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Shame and social anxiety disorder

Changing Pathological Shame in Social Anxiety Disorder

Shame can be broadly defined as a global devaluation of the self. It manifests in critical self-verbalizations and often leads to the avoidance of social situations (Clark & Wells, 1995). Excessive shame plays a central role in the development and maintenance of various mental disorders, particularly social anxiety disorder (Gilbert & Miles, 2000; Hedman et al., 2013).
Our research examines the effectiveness and underlying mechanisms of interventions targeting shame regulation. A promising approach is Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT; Gilbert, 2010), which aims to develop self-compassion. In an experimental study, we demonstrated that CFT significantly reduces shame and self-criticism in individuals with elevated social anxiety, highlighting its potential as an emotion-specific treatment for social anxiety disorder (Fink-Lamotte, Hoyer et al., 2023). Currently, we are testing an AI-assisted micro-intervention in which individuals with elevated shame receive short daily self-compassion prompts via a secure messaging platform (e.g., Signal). The project is investigating the potential of generative language models (LLMs) as a low-threshold support tool for shame regulation.

 

Cooperations with:

Interventions used (use freely available)

For the induction of shame  (For use in experiments; Fink-Lamotte, Hoyer et al., 2024):

For the treatment of shame:

Social Anxiety Disorder and Ambivalence Toward Exposure

Exposure-based interventions are among the most effective treatments for anxiety disorders (e.g., Stangier & Frydrich, 2002) and obsessive-compulsive disorders. However many individuals fail to engage or complete these interventions. Ambivalence plays a central role here, the simultaneous desire to reduce suffering and avoidance of the distress that exposure entails.
Previous research (Fink-Lamotte, Lüders & Exner, 2020) has shown that individuals with high disgust sensitivity or contamination fears experience particularly strong ambivalence, which in turn reduces their willingness to participate in exposure-based therapies. Our current research project examines ambivalence as a dynamic cognitive-affective state and tests targeted micro-interventions to strengthen motivation for exposure.

In a recent study (Brinkmann et al., submitted), we developed and validated a new decision-making paradigm based on the ABC model of ambivalence (van Harreveld et al., 2015). Across two intervention studies, we found that a combination of self-compassion and values-based reflection increased participants’ motivation to face anxiety-provoking social situations. Cognitive reappraisal also proved to be effective. The findings suggest that both affective factors such as shame and cognitive components should be addressed to enhance willingness to engage in exposure-based therapy.

 

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Emotion Processing and Perception in Social Anxiety Disorder

In our work with adolescents and adults, we investigated neural responses to emotional stimuli and processes of social evaluation. Across two EEG studies (Rauschenbach et al., 2024; Rauschenbach et al., 2025) children and adolescents with social anxiety disorder (SAD) showed altered early and late event-related potentials in response to emotionally ambiguous faces –even in contexts that would typically reduce threat interpretations. These findings indicate stable attentional and interpretative biases that may be central to the symptomatology of SAD.

Shame, Social Anxiety, and the Climate Crisis

Our research examines how moral emotions such as shame and social norms influence environmental behavior and mental health. Specifically, we examine climate shame, self-efficacy, and injunctive norms as psychological mechanisms of change. The results should contribute to a better understanding of the psychological processes that shape environmental behavior and to the development of interventions to promote sustainable lifestyles.

In an initial study, inducing shame heightened negative emotions and depressive symptoms, whereas activating social norms increased pro-environmental intentions without emotional costs. These findings illustrate both the risks of shame-based messaging and the motivational potential of social norms for sustainable lifestyles.

In a second study, we used a refined version of the paradigm by combining norm and shame manipulations with a validated decision-making task to track behavioral intentions and emotions over time.

 

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Psychological Flexibility and Strengthening Democracy

In collaboration with the Regional Center for Democratic Culture (Demokratienetzwerk, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), we investigate how emotions such as shame, anger, and fear are associated with political rigidity and cognitive inflexibility in the context of democratic participation. To address these processes, we are developing micro-interventions delivered via a stage-based, AI-assisted chatbot drawing on the Stages of Change model (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1982). The aim is to enhance perspective-taking, tolerance of ambiguity, and resilience, thereby reducing shame, anger, and fear as mechanisms of societal polarization. The project will first be implemented and evaluated in two schools in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

 

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