Abnormal psychology provides a rationale for cognitive behavioral theory (CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD). We reviewed abnormal psychological research on SAD that focused on the following: (1) the relationship between negative interpretation of bodily sensations and state anxiety, (2) the safety behavior and effects of behavioral experiments, and (3) the relationship between attentional function and social anxiety symptoms. Clearly, the researchers and practitioners of CBT share a theoretical framework and their research addresses the variables directly related to clinical practice, which facilitates the understanding of concrete steps for clinical practice and communication among researchers and practitioners. As these researchers try to understand mental disorder from the perspective of normal psychological functions, basic research would improve our understanding of mental disorder and eliminate the need to discriminate between different disorders. Abnormal psychology is a research area that can be enriched by researchers from such fundamental psychology fields as emotional or cognitive psychology.