Heimberg model of Social anxiety

Question 1

Important factors

Answer 1

Role of representation of self as seen by audience. Overestimation of audience’s standards/evaluation

Anxiety based on fear of being negatively evaluated, feeling like you don’t belong

Attention and interpretation bias towards threat

Self-focused attention

Question 2

interpretation bias

Answer 2

Interpreting ambiguous stimuli negatively. Context specific for the content of the fear

Question 3

Safety behaviors

Answer 3

Avoidance (eg eye contact, cancelling plans)
Impression management (excessive self-monitoring/rehearsal)

Question 4

Internal attention test

Answer 4

Participants with and without speech anxiety;

Respond to picture on the frame, and respond to buzz on the finger.

Showed that high speech anxiety have quicker detection of buzz with social threat.

Question 5

Contrast avoidance

Answer 5

Idea that GAD people worry in order not to feel a great contrast when something happens. Preparing for the worst outcome