Letting go of yesterday: Effect of distraction on post-event processing and anticipatory anxiety in a socially anxious sample

Abstract

According to cognitive models, post-event processing (PEP) is a key factor in the maintenance of social anxiety. Given that decreasing PEP can be challenging for socially anxious individuals, it is important to identify potentially useful strategies. Although distraction may help to decrease PEP, the findings have been equivocal. The primary purpose of this study was to examine whether a brief distraction period immediately following a speech would lead to less PEP the next day. The secondary aim was to examine the effect of distraction following an initial speech on anticipatory anxiety for a second speech, via reductions in PEP. Participants (N = 77 undergraduates with elevated social anxiety; 67.53% female) delivered a speech and were randomly assigned to a distraction, rumination, or control condition. The following day, participants reported levels of PEP in relation to the first speech, as well as anxiety regarding a second, upcoming speech. As expected, those in the distraction condition reported less PEP than those in the rumination and control conditions. Additionally, distraction following the first speech was indirectly related to anticipatory anxiety for the second speech, via PEP. Distraction may represent a potentially useful strategy for reducing PEP and other maladaptive processes that may maintain social anxiety.

Repetitive Negative Thinking in Social Anxiety Disorder 2: Post-Event Processing

“…They found that a higher number of recent social stressors predicted an increasing trajectory of conditional and unconditional beliefs but only within the context of participants with high levels of social anxiety and low levels of thoughts about the past. This was an unexpected finding which the authors suggested might indicate that the tendency to engage in post-event processing may have adaptive effects, which is consistent with other previous research indicating an adaptive component of post-event processing (Blackie & Kocovski, 2016;Field & Morgan, 2004;Makkar & Grisham, 2012).…”

“…Furthermore, the second speech may have been less anxiety-provoking due to habituation (Makkar & Grisham, 2012). Blackie and Kocovski (2016) examined whether a brief distraction period immediately following a speech would lead to less post-event processing the following day employing a sample of 77 undergraduates with elevated social anxiety. Following the delivery of a speech, participants were randomly assigned to a distraction, post-event processing, or control condition and then reported levels of post-event processing in relation to the speech.…”

“…Engaging in PEP compared to distraction led to increased willingness to give a second speech, reduction in negative performance appraisals, and better perceived speech quality. Blackie and Kocovski (2016) 77 undergraduates 2 Speeches 1-day PEPQ, TQ, SARQ (SIAS, SIBS, BDI-II)…”

Cannabis-Related Problems and Social Anxiety: The Mediational Role of Post-Event Processing

“…First, although the treatment does not target PEP specifically, group cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for social anxiety has been shown to reduce PEP among individuals with SAD, which was in turn related to reductions in symptoms of SAD (Hedman et al, 2013). Further, distraction after a social event has been shown to reduce both engagement in PEP and distress related to PEP (Blackie & Kocovski, 2015) and socially anxious individuals who engaged in mindfulness following a laboratory-based negative PEP induction reported more positive affect compared to individuals in a control condition (Cassin & Rector, 2011). These findings highlight the ability to reduce PEP’s impact on social anxiety through psychosocial interventions, and the potential utility of therapeutic techniques that directly address PEP.…”

Positive and Negative Post Performance-Related Thoughts Predict Daily Cortisol Output in University Music Students

“…There is some evidence that negatively valenced post-event rumination predicts negative outcomes. These include increased anticipatory anxiety (Brozovich and Heimberg, 2013;Blackie and Kocovski, 2016), more negative effect (Kashdan and Roberts, 2007), more socially anxious interpretations of ambiguous social situations (Brozovich and Heimberg, 2013), increased recall of negative self-related information, and negative self-judgments when anticipating further social interactions (Mellings and Alden, 2000). Whether positively and negatively valenced post-event cognitions differently affect physiological processes such as the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the activity of the sympathoadrenal medullary (SAM) system is largely unknown.…”