If I Share With You, Will You Share With Me? A Quasi-Experimental Study on Social Anxiety and Self-Disclosure in Dictator Game

Social anxiety is characterized by a constant fear of negative evaluation, falling short of standards, low perceived likeability, and difficulties meeting social criteria. Using a quasi-experiment and a zero-acquaintance paradigm, this paper examines sharing behavior, which is represented by the willingness to give money in a Dictator Game. It explores gender and social anxiety differences related to this behavior, in terms of who is prone to receive more money. In addition to this, we investigated how the receiver's self-disclosure (positive or negative) influences the dictators' sharing behavior. Based on the original version of Dictator Game, involving a dictator and a receiver, one hundred and five adolescents aged 12-15, played Dictator Game in which they divided coins between themselves and the receiver. Our findings indicate that self-disclosure led to positive and gradual changes for non-anxious speakers. The anxious boy consistently achieved the highest money rate among all speakers, while the anxious girl received the lowest. However, her self-disclosure resulted in an increase in receiving. Across all situations, respondents reported slightly increased feelings of guilt and shame. Taken together, this study sheds light on adolescents' giving behavior by examining the interaction between adolescents' social traits and diverse social contexts throughout their developmental stages, ultimately influencing prosocial decision-making.

Social intelligence and pathological gaming: a longitudinal study of the associations among negative emotions, social intelligence, aggression, and pathological gaming in adolescents

Introduction

Pathological gaming continues to be highlighted as one of the most critical issues concerning adolescents. Numerous studies have aimed to elucidate the relationships between adolescents' negative emotions (e.g., peer stress, anxiety, loneliness) and social factors (e.g., social skills and relationships) with pathological gaming. Despite the recognition of social intelligence as a crucial factor related to social factors in adolescents, there is a paucity of research examining pathological gaming and social intelligence through longitudinal analyses.

Method

This study focuses on exploring the factors that induce or inhibit pathological gaming among adolescents by analysing three-year longitudinal data from Korean adolescent gamers (N=968). Using a structural equation model, the study examines the relationships between adolescents' negative emotions (e.g., peer stress, anxiety, loneliness), social intelligence, and pathological gaming to elucidate their associations.

Results

The results indicate that negative emotions can potentially reduce levels of social intelligence and increase aggression. Increased aggression, in turn, appears to be associated with higher levels of pathological gaming. Social intelligence was found to impact pathological gaming potentially negatively and may exert a significantly stronger influence on aggression compared to negative emotions.

Discussion

The study's findings suggest that bolstering adolescents' social aptitude and addressing mental health concerns could serve as beneficial interventions in tackling issues associated with excessive media engagement among youth. These findings suggest that, within the context of adolescent pathological gaming, social intelligence could significantly affect aggression and emerge as a key variable that may lead to pathological gaming.

Vulnerabilities in social anxiety: Integrating intra- and interpersonal perspectives

What are the major vulnerabilities in people with social anxiety? What are the most promising directions for translational research pertaining to this condition? The present paper provides an integrative summary of basic and applied translational research on social anxiety, emphasizing vulnerability factors. It is divided into two subsections: intrapersonal and interpersonal. The intrapersonal section synthesizes research relating to (a) self-representations and self-referential processes; (b) emotions and their regulation; and (c) cognitive biases: attention, interpretation and judgment, and memory. The interpersonal section summarizes findings regarding the systems of (a) approach and avoidance, (b) affiliation and social rank, and their implications for interpersonal impairments. Our review suggests that the science of social anxiety and, more generally, psychopathology may be advanced by examining processes and their underlying content within broad psychological systems. Increased interaction between basic and applied researchers to diversify and elaborate different perspectives on social anxiety is necessary for progress.

