New research suggests that a specific type of brain training could help socially anxious individuals break the habit of instantly focusing on threatening social cues. A study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders demonstrates that incorporating emotional images into memory exercises alters how the eyes automatically orient toward angry faces. These findings offer a potential pathway for computer-based therapies to address the automatic cognitive patterns that fuel social anxiety. Social anxiety is often characterized by a hyper-vigilance to rejection or criticism. This condition manifests physically in how a person observes their environment. Individuals with high levels of social anxiety tend to scan crowds for signs of disapproval. This phenomenon is known as attentional bias. It acts as a filter that prioritizes threatening information over neutral or positive details. This bias typically happens so quickly that the individual is not consciously aware of it. Researchers have previously attempted to correct this habit using cognitive training programs. These programs usually involve working memory tasks. Working memory is the brain’s system for temporarily holding and processing information. …