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Biased distance estimation in social anxiety disorder: A new avenue for understanding avoidance behavior.
Givon-Benjio, Nur; Oren-Yagoda, Roni; Aderka, Idan M; Okon-Singer, Hadas.
Afiliación
  • Givon-Benjio N; Department of Psychology, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
  • Oren-Yagoda R; Department of Psychology, The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
  • Aderka IM; Department of Psychology, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
  • Okon-Singer H; Department of Psychology, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
Depress Anxiety ; 37(12): 1243-1252, 2020 12.
Article en En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33245187
OBJECTIVES: People regulate their interpersonal space appropriately to obtain a comfortable distance for interacting with others. Socially anxious individuals are especially prone to discomfort from and fear of physical closeness, leading them to prefer a greater interpersonal distance from others. Previous studies also indicate that fear can enhance the threat-related elements of a threatening stimulus. For example, spider phobia is associated with estimating spiders as bigger and faster than they actually are. Nonetheless, it is still unclear whether the preference of those with social anxiety disorder (SAD) to maintain greater distance from others is associated with biased estimations of interpersonal distance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 87 participants (44 clinically diagnosed with SAD and 43 control) performed validated computerized and ecological tasks in a real-life setting while social space estimations and preferences were measured. RESULTS: Participants with SAD felt comfortable when maintaining a greater distance from unfamiliar others compared to the control group and estimated unfamiliar others to be closer to them than they actually were. Moreover, the estimation bias predicted their preferred distance from strangers, indicating a strong association between estimation bias severity and actual approach-avoidance behavior. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that distance estimation bias underlies avoidance behavior in SAD, suggesting the involvement of a new cognitive mechanism in personal space regulation.
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Texto completo: 1 Base de datos: MEDLINE Asunto principal: Trastornos Fóbicos / Fobia Social Tipo de estudio: Prognostic_studies Límite: Humans Idioma: En Revista: Depress Anxiety Asunto de la revista: PSIQUIATRIA Año: 2020 Tipo del documento: Article País de afiliación: Israel

Texto completo: 1 Base de datos: MEDLINE Asunto principal: Trastornos Fóbicos / Fobia Social Tipo de estudio: Prognostic_studies Límite: Humans Idioma: En Revista: Depress Anxiety Asunto de la revista: PSIQUIATRIA Año: 2020 Tipo del documento: Article País de afiliación: Israel