Characteristics of symptom-relevant negative autobiographical memories in public speaking anxiety

Public speaking anxiety (PSA) is a subtype of social anxiety disorder (SAD) characterized by clinically significant fear, negative self-evaluative thoughts, and avoidance during or in anticipation of public presentation situations. Research demonstrates that symptom-relevant negative autobiographical memories (SNAMs) are highly prevalent in SAD and play a role in the onset and maintenance of these symptoms. However, little research has examined the role of unprompted SNAM recall during traditional cognitive behavioral therapies for SAD, like exposure therapy. The current study aims to examine the differences in symptom characteristics between participants who do or do not endorse PSA-related SNAMs generally, to assess the presence of unprompted PSA-related SNAM recall during a brief virtual reality exposure intervention for PSA, the associations between SNAM recall and PSA symptoms, and to examine characteristics of the most bothersome PSA-related SNAMs and their written narratives following the exposure intervention.