The impact of metacognitive beliefs and anticipatory processing on state anxiety in high socially anxious individuals in a speech task

Abstract

The metacognitive model (Wells & Matthews, 1994) proposes that metacognitions (e.g., positive or negative beliefs about worry and thoughts) are involved in emotional disorders alongside perseverative thinking, such as worry. In social anxiety, worry about forthcoming social situations, termed anticipatory processing (AP), is considered an important maintaining factor (Clark & Wells, 1995), but a role of metacognition is less clear. This study investigated AP and metacognition in 80 high socially anxious individuals asked to engage in either AP or a filler task before delivering a speech. AP and higher uncontrollability/danger metacognitive beliefs were associated with greater state anxiety overall. Individuals with higher positive beliefs about worry experienced less of an increase in anxiety before the speech, but their anxiety persisted until after the speech, compared to individuals with lower beliefs. The results support an effect of metacognitions and are discussed in terms of the social anxiety model and its implications.

Keywords

Social anxiety Metacognitive beliefs Anticipatory processing Metacognition Anxiety Distraction Worry

References

Bailey

, & Wells

(2015). Metacognitive beliefs moderate the relationship between catastrophic misinterpretation and health anxiety. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 34, 8–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2015.05.005

Bouman

T. K.

, & Meijer

K. J.

(1999). A preliminary study of worry and metacognitions in hypochondriasis. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 6(2), 96–101. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0879(199905)6:2<96::AID-CPP190>3.0.CO;2-G

Clark

D. M.

, & Wells

(1995). A cognitive model of social phobia. In Heimberg

M. L. R.

, Hope

D.A.

, and Schneier

F.R.

(Ed.), Social phobia: Diagnosis, assessment and treatment. New York: Guilford.

Dannahy

, & Stopa

(2007). Post-event processing in social anxiety. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45(6), 1207–1219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2006.08.017

Gkika

, & Wells

(2014). How to Deal with Negative Thoughts? A Preliminary Comparison of Detached Mindfulness and Thought Evaluation in Socially Anxious Individuals. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 39, 23–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-014-9637-5

Grant

D. M.

, & Beck

J. G.

(2010). What predicts the trajectory of rumination?: A prospective evaluation. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 24, 480–486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.03.004

Hinrichsen

, & Clark

D. M.

(2003). Anticipatory processing in social anxiety: Two pilot studies. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 34(3-4), 205–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7916(03)00050-8

Hofmann

S. G.

, & DiBartolo

P. M.

(2000). An instrument to assess self-statements during public speaking: Scale development and preliminary psychometric properties. Behavior Therapy, 31, 499–515. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(00)80027-1

McEvoy

P. M.

, Mahoney

, Perini

S.J.

, & Kingsep

(2009). Changes in post-event processing and metacognitions during cognitive behavioral group therapy for social phobia. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23(5), 617–623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2009.01.011

10.

McEvoy

P.M.

, & Perini

S.J.

(2009). Cognitive behavioral group therapy for social phobia with or without attention training: A controlled trial. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23(4), 519–528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2008.10.008

11.

Mills

A.C.

, Grant

D.M.

, Lechner

W.V.

, & Judah

M.R.

(2013). Psychometric properties of the Anticipatory Social Behaviours Questionnaire. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 35, 346–355. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-013-9339-4

12.

Morrison

A. P.

, Wells

, & Nothard

(2002). Cognitive and emotional predictors of predisposition to hallucinations in non-patients. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 41, 259–270. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466502760379127

13.

Myers

S. G.

, Fisher

P. L.

, & Wells

(2009). An empirical test of the Metacognitive model of obsessive-compulsive symptoms: Fusion beliefs, beliefs about rituals, and stop signals. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23(4), 436–442. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2008.08.007

14.

Papageorgiou

, & Wells

(2001a). Metacognitive beliefs about rumination in recurrent major depression. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 8(2), 160–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1077-7229(01)80021-3

15.

Papageorgiou

, & Wells

(2001b). Positive beliefs about depressive rumination: Development and preliminary validation of a self-report scale. Behavior Therapy, 32(1), 13–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(01)80041-1

16.

