Table 2.
Correlations between age, depression, anxiety, and reaction times to emotional self- and other-related stimuli in the anxious group.
| Variables | M | SD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outcome variable | ||||||||||
| 1. GAD | 11.1 | 4.49 | — | |||||||
| Control variable | ||||||||||
| 2. Age | 20.9 | 2.55 | −0.14 | — | ||||||
| 3. BDI 1 | 19.2 | 10.83 | 0.47 *** | −0.15 | ||||||
| Predictor variables | — | |||||||||
| 4. Happy face, self-shape RTs | 694.5 | 86.5 | −0.10 | 0.07 | −0.16 | — | ||||
| 5. Neutral face, self-shape RTs | 706.7 | 99.46 | −0.11 | 0.15 | −0.11 | 0.73 *** | — | |||
| 6. Sad face, self-shape RTs | 715.1 | 92.49 | 0.06 | 0.02 | −0.02 | 0.72 *** | 0.64 *** | — | ||
| 7. Happy face, other-shape RTs | 723 | 109.91 | −0.09 | −0.04 | −0.07 | 0.52 *** | 0.55 *** | 0.40 ** | — | |
| 8. Neutral face, other-shape RTs | 720.2 | 105.13 | 0.02 | −0.03 | −0.13 | 0.51 *** | 0.45 *** | 0.41 *** | 0.81 *** | |
| 9. Sad face, other-shape RTs | 740.4 | 108.64 | 0.18 | −0.27 * | −0.00 | 0.47 *** | 0.36 ** | 0.41 *** | 0.75 *** | 0.81 *** |
Note. N = 60; M: mean; SD: standard deviation; * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001 (two-tailed tests). 1: Depression is a confounding variable which influences emotion perception [4]. It was measured with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) [42], which has 21 items with four statements each. Each statement has a rating of 0 (symptom not present) to 3 (severe symptom). Total scores < 9 = no depression, 10–18 = mild–moderate depression, 19–29 = moderate–severe depression, and > 30 = severe depression. The suicidal thoughts or wishes inventory was removed to avoid distress. The internal reliability was measured as high (Cronbach’s α = 0.925).