Memory bias in generalized social phobia: Remembering negative emotional expressions

In two experiments, the authors examined memory for facial emotional expres sions in patients with generalized social phobia (GSP) and in nonanxious co ntrol (NAC) participants. Three main questions were addressed. First, do pa tients with GSP differ from NAC participants in their overall memory for fa cial expressions? Second, do patients with GSP exhibit a memory bias for ne gative versus nonnegative expressions? Third, if such a bias exists, is it specific to angry expressions? The results of both experiments indicated th at patients with GSP have better memory for all facial expressions than do NAC participants. Results of experiment 2 suggest that patients with GSP ex hibit enhanced recognition for negative compared with nonnegative expressio ns; in contrast, NAC participants did not exhibit such enhancement. Results concerning specificity were equivocal. The importance of examining cogniti ve biases in patients with GSP via the use of facial expression is discusse d. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.