Who Is This For?

This is for anyone who tends to “jump to conclusions” in social situations, especially if those conclusions are negative. It’s for practicing the skill of seeing alternative, more “benign” (harmless) interpretations.

This is particularly relevant for Social Anxiety, where we often misread neutral situations (like someone being quiet) as negative (like “they are mad at me”).

The Science: Interpretation Bias (CBM-I)

This game is based on Cognitive Bias Modification for Interpretation (CBM-I). Research shows that people with anxiety have a “cognitive bias”—a built-in habit—of interpreting ambiguous situations in the most threatening way possible.

CBM-I works by repeatedly training your brain to resolve ambiguity in a positive or neutral way. By practicing this, you can start to create a new mental habit, making the benign interpretation just as “automatic” as the anxious one. The “voice-acted outcome” reinforces this by proving the benign interpretation was correct.

References

Hertel, P. T., & Mathews, A. (2011). Cognitive bias modification: past perspectives, current findings, and future applications. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(6), 521-536.

Data & Privacy

This game uses your browser’s localStorage to save your progress (which packs you’ve unlocked). This data is stored only on your device. It is never sent to our server or any third party.

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Warning & Disclaimer

This is not therapy. This is an educational tool, not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment for social anxiety disorder or any other condition.

No Guarantee: Joyful Psych Labs makes no claims, promises, or guarantees about the effectiveness of this tool. Real-world interactions are complex.

Liability: Your use of this tool is solely at your own risk. Joyful Psych Labs (and its creators) shall have no liability or responsibility for any adverse consequences alleged to have happened as a consequence of using this game.