Women report greater post-traumatic distress (PTD) than men following physically threatening even... more Women report greater post-traumatic distress (PTD) than men following physically threatening events. However, gender differences in PTD following social stressors such as status losses are understudied. Whereas the social construction account points to a general sensitivity in women following any type of stressor, the evolutionary account suggests enhanced sensitivity to status losses in men, especially following inter-males aggressions. These propositions were examined in two studies (Study 1, N = 211; Study 2, N = 436). Participants were asked to recall a status loss and to fill out measures assessing PTD and depression severity. In line with the evolutionary account, men, as compared to women, displayed enhanced PTD following status loss. Status losses conducted by men against men were associated with greater PTD than were instances involving other target-aggressor pairings. Finally, age was negatively associated with PTD in men but not in women. The examination of evolutionary challenges modifies the standard view linking the female gender to enhanced sensitivity to trauma. Thus, the pattern of enhanced sensitivity to stressful events appears to be affected by genderand development-specific adaptive challenges.
In an ever-changing social world, learning and updating beliefs about others are essential for sm... more In an ever-changing social world, learning and updating beliefs about others are essential for smooth interpersonal functioning. Social anxiety is a common and burdensome condition involving difficulties in interpersonal functioning. However, the processes governing the learning and updating of beliefs regarding others, processes crucial for these interactions, are poorly understood. To address this gap, we used a novel modification of a reversal-learning task. The task consisted of two phases. Participants first learned that interactions with some individuals were associated with negative outcomes and other individuals with positive outcomes. Later, these associations were updated. Hence, negative individuals became positive and vice-versa. Study 1 (n=87; undergraduate students) revealed that social anxiety was not associated with biased learning of positive or negative information about others. However, social anxiety was associated with a deficit in the positive updating of existing negative beliefs. Study 2 (n=248; Mturk) replicated these findings in a representative and demographically diverse sample, controlling for depression severity and age. This research suggests that social anxiety-related difficulty in positive updating of social information may contribute to the impairment in interpersonal functioning.
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a prevalent condition negatively affecting one’s sense of self a... more Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a prevalent condition negatively affecting one’s sense of self and interpersonal functioning. Relying on cognitive but integrating interpersonal and evolutionary models of SAD as our theoretical base, we review basic processes contributing to the maintenance of this condition (e.g., self-focused attention, imagery, avoidance), as well as the treatment techniques geared to modify such processes (e.g., exposure, attention modification, imagery rescripting). We discuss cognitive-behavioral treatments (CBT) as combining multiple treatment techniques into intervention “packages.” Next, we review the existing empirical evidence on the effectiveness of CBT. Although CBT has accumulated the most support as superior to other credible interventions, we suggest that many treatment challenges remain. We conclude by discussing the ways to enhance the efficacy of CBT for SAD. Specifically, we highlight the need to (a) elucidate the complex relationship between bas...
Women report greater post-traumatic distress (PTD) than men following physically threatening even... more Women report greater post-traumatic distress (PTD) than men following physically threatening events. However, gender differences in PTD following social stressors such as status losses are understudied. Whereas the social construction account points to a general sensitivity in women following any type of stressor, the evolutionary account suggests enhanced sensitivity to status losses in men, especially following inter-males aggressions. These propositions were examined in two studies (Study 1, N = 211; Study 2, N = 436). Participants were asked to recall a status loss and to fill out measures assessing PTD and depression severity. In line with the evolutionary account, men, as compared to women, displayed enhanced PTD following status loss. Status losses conducted by men against men were associated with greater PTD than were instances involving other target-aggressor pairings. Finally, age was negatively associated with PTD in men but not in women. The examination of evolutionary c...
The aim of the current research is to investigate the traumatic impact of status-loss events in S... more The aim of the current research is to investigate the traumatic impact of status-loss events in SA, as well as the moderating effect that the congruence of the genders of the victim and offender may have on that impact. Participants will be asked to recall an autobiographical memory pertaining to the loss of social status or prestige (humiliation). They will then be requested to fill out post-traumatic distress symptoms, event centrality, social anxiety, depression and general anxiety severity measures, as well as some questions about the event (e.g., time of occurrence, gender of the aggressor, etc).
The current research, which includes two studies, aims to investigate the traumatic impact of sta... more The current research, which includes two studies, aims to investigate the traumatic impact of status-loss and physical threat events in SA. In the first study, participants will be asked to recall an autobiographical event pertaining to the loss of social status or prestige (humiliation), they will then be requested to answer questions about the events (e.g., time of occurrence, gender of the aggressor, etc.) and to fill out measures of posttraumatic symptoms, event centrality, social anxiety, depression, general anxiety, and demographics. In the second study, in addition to recalling a humiliation event, participants would be asked to describe an event involving a physical threat. Following each event-description, participants would fill out questionnaires regarding the events as in Study 1. The order of the recall tasks and their related questionnaires would be randomized. Finally, participants will be asked to fill out measures of social anxiety, depression, general anxiety sever...