Catching a (sine) wave: Temporal dynamics of nonverbal synchrony in social anxiety disorder

Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) experience a range of interpersonal problems and studies have found that nonverbal synchrony (the coordination between interaction partners' movements) may be impaired in dyads in which one individual has SAD (Asher et al., 2020). In the present study, we examined the temporal dynamics of nonverbal synchrony during "getting aquatinted" conversations of individuals with and without SAD. Specifically, participants (n = 146) formed either SAD dyads (dyads in which one individual had SAD and the other did not; n = 37 dyads), or control dyads (dyads in which both individuals did not have SAD; n = 36 dyads). Dyads were randomized to either small talk or closeness-generating (i.e., intimate) conversations. We found that during conversations, nonverbal synchrony followed a repeating pattern of increases and decreases that was best modeled by a sinusoidal wave (explained variance = 63.74 %). We found significant Diagnosis × Social Context interactions in the temporal dynamics of nonverbal synchrony (i.e., in the parameters of sine waves). Specifically, we found that for SAD dyads (but not control dyads), the average sine wave amplitude which indicates increases and decreases in nonverbal synchrony was greater during small talk conversations compared to closeness-generating conversations. In addition, we found that among control dyads (but not SAD dyads), the average vertical offset of sine waves (i.e., the average level of nonverbal synchrony) during closeness-generating conversations was greater compared to small talk conversations. The findings are interpreted within the context of the social anxiety literature as capturing two distinct social-anxiety related processes, and suggest that when examined temporally (rather than averaged), nonverbal synchrony may be an important implicit biomarker of SAD.

Nonverbal synchrony in diagnostic interviews of individuals with social anxiety disorder

The present study examined nonverbal synchrony (i.e., synchrony between individuals' movement) during diagnostic interviews of individuals with and without social anxiety disorder (SAD). Specifically, 42 individuals with SAD and 42 individuals without SAD underwent a structured clinical interview, and videos of clinical interviews were analysed using Motion Energy Analysis (an objective machine-based video analysis) to quantify each individuals' movement as well as dyadic synchrony. Results indicated that interviews of individuals with SAD had significantly lower levels of nonverbal synchrony compared to interviews of individuals without SAD. In addition, interviews of individuals with SAD had lower levels of pacing compared to interviews of individuals without SAD (pacing refers to synchrony in which the interviewer initiates movement to which the participant responds). Analyses with social anxiety represented as a continuum of severity (vs. a diagnostic dichotomy) resulted in similar findings. Thus, individuals with SAD synchronized with interviewers' movement to a lesser extent compared to individuals without SAD, and social anxiety was associated with diminished synchrony. Implications for psychopathology and diagnosis of SAD are discussed.

The role of fear of evaluation in group perception

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is associated with interpersonal impairment. One possible reason for this dysfunction is that people with SAD evaluate others differently on dimensions of warmth and dominance compared to individuals without the disorder. In the current study, we examined whether two core constructs of SAD, fear of negative evaluation and fear of positive evaluation, affect the judgments that people make about groups based on warmth and dominance. We also investigated whether racial similarity (i.e., whether someone is the same race as those they're interacting with) and ethnic identity (i.e., one's sense of belonging to a particular social group) played a role in the types of evaluations people made. We created vignettes about groups varying in warmth and dominance, as well as photos varying in racial makeup. We presented photo-vignette pairs to participants and asked them to rate their desire to interact with the groups depicted in the photo-vignette. Participants in general reported greater desire to interact with warmer and less dominant groups. People with higher fear of negative evaluation reported higher desire for interaction with warmer groups, and those with higher fear of positive evaluation reported higher desire to interact with less dominant groups. We did not find any support for our hypothesis that people with stronger ethnic identity would show greater desire to interact with groups that were more similar to their race. Implications for treatment and directions for further research are discussed.

Connectome-based modeling reveals a resting-state functional network that mediates the relationship between social rejection and rumination

Background

Rumination impedes problem solving and is one of the most important factors in the onset and maintenance of multiple psychiatric disorders. The current study aims to investigate the impact of social rejection on rumination and explore the underlying neural mechanisms involved in this process.

Methods

We utilized psychological questionnaire and resting-state brain imaging data from a sample of 560 individuals. The predictive model for rumination scores was constructed using resting-state functional connectivity data through connectome-based predictive modeling. Additionally, a mediation analysis was conducted to investigate the mediating role of the prediction network in the relationship between social rejection and rumination.

Results

A positive correlation between social rejection and rumination was found. We obtained the prediction model of rumination and found that the strongest contributions came from the intra- and internetwork connectivity within the default mode network (DMN), dorsal attention network (DAN), frontoparietal control network (FPCN), and sensorimotor networks (SMN). Analysis of node strength revealed the significance of the supramarginal gyrus (SMG) and angular gyrus (AG) as key nodes in the prediction model. In addition, mediation analysis showed that the strength of the prediction network mediated the relationship between social rejection and rumination.

