Theses and Dissertations

Campus Access Only

All rights reserved. This publication is intended for use solely by faculty, students, and staff of Nova Southeastern University. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, now known or later developed, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author or the publisher.

Date of Award

1-1-2011

Document Type

Dissertation - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PhD)

Department

Center for Psychological Studies

First Advisor

Christian DeLucia

Second Advisor

Craig Marker

Third Advisor

Ana Fins

Keywords

anxiety, associations, implicit, priming, social, subliminal

Abstract

Social anxiety describes a marked and persistent fear of negative evaluation in social performance situations that invariably evokes anxiety. In the following study, three dimensions of perception and information processing in context of social anxiety were covered: distinctions between state and trait anxiety, implicit associations, and subliminal priming. Implicit associations may be defined as unconscious cognitive processes related to one's preferences and biases. Implicit associations may also affect how quickly an individual perceives a threatening situation. Exposure to subliminal stimuli also appears to have an effect on the perception of stress-inducing stimuli. This research examined how subliminal priming may influence implicit associations. Results from the present study suggested that the implicit associations of social anxiety were minimally but significantly related to explicit reports of anxiety. Subliminal priming significantly influenced the participants' implicit associations of social anxiety.

To access this thesis/dissertation you must have a valid nova.edu OR mynsu.nova.edu email address and create an account for NSUWorks.

Free My Thesis

If you are the author of this work and would like to grant permission to make it openly accessible to all, please click the Free My Thesis button.

  Contact Author

  Link to NovaCat

Share

COinS