Content-specificity of a single-session cognitive bias modification of interpretations for social anxiety

Abstract

Cognitive bias modification of Interpretations (CBM-I) has been proposed as a promising mechanistically-focused intervention for social anxiety disorder (SAD). Although CBM-I modifies the interpretation biases associated with SAD, the effect sizes for symptomatic improvements are small. The efficacy of CBM-I may be improved by tailoring the content of the intervention to the targeted disorder (i.e., content-specificity). The current study examined whether content-specific CBM-I was associated with improved bias and symptom outcomes compared to non-content-specific CBM-I. Participants (N = 108, aged 18–35, M = 19.00, SD = 2.44) with elevated social anxiety symptoms were randomly allocated to receive a single session of content-specific or non-content-specific CBM-I. The content-specific group had significantly greater reductions in negative interpretation bias and social interaction anxiety symptoms than the non-content-specific group. There were no group differences for social observation anxiety. However, the non-content-specific group had a significantly larger reduction in state anxiety than the content-specific group. The results indicated that CBM-I for SAD may be improved by matching the content of the intervention to the disorder. Future research should replicate the results using multiple sessions and consider the importance of tailoring CBM-I to diagnostic presentation and specific biases.