Social AnxietyNCT07009444

The Role of Mental Imagery on Approach Motivation and Behavioral Engagement in Social Anxiety

A study testing Psychoeducation and Prospective Mental Imagery in people with Social Anxiety and Social Phobia, run by Philipps University Marburg at 1 site in Germany.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record

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Trial summary

Who is it for?: Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for: Social Anxiety, Social Phobia
What is being tested?: Psychoeducation and Prospective Mental Imagery
Type of treatment: Lifestyle or therapy programme
Could I receive a placebo?: No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people: 136 participants
Where: 1 siteGermany
Study dates: 18 Jul 2023to 25 Nov 2023
Phase: Interventional
Are there results?: None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

Ages 18 years and older
All sexes
Healthy volunteers accepted
Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

Elevated score on Mini-Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-SPIN) > 6

Who cannot join

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Germany1 site

Germany Philipps University
Marburg, 35037

Other trials in Germany

About this study

Efficacy of an online intervention aimed at enhancing both approach motivation and behavioral engagement in facing anxiety-provoking social situations among individuals with heightened social anxiety is investigated. Upon receiving psychoeducation, participants will either undergo a prospective mental-imagery task or no additional task. The intervention's efficacy will be assessed by ratings of experienced and expected pleasure, approach motivation as well as self-reported engagement with feared situation one week later.

Read the detailed description

Although exposure therapy is widely considered the gold standard for treating anxiety disorders, its effectiveness is often hindered by treatment discontinuation. Many individuals avoid facing feared situations, yet exposure is crucial for successful extinction learning. Therefore, there is a need for strategies to enhance both approach motivation and behavioral engagement in anxiety-provoking situations. Within the depression literature, imagery-based interventions have already gained some support in increasing motivation and behavioral engagement in pleasurable activities through enhancement of reward anticipation as well as anticipatory and anticipated pleasure ('motivational amplifier' hypothesis). Considering that social anxiety is characterized by disruptions in motivational and reward processes, prospective mental imagery may strengthen approach motivation and behavioral engagement in exposure to socially feared situations. Thus, the present online study will investigate the effect of a prospective mental-imagery task on approach motivation and behavioral engagement in socially anxious individuals. Following psychoeducation, participants in the experimental group will vividly imagine having successfully mastered the fear-provoking situation. The control group will receive only psychoeducation. Approach motivation as well as reward anticipation, anticipated and anticipatory pleasure will be assessed before and after the psychoeducation and imagery task. Engagement with the feared social situation will be assessed one week later. The aim of this randomized controlled trial in healthy individuals with heightened social anxiety is to investigate whether prospective mental imagery is effective in enhancing self-reported motivation and engagement with feared situation compared to a psychoeducation-only control group. In an exploratory analysis, we will investigate whether individuals' levels of reward sensitivity and anhedonia influence the effectiveness of prospective imagery training.

Conditions: Social Anxiety, Social Phobia
Being tested: Psychoeducation, Prospective Mental Imagery
Medical subject headings: Phobia, Social

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

PsychoeducationBehavioural
Providing information about social anxiety, role of safety and avoidance behaviors in maintaining social anxiety, rationale for exposure to feared social situations
Prospective Mental ImageryBehavioural
A standard imagination script is recounted in which participants have successfully mastered the socially feared situation

Study groups in NCT07009444
Study group	Role	What they receive
Psychoeducation + Prospective Mental-Imagery Task	Experimental	Prospective mental imagery of post-exposure experience Receives: Behavioral: Psychoeducation; Behavioral: Prospective Mental Imagery
Psychoeducation	Active comparator	Not described Receives: Behavioral: Psychoeducation

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

Anticipatory Pleasure
2-item questionnaire on a scale 0 (not at all) to 100 (extremely) assessing current pleasure when imaging approaching and having approached the feared situation.
Measured: Baseline (prior to the assigned intervention) and immediately post-intervention (following prospective mental imagery or psychoeducation)
Anticipated Pleasure
2-item questionnaire on a scale 0 (not at all) to 100 (extremely) assessing expected pleasure when approaching and having approached the feared situation.
Measured: Baseline (prior to the assigned intervention) and immediately post-intervention (following prospective mental imagery or psychoeducation)
Reward Anticipation
2-item questionnaire on a scale 0 (not at all) to 100 (extremely) assessing expected reward related to approaching and having approached the feared situation.
Measured: Baseline (prior to the assigned intervention) and immediately post-intervention (following prospective mental imagery or psychoeducation)
Motivation
Self-reported motivation to approach the feared situation on a scale of 0 (not at all) to 100 (extremely).
Measured: Baseline (prior to the assigned intervention) and immediately post-intervention (following prospective mental imagery or psychoeducation)
Frequency of Exposure
Self-reported frequency of exposure to the feared situation. Scale: 0 to 10, indicating the frequency of exposure to the feared situation.
Measured: Post-treatment (i.e., 7 days after baseline)

Secondary outcomes (7)

Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN)
17-item questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale (0 = 'not at all'; 4 = 'extremely') assessing symptom severity related to social anxiety (i.e., fear, avoidance, physical symptoms). Total range score: 0 to 68. Higher scores indicating greater severity of social anxiety.
Measured: Change from baseline to post-treatment (i.e., 7 days)
Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS)
24-item questionnaire on a 4-point Likert scale (fear: 0 = 'none'; 3 = 'severe'; avoidance: 0 = 'never'; 3 = 'usually') assessing both fear/anxiety and avoidance of social situations, respectively. Total range score: 0 to 144. Higher scores indicating greater fear and avoidance as well as severity of social anxiety.
Measured: Change from baseline to post-treatment (i.e., 7 days)
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
9-item questionnaire on a 4-point Likert scale (0 = 'not at all'; 3 = 'nearly every day') assessing the presence and severity of depressive symptoms. Total range score: 0 to 27. Higher scores indicating more severe depression.
Measured: Change from baseline to post-treatment (i.e., 7 days)
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS)
20-item questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale (0 = 'not at all'; 4 = 'extremely') assessing the presence and intensity of both positive and negative emotions. Total score range for positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA), respectively: 0 to 50. Higher scores indicate on either scale indicate a higher level of that emotion.
Measured: Change from baseline to post-treatment (i.e., 7 days)
BIS/BAS Scales
24-item questionnaire on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = 'strongly disagree'; 4 = 'strongly agree') assessing an individual's tendency toward reward-seeking and punishment-avoidance behavior. Total score range BIS: 7 to 25. Higher scores indicating an increased sensitivity to threats or punishment (BIS). Total score range BAS: 13 to 52. Higher scores indicating a greater propensity to seek rewards and engage in approach behavior.
Measured: Baseline
Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS)
18-item questionnaire on a 6-point Likert scale (1 = 'strongly disagree'; 6 = 'strongly agree') assessing anticipatory and consummatory pleasure. Total score range: 18 to 108. Higher total scores indicating a greater capacity for pleasure.
Measured: Baseline
Vividness of Mental Imagination
Vividness of imagination on a scale from 0 (not at all) to 100 (extremely vivid) assessed immediately after imagination exercise.
Measured: Immediately after prospective mental imagery at baseline

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

18 Jul 202325 Nov 2023

First posted6 Jun 2025
Study start18 Jul 2023
Primary completion25 Nov 2023
Study completion25 Nov 2023

Resources

Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
Publications (4)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
Other trials for Social AnxietyStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design

Study type: Interventional
Phase: Phase N/A
Primary purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomised
Intervention model: Parallel groups
Masking: Single blind
Who is masked: Participant
Enrolment: 136 participants (actual)

IDs, dates and publications

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT07009444
Sponsor's protocol ID: DARE
Status last verified: Jan 2026
First submitted: 14 May 2025
Last updated: 9 Jan 2026
Results posted: No
Data monitoring committee: No
FDA-regulated drug: No
FDA-regulated device: No

Publications

Hallford DJ, Farrell H, Lynch E. Increasing anticipated and anticipatory pleasure through episodic thinking. Emotion. 2022 Jun;22(4):690-700. doi: 10.1037/emo0000765. Epub 2020 Jun 18.
PubMed 32551746
Renner F, Werthmann J, Paetsch A, Bar HE, Heise M, Bruijniks SJE. Prospective Mental Imagery in Depression: Impact on Reward Processing and Reward-Motivated Behaviour. Clin Psychol Eur. 2021 Jun 18;3(2):e3013. doi: 10.32872/cpe.3013. eCollection 2021 Jun.
PubMed 36397959
Renner F, Murphy FC, Ji JL, Manly T, Holmes EA. Mental imagery as a "motivational amplifier" to promote activities. Behav Res Ther. 2019 Mar;114:51-59. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2019.02.002. Epub 2019 Feb 5.
PubMed 30797989
Ji JL, Geiles D, Saulsman LM. Mental imagery-based episodic simulation amplifies motivation and behavioural engagement in planned reward activities. Behav Res Ther. 2021 Oct;145:103947. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2021.103947. Epub 2021 Aug 15.
PubMed 34433114

Want to know more?

The sponsor has not listed a contact. The official record may have more details.

Talk to your doctor first and take this page with you. Only the study team can confirm whether you can join.

Questions to ask the study team

What is the study trying to find out?
What would I need to do, and how often would I visit?
Could I receive a placebo instead of the treatment?
What are the possible risks and benefits for me?
Will it cost me anything? Are travel or time paid for?
Can I keep seeing my own doctor during the study?
What happens when the study ends?

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All Social Anxiety trials

Study at a glance

From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 9 Jan 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.

