Implicit Associations and Social Anxiety Peter Westberg, Lars-Gunnar Lundh and Peter Jo ¨ nsson Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden Abstract. The aim of this study was to test whether an Implicit Association Test (IAT) with self- and social anxiety-words is sensitive to differences in trait social anxiety, and to an experimental induction of social anxiety. This was performed in the context of a partial replication of a previous study, in which Mauss et al. (2004) compared high and low trait socially anxious individuals before and after a social anxiety induction (an impromptu speech). Mauss et al.’s findings were replicated; that is, (i) the social anxiety induction produced increases in self-rated anxiety, self-rated physiological responses, and actual physiological arousal; and (ii) higher trait social anxiety was associated with stronger self-rated anxiety and stronger self-rated physiological responses, but not with stronger actual physiological responses. In addition, the results showed higher IAT social anxiety scores, both (i) as a result of the social anxiety induction, and (ii) as a function of self- reported trait social anxiety. It is suggested that the IAT may be a useful method for the experimental study of automatic evaluational thought patterns. Key words: social anxiety; implicit associations; anxiety induction; physiological activation; cognitive processes. Received March 19, 2006; Accepted September 1, 2006 Correspondence address: Lars-Gunnar Lundh, Department of Psychology, Box 213, Lund University, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden. Tel: +46 46 222 36 47. E-mail: Lars-Gunnar.Lundh@psychology.lu.se In a previous study, Mauss, Wilhelm, and Gross (2004) used an impromptu speech paradigm to induce social anxiety in 47 high trait social anxiety (HTSA) and 50 low trait social anxiety (LTSA) participants. Mauss et al. assessed anxiety in their participants both by subjective reports and behavioural obser- vation, and also obtained measures of per- ceived physiological activation and actual physiological activation. Both groups of participants showed higher levels of anxiety experience, anxiety behaviour, and (both perceived and actual) physiological activation during the high anxiety period (giving a speech) than during the baseline period. Although the HTSA participants showed greater increases in felt anxiety and anxiety behaviour, and also perceived greater physio- logical activation than the LTSA participants, the 2 groups did not differ in objectively measured physiological activation. Mauss et al. concluded that anxiety experience and perceived physiological responding may be less tightly coupled with actual physiological activation than is typically thought. The results of Mauss et al. (2004) present something of a paradox with regard to social anxiety: if social anxiety is defined in terms of the responses that are produced as the result of a social anxiety induction (e.g. ‘‘you are going to give a speech’’), then it is character- ized not only by an increase in subjectively experienced anxiety and physiological activa- tion, but also by an increase in actual physiological activation. If social anxiety is defined in terms of self-reported trait social anxiety, on the other hand, it is characterized only by subjectively increased anxiety and physiological activation, but not by any increases in actual physiological activation. These results are interesting from a cogni- tive perspective on anxiety, because they indicate that the experience of being disposed to respond to social anxiety (‘‘trait social anxiety’’) may be associated with a cognitive distortion of one’s actual physiological # 2007 Taylor & Francis ISSN 1650-6073 DOI 10.1080/08037060601020401 Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Vol 36, No 1, pp. 43–51, 2007