Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of Self-Focused Attention On Psychopathology, Keith Payne

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This study investigated whether self-focused attention is related to psychopathology in general or if, instead, specific types of self-focus are associated with specific disorders. Self-focus was measured as private self-consciousness, public self-consciousness, emotional self-reference, or performance self-reference. Personality measures included depression, phobias, 'health concern, obsessiveness, and disordered eating. Public self-consciousness was related to greater depression, obsessiveness, and disordered eating. Private self-consciousness was positively correlated with depression and obsessiveness. Performance self-reference was related to lower levels of depression and obsessiveness. The findings indicate that different types of self-focused attention are involved in different disorders. Results are interpreted with reference to self-awareness …