Official title: The Role of Mental Imagery on Approach Motivation and Behavioral Engagement in Social Anxiety
ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT07009444
Acronym / sponsor ID: DARE
Conditions: Social Anxiety, Social Phobia
Study type: Interventional
Recruitment status: Completed
Enrolment: 136 participants (actual)
Lead sponsor: Philipps University MarburgUniversity, hospital or other
Study start: 18 Jul 2023 (actual)
Primary completion: 25 Nov 2023 (actual)
Study completion: 25 Nov 2023 (actual)
First posted: 6 Jun 2025 (actual)
Results: Not posted in the source record

Clinical summary

The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.

Detailed description

Study design

Primary purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomised
Intervention model: Parallel groups
Masking: Single blind (participant)
Number of arms: 2

Arm	Type	Receives
Psychoeducation + Prospective Mental-Imagery Task	Experimental	Behavioral: Psychoeducation, Behavioral: Prospective Mental ImageryProspective mental imagery of post-exposure experience
Psychoeducation	Active comparator	Behavioral: Psychoeducation

Who may qualify

Ages: 18 years and older
Sex: All
Healthy volunteers: Accepted
Age groups: Adult, Older adult

Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)

Elevated score on Mini-Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-SPIN) > 6

Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)

Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Interventions

Intervention	Type	Arms
PsychoeducationProviding information about social anxiety, role of safety and avoidance behaviors in maintaining social anxiety, rationale for exposure to feared social situations	Behavioural	Psychoeducation, Psychoeducation + Prospective Mental-Imagery Task
Prospective Mental ImageryA standard imagination script is recounted in which participants have successfully mastered the socially feared situation	Behavioural	Psychoeducation + Prospective Mental-Imagery Task

Primary outcome

Anticipatory Pleasure
Time frame: Baseline (prior to the assigned intervention) and immediately post-intervention (following prospective mental imagery or psychoeducation)
2-item questionnaire on a scale 0 (not at all) to 100 (extremely) assessing current pleasure when imaging approaching and having approached the feared situation.
Anticipated Pleasure
Time frame: Baseline (prior to the assigned intervention) and immediately post-intervention (following prospective mental imagery or psychoeducation)
2-item questionnaire on a scale 0 (not at all) to 100 (extremely) assessing expected pleasure when approaching and having approached the feared situation.
Reward Anticipation
Time frame: Baseline (prior to the assigned intervention) and immediately post-intervention (following prospective mental imagery or psychoeducation)
2-item questionnaire on a scale 0 (not at all) to 100 (extremely) assessing expected reward related to approaching and having approached the feared situation.
Motivation
Time frame: Baseline (prior to the assigned intervention) and immediately post-intervention (following prospective mental imagery or psychoeducation)
Self-reported motivation to approach the feared situation on a scale of 0 (not at all) to 100 (extremely).
Frequency of Exposure
Time frame: Post-treatment (i.e., 7 days after baseline)
Self-reported frequency of exposure to the feared situation. Scale: 0 to 10, indicating the frequency of exposure to the feared situation.

7 secondary outcomes

Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN)
Time frame: Change from baseline to post-treatment (i.e., 7 days)
Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS)
Time frame: Change from baseline to post-treatment (i.e., 7 days)
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
Time frame: Change from baseline to post-treatment (i.e., 7 days)
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS)
Time frame: Change from baseline to post-treatment (i.e., 7 days)
BIS/BAS Scales
Time frame: Baseline
Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS)
Time frame: Baseline
Vividness of Mental Imagination
Time frame: Immediately after prospective mental imagery at baseline

Results and safety

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

Research links

Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 9 Jan 2026.
Background: PubMed 32551746Hallford DJ, Farrell H, Lynch E. Increasing anticipated and anticipatory pleasure through episodic thinking. Emotion. 2022 Jun;22(4):690-700. doi: 10.1037/emo0000765. Epub 2020 Jun 18.
Background: PubMed 36397959Renner F, Werthmann J, Paetsch A, Bar HE, Heise M, Bruijniks SJE. Prospective Mental Imagery in Depression: Impact on Reward Processing and Reward-Motivated Behaviour. Clin Psychol Eur. 2021 Jun 18;3(2):e3013. doi: 10.32872/cpe.3013. eCollection 2021 Jun.
Background: PubMed 30797989Renner F, Murphy FC, Ji JL, Manly T, Holmes EA. Mental imagery as a "motivational amplifier" to promote activities. Behav Res Ther. 2019 Mar;114:51-59. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2019.02.002. Epub 2019 Feb 5.
Background: PubMed 34433114Ji JL, Geiles D, Saulsman LM. Mental imagery-based episodic simulation amplifies motivation and behavioural engagement in planned reward activities. Behav Res Ther. 2021 Oct;145:103947. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2021.103947. Epub 2021 Aug 15.

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Referral and contact

AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.

The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.

1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Psychoeducation and Prospective Mental Imagery in people with Social Anxiety and Social Phobia, run by Philipps University Marburg at 1 site in Germany.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 9 Jan 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Germany. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Anticipatory Pleasure (time frame: Baseline (prior to the assigned intervention) and immediately post-intervention (following prospective mental imagery or psychoeducation)). The study lists 5 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT07009444, which also lists 4 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 9 Jan 2026.