Proceedings of the Seventh Workshop on Computational Linguistics and Clinical Psychology: Improving Access, 2021
We introduce a large set of Hebrew lexicons pertaining to psychological aspects. These lexicons a... more We introduce a large set of Hebrew lexicons pertaining to psychological aspects. These lexicons are useful for various psychology applications such as detecting emotional state, well being, relationship quality in conversation, identifying topics (e.g., family, work) and many more. We discuss the challenges in creating and validating lexicons in a new language, and highlight our methodological considerations in the data-driven lexicon construction process. Most of the lexicons are publicly available, which will facilitate further research on Hebrew clinical psychology text analysis. The lexicons were developed through data driven means, and verified by domain experts, clinical psychologists and psychology students, in a process of reconciliation with three judges. Development and verification relied on a dataset of a total of 872 psychotherapy session transcripts. We describe the construction process of each collection, the final resource and initial results of research studies employing this resource.
Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 2019
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Models of social anxiety (SA) place the self as an organizing and causal center involved in the m... more Models of social anxiety (SA) place the self as an organizing and causal center involved in the maintenance of this condition. An integrative conceptual framework for the understanding of the self is used to review the literature on the self in SA. Two main distinctions are emphasized: the self-as-a-subject (I-self) versus self-as-an-object (Me-self), and the evolutionary based systems of social-rank and affiliation. We argue that (a) although much progress has been made in understanding the association between SA and Me-self, the association between SA and I-self remains largely unexplored (with the important exception of anxiety-related processes in social situations); and (b) experiences and representations of the self in SA center on social-rank. We suggest that in SA, social-rank themes constitute the linchpins of identity, defined as the content and structure of the Me-self. We speculate that processes related to low social-rank contribute to the focus on representational (Me), rather than experiential (I), self-aspects. Finally, we delineate the ways in which such an understanding may direct and refine the construction of novel, individually-tailored, therapeutic approaches.
Women report greater post-traumatic distress (PTD) than men following physically threatening even... more Women report greater post-traumatic distress (PTD) than men following physically threatening events. However, gender differences in PTD following social stressors such as status losses are understudied. Whereas the social construction account points to a general sensitivity in women following any type of stressor, the evolutionary account suggests enhanced sensitivity to status losses in men, especially following inter-males aggressions. These propositions were examined in two studies (Study 1, N = 211; Study 2, N = 436). Participants were asked to recall a status loss and to fill out measures assessing PTD and depression severity. In line with the evolutionary account, men, as compared to women, displayed enhanced PTD following status loss. Status losses conducted by men against men were associated with greater PTD than were instances involving other target-aggressor pairings. Finally, age was negatively associated with PTD in men but not in women. The examination of evolutionary challenges modifies the standard view linking the female gender to enhanced sensitivity to trauma. Thus, the pattern of enhanced sensitivity to stressful events appears to be affected by genderand development-specific adaptive challenges.
In an ever-changing social world, learning and updating beliefs about others are essential for sm... more In an ever-changing social world, learning and updating beliefs about others are essential for smooth interpersonal functioning. Social anxiety is a common and burdensome condition involving difficulties in interpersonal functioning. However, the processes governing the learning and updating of beliefs regarding others, processes crucial for these interactions, are poorly understood. To address this gap, we used a novel modification of a reversal-learning task. The task consisted of two phases. Participants first learned that interactions with some individuals were associated with negative outcomes and other individuals with positive outcomes. Later, these associations were updated. Hence, negative individuals became positive and vice-versa. Study 1 (n=87; undergraduate students) revealed that social anxiety was not associated with biased learning of positive or negative information about others. However, social anxiety was associated with a deficit in the positive updating of existing negative beliefs. Study 2 (n=248; Mturk) replicated these findings in a representative and demographically diverse sample, controlling for depression severity and age. This research suggests that social anxiety-related difficulty in positive updating of social information may contribute to the impairment in interpersonal functioning.
