Memory bias and personality characteristics in college students with social anxiety disorder

Abstract Introduction Some individuals are more susceptible to recalling false information about events that never happened in their life. Nevertheless, there are several factors, such as personality characteristics, that appear to be related to memory performance. Social anxiety also provokes memory deficits for events that happen to other people, because these individuals tend to focus on their own inner selves rather than on external signs. Objective To investigate the influence of the personality characteristics of individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) on memory performance. Methods In this study, 183 university students had their memory tested using a complex emotional story about a mother and her son. Only subjects without clinical symptoms of depression and general anxiety (N = 148; 61 with SAD) were included in the study. Participants were compared for differences in personality characteristics using the Factorial Inventory of Personality and for SAD using the Social Phobia Inventory. Results The main results showed that memory performance of individuals with low percentile ranks in the personality characteristic dominance, i.e., those with low self-esteem, remembered more true information about the story than those with high scores when they did not have SAD. Conclusion The results are helpful to foster better understanding of the personality characteristics related to SAD, such as low dominance, which implies low self-esteem and difficulties with trust and with imposing themselves on others. The results could help development and improvement of techniques for therapeutic intervention.

摘要与引言：部分个体更容易回忆起关于自身未曾经历过的事件的虚假信息。现有研究表明，多项因素（如人格特质）与记忆表现存在关联。社交焦虑亦会导致个体在记忆他人经历的事件时出现记忆缺损，此类个体往往更关注自身内心活动，而非外部线索。

研究目的：探究社交焦虑障碍（Social Anxiety Disorder, SAD）患者的人格特质对其记忆表现的影响。

研究方法：本研究招募183名大学生，采用一则围绕母子展开的复杂情感故事对其进行记忆测试。最终仅纳入无抑郁及广泛性焦虑临床症状的被试共148名，其中61名符合社交焦虑障碍诊断标准。研究采用人格因素量表（Factorial Inventory of Personality）评估被试的人格特质差异，采用社交恐怖量表（Social Phobia Inventory）筛查社交焦虑障碍患者。

研究结果：核心结果显示，在未患社交焦虑障碍的被试中，人格特质“支配性”得分百分位较低（即自尊水平较低）的个体，相较于得分较高者，能够记住更多故事中的真实信息。

研究结论：本研究结果有助于深化对与社交焦虑障碍相关的人格特质的理解，例如低支配性特质，该特质往往伴随低自尊、信任障碍及难以向他人合理表达自身诉求等问题。本研究结果可为治疗干预技术的开发与优化提供重要参考。