Conclusion

The findings highlight the crucial role of functional connections among the DMN, DAN, FPCN, and SMN in linking social rejection and rumination, particular in brain regions implicated in social cognition and emotion, namely the SMG and AG regions. These results enhance our understanding of the consequences of social rejection and provide insights for novel intervention strategies targeting rumination.

Does the need for uniqueness lead to non-suicidal self-injury? The mediation of depression and the moderation of gender

Objective

Based on the integrated theoretical model of the development and maintenance of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and gender role theory, this study investigated the longitudinal impact of the need for uniqueness on NSSI among adolescents, and the mediating role of depression and the moderating role of gender.

Participants

A total of 1,166 middle school students (Mean age = 13.04, SDage = 0.78, range = 11-16) from a city in central China was recruited to complete the Need for Uniqueness Scale, Depression Scale, and Adolescent Self-Injury Questionnaire at two waves. The participants included 475 boys and 457 girls.

Methods

Convenience sampling was used, and a longitudinal study (2 time points with a 6-month interval) was conducted to test our hypotheses. SPSS 25.0 was used to evaluate reliability, and to calculate descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation. PROCESS version 3 was used to test longitudinal relationships among the need for uniqueness, depression and NSSI, and construct a moderated mediation model.

Results

Results revealed that T1 need for uniqueness in adolescents was significantly positively associated with T2 NSSI and T2 depression, and T2 depression was significantly positively associated with T2 NSSI. After controlling for gender, T1 need for uniqueness positively predicted T2 NSSI. Furthermore, the mediation analysis demonstrated that the pathway linking T1 need for uniqueness to T2 NSSI through T2 depression was statistically significant. Moreover, gender moderated the indirect effect from T2 depression to T2 NSSI in the association between T1 need for uniqueness and T2 NSSI. Compared to boys in the same situation, girls who are susceptible to depression were more likely to commit NSSI.

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that the need for uniqueness in adolescents longitudinally predicts NSSI through the mediating role of depression and gender moderates the indirect effect from depression to NSSI. The current study not only suggests that the need for uniqueness is a risk factor for NSSI among adolescents, but also provides an empirical basis for the prevention and intervention of NSSI.

The impact of particular safety behaviours on perceived likeability and authenticity during interpersonal interactions in social anxiety disorder

BACKGROUND

Safety behaviours are hypothesized to play a vital role in maintaining social anxiety disorder (SAD), in part by orienting socially anxious individuals to adopt an avoidance-based mindset focused on self-protection and self-concealment. Evidence suggests an association between safety behaviour use and negative social outcomes for individuals with SAD. However, research has largely focused on the broad group of safety behaviours, whereas specific subtypes have received less attention.

AIM

The present study aimed to further our understanding of the negative interpersonal consequences of specific types of safety behaviours for individuals with SAD by examining whether active, inhibiting/restricting, or physical symptom management safety behaviour use affects perceived likeability and authenticity during a conversation with a stranger.

METHOD

Individuals with SAD (n = 29; mean age 35.5 years) and healthy control (non-SAD) participants (n = 40; mean age 18.6 years) engaged in a semi-structured social interaction with trained confederates.

RESULTS

Participants with SAD were perceived as significantly less likeable and authentic by the confederates, and rated themselves as significantly less authentic compared with those without SAD. The association between group status and likeability was mediated by the use of inhibiting/restricting safety behaviours and the association between group status and participant-rated authenticity was mediated by the use of both inhibiting/restricting and active safety behaviours, but not physical symptom management strategies.

CONCLUSIONS

These results contribute to a growing literature suggesting that some, but not all, safety behaviours may play an important role in creating the negative social outcomes that individuals with SAD experience.

