Exposure to Social Situations
183Sample Situational Exposure Hierarchy: Generalized Social Anxiety
Situation Fear Avoidance
1. Give a 1-hour, formal lecture to 30 coworkers about a 
familiar topic.100 100
2. Have a party at my home for my coworkers. 95 95
3. Ask Pat out for a dinner date. 90 100
4. Answer a personal ad in the newspaper. 85 100
5. Attend the annual holiday party at work without drinking 
alcohol.85 85
6. Attend a tea for a coworker who is retiring. 70 70
7. Have a formal dinner with Rita (a friend). 70 75
8. Talk about personal feelings or opinions with my 
coworkers.60 60
9. Have a fast-food lunch with Rita. 60 50
10.  Have a conversation with the person sitting next to me on 
a bus.50 50
11. Ask someone for directions or for the time. 45 45
12. Call Rita on the telephone. 40 40
13. Eat alone in a crowded food court at the mall. 40 40
14. Walk around at a crowded mall. 35 35
15. Answer the telephone without checking my caller ID. 30 30
To generate your own hierarchy, refer back to the suggested exposure practices in 
this chapter as well as to the results of your self-assessment in chapter 3. Choose situations 
that range in difﬁculty from slightly anxiety-provoking to completely overwhelming.
Record these situations in order of difﬁculty (starting with the most anxiety-pro -
voking at the top) in the spaces provided on the following blank Situational Exposure