Retrospective versus prospective self-rating of anxiety symptoms and cognitions

The discrepancy between retrospective and prospective rating of anxiety sym ptoms and cognition was examined in 20 agoraphobics. Subjects were required to complete a checklist of symptoms and cognitions during exposure to an a goraphobic situation, and then to complete a similar set retrospectively. M ore cognitions were rated retrospectively than prospectively, with the disc repancy especially evident for cognitions about physical catastrophe. In co ntrast, there was no discrepancy between anxiety symptoms rated prospective ly versus retrospectively. This may be because anxiety symptoms are easier for patients to identify than cognitions, require less introspection, or ar e less affected by context than cognition. Implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions for future research are made. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.