The Influence of Revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory Subsystems on Social Interaction and Social Observation Anxiety

Evidence suggests that both the BIS and the BAS play a role in the individual differences seen in social anxiety disorder; however, findings concerning the role of the BAS have been mixed. To date, the role of RST subsystems underlying social anxiety has been measured with outdated scales. This study addressed this issue by using a measure purpose-built for the revised RST. The current study was able to replicate past findings that the BAS is differentially related to social interaction anxiety and social observation anxiety (Kimbrel et al., 2010; Kimbrel et al., 2012). While using a newer measure based on the revised RST; however, results indicated that BAS sensitivity related to both subdimensions of social anxiety. In addition, findings indicate that the RST systems remain good predictors of social anxiety symptoms even after accounting for the influence of levels of positive and negative affect. Implications and future directions are discussed