Rapee

R. M.

, & Heimberg

R. G.

(1997). A cognitive-behavioral model of anxiety in social phobia. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 8, 741–756. doi: 10.1016/S0005-7967(97)00022-3. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(97)00022-3

17.

Roussis

, & Wells

(2006). Post-traumatic stress symptoms: Tests of relationships with thought control strategies and beliefs as predicted by the metacognitive model. Personality and Individual Differences, 40, 111–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.06.019

18.

Solem

, Myers

S. G.

, Fisher

P. L.

, Vogel

P. A.

, & Wells

(2010). An empirical test of the metacognitive model of obsessive-compulsive symptoms: Replication and extension. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 24(1), 79–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2009.08.009

19.

Spada

M.M.

, Mohiyeddini

, & Wells

(2008). Measuring metacognitions associated with emotional distress: Factor structure and predictive validity of the metacognitions questionnaire 30. Personality and Individual Differences, 45(3), 238–342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2008.04.005

20.

Spada

M.M.

, Nikcevic

A.V.

, Moneta

G.B.

, & Wells

(2008). Metacognition, perceived stress, and negative emotions. Personality and Individual Differences, 44(5), 1172–1181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2007.11.010

21.

Spada

M. M.

, & Wells

(2008). Metacognitive beliefs about alcohol use: Development and validation of two self-report scales. Addictive Behaviors, 33(4), 515–527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2007.10.011

22.

Spada

M. M.

, & Wells

(2010). Metacognitions across the continuum of drinking behaviour. Personality and Individual Differences, 49(5), 425–429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.04.011

23.

Spielberger

C. D.

, Gorsuch

R. L.

, Lushene

, Vagg

P. R.

, & Jacobs

G. A.

(1983). Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.

24.

Stopa

, & Clark

D. M.

(2001). Social phobia: Comments on the viability and validity of an analogue research strategy & British norms for the fear of negative evaluation questionnaire. Behavioural and cognitive psychotherapy, 29, 423–430. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465801004039

25.

Vassilopoulos

S. P.

(2004). Anticipatory processing in social anxiety. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 32, 303–311. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465804001377

26.

Vassilopoulos

S. P.

(2005). Anticipatory processing plays a role in maintaining social anxiety. Anxiety, Stress & Coping: An International Journal, 18(4), 321–332. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615800500258149

27.

Vassilopoulos

S.P.

, Brouzos

, & Moberly

N.J.

, (2015). The relationships between metacognition, anticipatory processing and social anxiety. Behaviour Change, 32(2), 114–126. https://doi.org/10.1017/bec.2015.4

28.

Watson

, & Friend

(1969). Measurement of social-evaluative anxiety. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 33(4), 448–457. doi: 10.1037/h002780.

29.

Wells

(2007). Cognition about cognition: Metacognitive therapy and change in generalized anxiety disorder and social phobia. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 14(1), 18–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2006.01.005

30.

Wells

(2009). Metacognitive Therapy for Anxiety and Depression. New York: Guilford Press.

31.

Wells

, & Carter

(2001). Further tests of a cognitive model of generalized anxiety disorder: Metacognitions and worry in GAD, panic disorder, social phobia, depression, and non patients. Behavior Therapy, 32(1), 85–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(01)80045-9

32.

Wells

, & Cartwright-Hatton

(2004). A short form of the metacognitions questionnaire: properties of the MCQ-30. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42(4), 385–396. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(03)00147-5

33.

Wells

, & King

(2006). Metacognitive therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: An open trial. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 37(3), 206–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2005.07.002

34.

Wells

, & Matthews

(1994). Attention and emotion. A clinical perspective. Hope, UK: Erlbaum.

35.

Wells

, & Matthews

(1996). Modelling cognition in emotional disorder: The S-REF model, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 34, 881–888. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(96)00050-2

36.

Wells

, & Papageorgiou

(1998). Social phobia: Effects of external attention on anxiety, negative beliefs, and perspective taking. Behavior Therapy, 29(3), 357–370. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(98)80037-3

37.

Wells

, & Papageorgiou

(2001). Brief cognitive therapy for social phobia: a case series. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39(6), 713–720. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(00)00036-X