Comparison of Cognitive Assessment Methods With Heterosocially Anxious College Women

Three issues were investigated in this study: (a) the comparability of self-statements generated by different cognitive assessment methods (structured questionnaire and thought listing), (b) the effect of an assessment delay on cognitive phenomena (self-statements; rational and irrational beliefs; evaluative, potency, and activity semantic schema; self-attributions; and self-ratings of discomfort and performance), and (c) the interrelationships among different cognitive variables. Subjects were 64 high and low heterosocially anxious women who engaged in a conversation with a male confederate. One half of the women completed the measures after the conversation, and the other half completed them one week later. The two self-statement assessment methods were counterbalanced, but order effects were non-significant. Correlations indicated that self-statements (positive and negative thoughts) generated by the two methods were unrelated. Multivariate and univariate analyses failed to reveal significant effects for time of assessment. Significant effects were found on almost all variables for anxiety, constituting additional construct validity for these measures. A correlational matrix provided information about interrelationships among the cognitive variables.