Autonomic recovery and habituation in social anxiety

Growing evidence suggests that, contrary to expectation, high trait socially anxious (HTSA) and low trait socially anxious (LTSA) individuals show comparable autonomic reactivity during stressful speech tasks. To test the hypothesis that autonomic differences between groups might emerge during recovery or habituation, 35 HTSA and LTSA participants gave two impromptu speeches. Measures of anxiety experience as well as cardiovascular, electrodermal, respiratory, and vagal activation were obtained. Despite greater reports of anxiety experience in the HTSA versus the LTSA participants, autonomic measures showed comparable reactivity, habituation, and recovery in the two anxiety groups. These results suggest minimal autonomic differences between HTSA and LTSA individuals, thus supporting theories of social anxiety that emphasize cognitive factors.