Out of Sight, Still in Mind

The Consequences of Nonfoveal Viewing of Emotional Faces in Social Anxiety

Bibliographic Data

ID21559151
AuthorsMatt R Judah (0000-0003-3825-6821, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville), Nathan M Hager (Old Dominion University, Norfolk; Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology, Norfolk), Nathan Hager (0000-0003-2083-7337, Old Dominion University), Alicia L Milam (0000-0002-7150-5378, Old Dominion University, Norfolk; Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology, Norfolk), Gabrielle Ramsey-Wilson (Old Dominion University, Norfolk), Hannah C Hamrick (0000-0002-8840-8734, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville), Tiphanie G Sutton (0000-0003-1644-4071, Old Dominion University, Norfolk; Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology, Norfolk)
Year2022
Volume41
Issue6
Pages578-592
Publication date2022-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Social and Clinical Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0736-7236 • E-ISSN: 1943-2771
PublisherGuilford Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1521/jscp.2022.41.6.578
OpenAlexW4311895044
LanguageEN
References cited41

Background: Anxiety sensitivity social concerns (ASSC) is a risk factor for social anxiety disorder that may motivate avoidance of eye contact (i.e., gaze avoidance), thereby maintaining anxiety. Gaze avoidance displaces socially relevant stimuli (e.g., faces) from foveal (i.e., center) vision, possibly reducing visual sensation of faces and giving an opportunity to misperceive others as rejecting. Methods: We tested the effects of non-foveal viewing on perceiving faces as rejecting, whether there is an indirect effect of ASSC on state anxiety explained by perceived rejection, and whether the indirect effect depended on non-foveal viewing of faces. Participants (N = 118) viewed faces presented within foveal and non-foveal positions and rated how rejecting each face appeared to be, followed by ratings of their own state anxiety. Results: ASSC was associated with perceiving faces as rejecting regardless of face position. There was an indirect effect of ASSC on state anxiety ratings that was explained by perceived rejection, but only in the non-foveal positions. The indirect effect was due to an association between perceived rejection and state anxiety that was only present when faces were viewed in non-foveal vision. Discussion: The findings suggest ASSC may maintain state anxiety partially through the perceived rejection someone experiences while avoiding the gaze of others. This study supports cognitive theories of social anxiety and encourages cognitive-behavioral interventions for gaze avoidance in people with social anxiety disorder

Anxiety · Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · Foveal · Gaze · Retinal · Social anxiety · Social inhibition · Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes · Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Social Psychology

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