The Efficacy of Prospective Mental Imagery in Enhancing Approach Motivation Among Socially Anxious Individuals

Launched by PHILIPPS UNIVERSITY MARBURG · May 8, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying a new online program designed to help people with social anxiety feel more motivated to engage in social situations that make them nervous. Participants will receive helpful information about social anxiety and then take part in one of two activities: imagining themselves successfully facing their fears or working on a reasoning task. The researchers want to see how well this program helps people feel more comfortable and willing to approach situations like giving a compliment to a stranger or asking for a recommendation at a restaurant.

To join the trial, individuals should be between the ages of 65 and 74 and have a significant level of social anxiety. This means they should score above 6 on a specific anxiety questionnaire and have moderate fear of the two situations mentioned, having avoided them in the past week. Participants will be asked about their feelings and experiences one week after the program to measure how effective it was in helping them face their fears. This trial is currently looking for volunteers, and anyone interested should consider if they meet the eligibility criteria.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Elevated score on Mini-Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-SPIN) \> 6
• • Moderate fear and avoidance of two specified social situations (i.e., giving a stranger a compliment and asking for a restaurant recommendation), each rated above 5 on a Likert scale ranging from 0 (not at all) to 10 (extremely), respectively
• • Avoidance of the two specified social situations (i.e., giving a stranger a compliment and asking for a restaurant recommendation), indicated by not having engaged in either behaviors in the past 7 days