The relation between anxiety and skill in performance-based anxiety disorders: A behavioral formulation of social phobia

Anxiety-related responding arid skill deficits have historically been assoc iated with performance-based anxiety disorders such as social phobia. Promi nent cognitive-behavioral models of social phobia have typically deemphasiz ed skill deficits and focused more on the effects of negative cognition on social performance. Considering that empirical accounts of the relation bet ween social skill and social performance are generally modest, the impact o f skill deficits on the development and maintenance of performance inadequa cies may be relatively neglected in theoretical paradigms in this area. A s econd problem that has plagued social skill research is the misuse of the t erm skill deficit as a synonym for performance deficit. In response to thos e issues, we utilize the multilevel framework of psychological behaviorism to offer a more parsimonious account of the relation between anxiety and sk ill in social phobia. We argue that this integrated model assimilates conte mporary accounts of social phobia and uniquely expands upon them by delinea ting the unique and cumulative effects of skill and anxiety on social perfo rmance. We further suggest that this model resolves existing theoretical in compatibilities, facilitates improved patient-treatment matching, and shows promise as a guiding framework for empirical research.