Individuals with social anxiety have a tendency to focus on negative or threatening stimuli in the environment (called “attention bias”) and to interpret ambiguous social situations negatively (called “interpretation bias”). These biases are believed to play a key role in the development and maintenance of social anxiety disorder. To explore this concept, PhD candidate Matilda Nowakowski is comparing two approaches for modifying interpretation biases in individuals with social anxiety. These approaches are called computerized interpretation training and cognitive restructuring. She’ll monitor these participants for changes in thinking, behavioural reactions, and body functions.
In our latest Student Spotlight, EENet profiles Nowakowski and her research project. You can read this Student Spotlight on the EENet website.
Student Spotlights are brief profiles of up-and-coming student researchers.