Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3256-0887

Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Shari Steinman

Committee Co-Chair

Barry Edelstein

Committee Member

Amy Gentzler

Committee Member

Elizabeth Claydon

Abstract

While emotion recognition deficits have been found in several anxiety and related disorders (e.g., social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive), consistent results have not been established. To clarify the relationship between emotion recognition abilities and anxiety, the current study tested if transdiagnostic factors related to anxiety are predictors of emotion recognition abilities. Data was analyzed from participants (N = 188) recruited via CloudResearch; they completed measures of three transdiagnostic factors related to anxiety (e.g., anxiety sensitivity, intolerance of uncertainty, and rumination), followed by an emotion recognition task. Multiple regression analyses revealed higher levels of anxiety sensitivity predicted worse recognition for anger, disgust, fear, neutral, sadness, surprise, and overall recognition. Contrary to predictions, intolerance of uncertainty and rumination did not predict unique variance in models that also included anxiety sensitivity. Results suggest anxiety sensitivity may play an important role in maintaining clinical anxiety disorders through interpretation of emotional expressions, although future experimental or longitudinal studies are needed to determine if these relationships are correlational or causal.

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