Cognitive Biases Modification Treatment for Social Anxiety (CBMSP)

Adults with Social Phobia will be randomly assigned to either an attention bias modification treatment, interpretation bias modification treatment, both, or a placebo control condition not designed to change cognitive bias patterns.

Outcome measures will be social anxiety symptoms and severity as measured by gold standard questionnaires as well as diagnosis of social phobia disorder and symptom counts derived from structured clinical interviews based on DSM-IV criteria.

The investigators expect to find significant reduction in social anxiety symptoms in the Treatment groups relative to the placebo control group. The investigators want to find out the relative efficacy of attention and interpretation oriented treatments and the combination of the two.

• Behavioral: Attention Bias Modification Treatment (ABMT)
  Attention training using a computerized spatial attention task (dot-probe) modified to alter threat-related attention patterns.
• Behavioral: Interpretation Bias Modification (IBM)
  Interpretive Bias Modification Treatment (IBMT) using a computerized task modified to facilitate a more benign interpretation bias.
• Behavioral: Control Condition
  Attention and interpretation training using a computerized tasks not intended to alter threat-related biases patterns.
• Behavioral: Attention and Interpretive biases modification (CBM)
  Attention and interpretation training via computerized tasks intended to direct attention away from threat stimuli and to facilitate a more benign interpretation bias.

• Placebo Comparator: Placebo
  repeated trials of a dot-probe task and repeated trials of an interpretation task, both not intended to change threat-related biases patterns.
  Intervention: Behavioral: Control Condition
• Experimental: Attention Bias Modification (ABM)
  Attention training via repeated trials of a dot-probe task intended to direct attention away from threat stimuli.
  Intervention: Behavioral: Attention Bias Modification Treatment (ABMT)
• Experimental: Interpretation Bias Modification (IBM)
  Interpretation training intended to facilitating a more benign interpretation bias
  Intervention: Behavioral: Interpretation Bias Modification (IBM)
• Experimental: Attention and interpretation biases modification
  Attention and interpretation training intended to direct cognitive biases away from threat stimulus.
  Intervention: Behavioral: Attention and Interpretive biases modification (CBM)

Inclusion Criteria:

People suffering from social anxiety

Exclusion Criteria:

Pharmacological or Psychological treatment