Professor Idan Aderka

Welcome to the MSPS Colloquium with Professor Idan Aderka

Nonverbal Synchrony in Social Anxiety Disorder

Ever felt like you were out of synch with someone?

Relationships with others are of paramount importance to our mental and physical health, and individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) have significant impairments in their ability to initiate, form, and maintain relationships. Prof. Aderka’s talk will describe a program of research on interpersonal relationships in SAD with the aim of understanding the processes that interfere with the development of authentic, intimate, and meaningful social connections. Central to this program of research is the examination of nonverbal synchrony. Nonverbal synchrony reflects the way individuals’ movement synchronizes during interactions and serves as a form of adaptive communication. The talk will describe the innovative measurement of nonverbal synchrony using computer-based video analysis of human interactions, as well as a series of studies that investigate the role of nonverbal synchrony in SAD, potential implications for the diagnosis of SAD, and directions for treatment.

About Professor Idan M. Aderka

Idan M. Aderka is a Professor at the School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Israel, and the Director of the Social Anxiety and Treatment Processes Laboratory. Prior to taking up his position at the University of Haifa, Prof. Aderka conducted post-doctoral research at Boston University and the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders in Boston, where he focused on illuminating the maintaining psychological processes of social anxiety and the ways in which social anxiety changes in psychotherapy. The overarching goal of his research is to develop new ways to reduce the burden of social anxiety and help individuals with the disorder form close, satisfying, and genuine relationships with others.

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