On bias and balance: Updating agentic and communal self-beliefs in social anxiety and depression

Abstract

Cognitive models propose that biased information processing in social anxiety (SA) and depression facilitates negative and inhibits the processing of positive self-information. These biases are postulated to reinforce persistent negative views of the self. Biased updating of self-beliefs in response to valanced new information in both SA and depression is theoretically postulated. The results, however, are not fully consistent with theoretical postulations. Importantly, self-information is structured around two main domains - agency (e.g., competence, assertiveness) and communion (e.g., warmth, connectedness). These domains distinctly influence the way information about the self is processed and integrated. However, this distinction is missing from the examination of self-belief updating. The current study examined how individuals update agentic and communal self-beliefs in response to negative and positive social feedback. We employed a novel ‘SocialMirror’ paradigm in a large subclinical sample (N = 560). In this two-phase reversal learning task, participants received negative feedback followed by positive feedback on their personality traits. SA was uniquely associated with increased negative updating of agentic, but not communal, self-beliefs. Depression was uniquely associated with reduced positive updating across both domains. Notably, these findings remained evident even after statistically controlling for initial beliefs. Across the sample, updating was domain dependent, with agentic traits being less malleable. These findings suggest domain- and valence-related patterns of self-belief updating in SA and depression. Results are interpreted in light of Bayesian models, emphasizing the need to integrate motivational aspects into cognitive theory. We highlight the implications of these findings for interventions aimed at updating self-belief in psychopathology.