Behaviour Research and Therapy 45 (2007) 729–735 Is the delay discounting paradigm useful in understanding social anxiety? Jennifer S. Rounds, J. Gayle Beck à , DeMond M. Grant Department of Psychology, Park Hall, University of Buffalo—SUNY, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA Received 10 January 2006; received in revised form 16 May 2006; accepted 15 June 2006 Abstract The delay discounting paradigm was used to examine its utility in understanding motivational factors among socially anxious individuals. Participants (n ¼ 88) who reported high and low levels of social anxiety were randomly assigned to either a social threat or non-threat condition and their subsequent rates of discounting were examined. A significant difference in rates of discounting was found between the high and low social anxiety groups within the non-threat condition, with high social anxiety participants showing increased discounting. This study suggests that a modified version of the delay discounting paradigm may be useful in understanding motivational factors in social anxiety. r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Social anxiety; Delay discounting Introduction Social anxiety is defined by fear and avoidance of social or performance situations (Hofmann & DiBartolo, 2001). At its most extreme, it manifests as social anxiety disorder (SAD), which creates emotional distress and interferes with daily functioning. At present, little is known about the motivational factors that influence an individual’s decision to avoid versus approach social contact, particularly among individuals with social anxiety. The current study adapted a well-known paradigm used to examine motivational processes, in order to examine its usefulness in understanding social avoidance among individuals high and low in social anxiety. Although numerous theoretical accounts exist to explain social avoidance in individuals with SAD (Alden, 2001; Clark & Wells, 1995; Rapee & Heimberg, 1997), only a limited number of studies have looked at variables that are associated with social avoidance. One study has shown that increased physiological arousal (i.e., heart rate and blood pressure) and negative cognitions are correlated with social avoidance in a sample of individuals who scored above the cutoff scores indicative of clinical levels of social anxiety on a battery of screening measures (Beidel, Turner, & Dancu, 1985). In a second study, the severity of social anxiety symptoms was positively correlated with social avoidance in a sample of fourth and fifth grade students (LaVoie, Spenceri, & Mahoney-Wernli, 2001). Similarly, Gazelle and Rudolph (2004) selected fifth and sixth ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevier.com/locate/brat 0005-7967/$ - see front matter r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2006.06.007 à Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 716 6453650x230; fax: +1 716 6453801. E-mail address: jgbeck@buffalo.edu (J.G. Beck).