Self-help Books for Social Anxiety

The goal of this study is to compare the efficacy and mechanisms of change of two self-help books for social anxiety in college students in a randomized controlled trial. One book is based on traditional cognitive behavioral therapy and one is based on acceptance and commitment therapy. This study will test the following hypotheses: Hypothesis 1: The CBT and ACT book conditions will both experience decreased social anxiety and distress. Life satisfaction and values progress will increase in both conditions. Hypothesis 2: The CBT condition will result in greater use of reappraisal, the ACT condition will not. Hypothesis 3: The ACT condition will result in greater use of defusion and decreased psychological inflexibility; the CBT condition will not. Hypothesis 4: Changes in experiential avoidance and defusion will predict changes in social anxiety and values progress in the ACT condition. Hypothesis 5: Changes in reappraisal will predict changes in social anxiety in the CBT condition. Change in values progress will be predicted by change in social anxiety in the CBT condition. Hypothesis 6: The association between social anxiety/negative affect and values progress will decrease or disappear in the ACT condition (i.e., decoupling), and remain the same in the CBT condition.