Language processing studies show that native speakers anticipate linguistic elements before their occurrence. However, it is debated to what extent second language (L2) learners do the same. To address this question, this study examines the processing of cataphora by Chinese-speaking L2 English learners. Additionally, we query whether L2 learners’ expectations of upcoming antecedents are modulated by first language (L1) influence and constrained by Principle B of the Binding Theory (Chomsky, 1981). Two self-paced reading studies show that L1 English speakers’ anticipation of upcoming referents is active and strictly constrained by Principle B. Crucially, L2 English learners also actively predict upcoming referents and are sensitive to Principle B. However, L2 processing patterns suggest that Principle B competes with semantics at later processing stages. Together with data from L1 Chinese and English control participants, these results support the view that anticipatory processing in English is not fundamentally different between monolinguals and bilinguals.

This study investigated whether positive feedback from same-age peers can modify self-relevant cognitive processes of high socially anxious youth in a positive direction. Thirty-three high socially anxious and 32 non-socially anxious undergraduate students (17–22 years) gave an impromptu speech and received either positive or neutral feedback post-speech. Anticipatory processing (AP) was rated prior to the speech via self-report. One week later participants returned to the laboratory and completed questionnaires assessing post-event processing (PEP) thoughts related to the impromptu speech and AP about a future speech. For high socially anxious youth receiving positive feedback, AP about their speech performance significantly improved over time. In addition, high socially anxious participants who received positive feedback reported a higher frequency of positive PEP thoughts about their speech in the intervening week. These improvements did not occur in the neutral peer feedback condition. Non-socially anxious participants’ AP improved in both feedback conditions, whereas their frequency of PEP was unaffected by feedback. These findings suggest that, in high socially anxious youth, positive feedback from same-age peers can modify self-relevant cognitive processes in a positive direction. We discuss how methodological improvements could more thoroughly investigate the potential of positive peer feedback for changing cognitions.

Anticipatory processing (AP) is a repetitive thinking style associated with social anxiety that has been understudied relative to other similar constructs (e.g., rumination, worry). The primary goal of this study was the development and evaluation of the Positive Beliefs about Anticipatory Processing Questionnaire (PB-APQ) with a sample of 301 undergraduate students. Further, it was predicted that anticipatory processing would mediate the relationship between positive beliefs about anticipatory processing and social interaction anxiety. The findings from this study suggest that PB-APQ is a valid and reliable construct. Anticipatory processing was shown to partially mediate the relationship between positive beliefs about anticipatory processing and social interaction anxiety. The results provide initial evidence for the suggestion that individuals who tend to hold positive beliefs about anticipatory processing tend to engage in anticipatory processing, which may increase social interaction anxiety.

This study examined the effects of anticipatory processing on a subsequent speech in high and low socially anxious participants. Forty participants (n = 20 in each group) gave two speeches, one after no anticipatory processing and one after 10-minutes of anticipatory processing. In anticipatory processing, high socially anxious participants were more anxious, and experienced more negative and unhelpful self-images than low socially anxious participants did. However, both groups rated memories of past speeches as having a somewhat helpful effect on their speech preparation. High socially anxious participants tended to use the observer perspective more in the anticipated speech, while, in the unanticipated speech, they might have been switching between observer and field perspectives. Low socially anxious participants tended to use the field perspective in both speeches. High and low socially anxious participants reported better speech performances after the anticipated, compared to after the unanticipated speech. Results suggest that anticipatory processing may have both positive and negative effects on socially anxious individuals' cognitive processing and performance before and during a speech.

A psychometric study was conducted with the aim of collecting basic information about anticipatory processing and its relationship to social anxiety. A self-report measure of anticipatory processing was developed and utilized in a large student sample. The results confirmed that such processing is very common before an anticipated feared social event and a significant correlation (r=0.49) between anticipatory processing scores and social anxiety was found, which remained when trait anxiety and depression were controlled. A factor analysis indicated that all items of the measure except for two loaded significantly on one factor and accounted for the 47.3% of the variance. Socially anxious individuals in the study reported that their thoughts about the event were recurrent, intrusive, interfered with their concentration and increased their state of anxiety. Also, they reported that they wished they could avoid the situation. The results are discussed in terms of the Clark and Wells cognitive model of social phobia.