Situational Determinants of Social Anxiety in Clinic and Nonclinic Samples: Physiological and Cognitive Correlates

Nonclinic socially anxious individuals, clinic socially anxious patients, and nonsocially anxious subjects were assessed for changes in patterns of physiological reactivity and cognitions across three interpersonal tasks. The clinic and nonclinic samples of socially anxious subjects differed significantly from the nonsocially anxious subjects in level of physiological reactivity and type of cognition. There were no significant differences between the two anxious groups. The results indicate that both thoughts and physiological reactivity were influenced by situational parameters. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of situational impact in assessments of behavior in socially anxious individuals and the comparison of subjects selected on the basis of performance on various social anxiety inventories to patients who seek treatment in an anxiety disorders clinic.