions demonstrated differences between SAD and healthy control participants (HC; n=16) in right amygdala-vmPFC connectivity. SAD participants demonstrated more negative amygdala-to-vmPFC connectivity, compared to HC participants, an effect that was correlated with SAD symptom severity. Post-treatment symptom reduction was correlated with altered amygdala-to-vm/vlPFC connectivity, independent of treatment type. Greater symptom reduction was associated with more negative amygdala-to-vm/vlPFC connectivity. These findings suggest that effective psychological treatment for SAD enhances amygdala-prefrontal functional connectivity.

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“…Forty-three participants (38 females), all fearful of public speaking, participated in this study (mean age = 22.72; SD = 4.64). Participants were screened relying on a two-item questionnaire that was used in previous studies (Tsao and Craske, 2000;Culver et al, 2012;Niles et al, 2015). The items assessed (1) how anxious they would feel when giving a formal speech in front of a live audience and (2) the extent to which they would avoid taking a class that required giving an oral presentation.…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtually Unexpected: No Role for Expectancy Violation in Virtual Reality Exposure for Public Speaking Anxiety

Scheveneels

Boddez

Daele³

et al. 2019

Front. Psychol.

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In the current study, we examined the role of expectancy violation and retrospective reasoning about the absence of feared outcomes in virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET). Participants fearful of public speaking were asked to give speeches in virtual reality. We asked each participant individually to report their expectancies about feared outcomes in public speaking situations and which of these could be tested in VRET. Each of the expectancies was categorized as being related to: (1) participants' own reactions, (2) (overt) reactions of the audience, or (3) (covert) negative evaluation. We examined whether the proportion of testable expectancies could predict treatment outcome and which type of expectancies were evaluated as being more testable in VRET. Additionally, we experimentally manipulated retrospective reasoning about whether or not expectancies related to the overt reactions of the audience could be violated by providing verbal information after VRET about whether or not the virtual audience was interactive. A reduction in public speaking anxiety was observed from pre-to post-VRET. Treatment effects were, however, not predicted by the individually reported proportions of testable expectancies. Participants evaluated expectancies about their own reactions as being more testable in VRET compared to expectancies about reactions of the audience or about being negatively evaluated. In addition, we did not find evidence that the experimental manipulation regarding whether or not the audience was interactive influenced treatment effects. In conclusion, the results of the current study suggest that the effects of VRET are not univocally explained by the mechanism of expectancy violation.

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Affect labeling enhances exposure effectiveness for public speaking anxiety

Cited by 92 publications

References 50 publications

Quadratic Relationship Between Alexithymia and Interoceptive Accuracy, and Results From a Pilot Mindfulness Intervention

Quadratic Relationship Between Alexithymia and Interoceptive Accuracy, and Results From a Pilot Mindfulness Intervention

Treatment for social anxiety disorder alters functional connectivity in emotion regulation neural circuitry

Virtually Unexpected: No Role for Expectancy Violation in Virtual Reality Exposure for Public Speaking Anxiety

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