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a prevalent condition negatively affecting one’s sense of self a... more Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a prevalent condition negatively affecting one’s sense of self and interpersonal functioning. Relying on cognitive but integrating interpersonal and evolutionary models of SAD as our theoretical base, we review basic processes contributing to the maintenance of this condition (e.g., self-focused attention, imagery, avoidance), as well as the treatment techniques geared to modify such processes (e.g., exposure, attention modification, imagery rescripting). We discuss cognitive-behavioral treatments (CBT) as combining multiple treatment techniques into intervention “packages.” Next, we review the existing empirical evidence on the effectiveness of CBT. Although CBT has accumulated the most support as superior to other credible interventions, we suggest that many treatment challenges remain. We conclude by discussing the ways to enhance the efficacy of CBT for SAD. Specifically, we highlight the need to (a) elucidate the complex relationship between bas...
Women report greater post-traumatic distress (PTD) than men following physically threatening even... more Women report greater post-traumatic distress (PTD) than men following physically threatening events. However, gender differences in PTD following social stressors such as status losses are understudied. Whereas the social construction account points to a general sensitivity in women following any type of stressor, the evolutionary account suggests enhanced sensitivity to status losses in men, especially following inter-males aggressions. These propositions were examined in two studies (Study 1, N = 211; Study 2, N = 436). Participants were asked to recall a status loss and to fill out measures assessing PTD and depression severity. In line with the evolutionary account, men, as compared to women, displayed enhanced PTD following status loss. Status losses conducted by men against men were associated with greater PTD than were instances involving other target-aggressor pairings. Finally, age was negatively associated with PTD in men but not in women. The examination of evolutionary c...
The aim of the current research is to investigate the traumatic impact of status-loss events in S... more The aim of the current research is to investigate the traumatic impact of status-loss events in SA, as well as the moderating effect that the congruence of the genders of the victim and offender may have on that impact. Participants will be asked to recall an autobiographical memory pertaining to the loss of social status or prestige (humiliation). They will then be requested to fill out post-traumatic distress symptoms, event centrality, social anxiety, depression and general anxiety severity measures, as well as some questions about the event (e.g., time of occurrence, gender of the aggressor, etc).
The current research, which includes two studies, aims to investigate the traumatic impact of sta... more The current research, which includes two studies, aims to investigate the traumatic impact of status-loss and physical threat events in SA. In the first study, participants will be asked to recall an autobiographical event pertaining to the loss of social status or prestige (humiliation), they will then be requested to answer questions about the events (e.g., time of occurrence, gender of the aggressor, etc.) and to fill out measures of posttraumatic symptoms, event centrality, social anxiety, depression, general anxiety, and demographics. In the second study, in addition to recalling a humiliation event, participants would be asked to describe an event involving a physical threat. Following each event-description, participants would fill out questionnaires regarding the events as in Study 1. The order of the recall tasks and their related questionnaires would be randomized. Finally, participants will be asked to fill out measures of social anxiety, depression, general anxiety sever...
Proceedings of the Seventh Workshop on Computational Linguistics and Clinical Psychology: Improving Access, 2021
We introduce a large set of Hebrew lexicons pertaining to psychological aspects. These lexicons a... more We introduce a large set of Hebrew lexicons pertaining to psychological aspects. These lexicons are useful for various psychology applications such as detecting emotional state, well being, relationship quality in conversation, identifying topics (e.g., family, work) and many more. We discuss the challenges in creating and validating lexicons in a new language, and highlight our methodological considerations in the data-driven lexicon construction process. Most of the lexicons are publicly available, which will facilitate further research on Hebrew clinical psychology text analysis. The lexicons were developed through data driven means, and verified by domain experts, clinical psychologists and psychology students, in a process of reconciliation with three judges. Development and verification relied on a dataset of a total of 872 psychotherapy session transcripts. We describe the construction process of each collection, the final resource and initial results of research studies employing this resource.
Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 2019
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Models of social anxiety (SA) place the self as an organizing and causal center involved in the m... more Models of social anxiety (SA) place the self as an organizing and causal center involved in the maintenance of this condition. An integrative conceptual framework for the understanding of the self is used to review the literature on the self in SA. Two main distinctions are emphasized: the self-as-a-subject (I-self) versus self-as-an-object (Me-self), and the evolutionary based systems of social-rank and affiliation. We argue that (a) although much progress has been made in understanding the association between SA and Me-self, the association between SA and I-self remains largely unexplored (with the important exception of anxiety-related processes in social situations); and (b) experiences and representations of the self in SA center on social-rank. We suggest that in SA, social-rank themes constitute the linchpins of identity, defined as the content and structure of the Me-self. We speculate that processes related to low social-rank contribute to the focus on representational (Me), rather than experiential (I), self-aspects. Finally, we delineate the ways in which such an understanding may direct and refine the construction of novel, individually-tailored, therapeutic approaches.
Uploads
Papers by Roy Azoulay