РОЛЬ СОЦІАЛЬНОГО ВІДСТОРОНЕННЯ ТА ВІДКИНЕННЯ У ПАТОГЕНЕЗІ СОЦІАЛЬНОГО ТРИВОЖНОГО РОЗЛАДУ: ОГЛЯД ЗАКОРДОННОЇ ЛІТЕРАТУРИ

Мета: теоретично  проаналізувати роль соціального відсторонення та відкинення у патогенезі соціального тривожного розладу як модифікуючих факторів вразливості. Методи. Пошук попередніх досліджень здійснювався за допомогою сервісів  PubMed, Web-of-Science та Research Gate за наступними критеріями: дослідження стосувалися осіб, які мали встановлений діагноз соціальний тривожний розлад або належали до субклінічної групи; була проведена первинна оцінка чи аналіз впливу соціального відсторонення та відкинення; фокусом уваги досліджень соціальна фобія та/чи соціальне відсторонення/відкинення. Результати. Опрацьовуючи дану проблематику було проаналізовано понад 214 наукових статей, з яких  переважна частина опубліковані після 2017 року. У відповідності до критеріїв було обрано 30 статей. За результатами аналізу даних встановлено, що засвоєння соціального травматичного досвіду та підвищений рівень нейротизму сприяють формуванню непродуктивних когнітивних стратегій оцінювання («передбачення катастрофи») соціальних ситуацій й себе в них та відповідних їх змісту поведінкових стратегій уникнення через страх соціального відкинення, що безпосередньо знижує соціальну ефективність особи. Недостатня усвідомленість власних емоцій та викривлені переконання навколо них, стимулюючи уникнення й соціальне відсторонення як запобіжний засіб, обумовлюють високі показники соціальної тривожності, посилюють сприйняття соціальної загрози й зменшують сприйняття контролю над нею, та як наслідок актуалізують патерни травматичного досвіду, який особа намагалася уникнути. Опанування суб’єктивного емоційного досвіду за умов обмежених ресурсів життєвих обставин (як пандемія, проблемні стосунки, тривала ситуація невизначеності тощо) підсилюють вразливість до соціального тривожного розладу як непродуктивної копінг стратегії. Висновки. Уникнення емоційного досвіду та підтримання не коригуючого досвіду стосунків через страх бути відкинутим може закріплювати дисфункційний цикл когнітивних переконань щодо себе й світу у патогенезі соціальної фобії й знаходити свій прояв у соціальній відстороненості.  Ключові слова: уникаюча поведінка, соціальна травма, ранні дисфункційні схеми, стигма, COVID-19.

Romantic relationship quality and functioning for individuals with clinical and sub-clinical social anxiety: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is associated with pervasive functional impairments and chronicity. Romantic relationship functioning and quality for individuals with SAD has been previously explored but existing studies have not been synthesised.

AIMS

This scoping review charted existing literature regarding the quality and functioning of romantic relationships for people with SAD and high sub-clinical social anxiety (SA).

METHODS

The review used a scoping approach to explore the current evidence base relating to SA, romantic relationship quality and functioning. Articles published in English after 1980 that reported either clinical or high sub-clinical SA were eligible. Double screening, data extraction, quality assessment, and thematic analysis of studies was conducted.

RESULTS

50 studies from 46 articles were identified, involving a range of community, college, adolescent, and clinical samples. Thematic analysis identified four themes; Relationship Quality, Satisfaction and Commitment; Communication and Self-Disclosure; Conflict, Social Support and Trust; Intimacy, Closeness and Sexual Satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

The review highlights that evidence relating to romantic relationship functioning for individuals with SAD and high sub-clinical SA is heterogeneous, with relationship initiation in particular relatively under-explored. Further research is required to elucidate key constructs and interpersonal processes related to relationship functioning, and to inform treatment approaches with this group.

Man vs. machine: A comparison of human and computer assessment of nonverbal behavior in social anxiety disorder

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a common psychological disorder associated with broad interpersonal impairment. Most previous studies have examined nonverbal behavior in SAD using human coders. However, one recent study utilized a machine-based analysis of nonverbal behavior and dyadic synchrony in SAD (Asher, Kauffmann, & Aderka, 2020). In the present study, we compared human and computer assessments of nonverbal behavior in social anxiety to enhance our knowledge about their commonalities and unique differences in capturing nonverbal behavior in the context of SAD. Specifically, the present study included 152 individuals: 38 individuals diagnosed with SAD and 114 individuals without SAD. Participants formed 76 opposite-sex interaction dyads comprising either two individuals without SAD (n = 39 control dyads) or one individual with SAD and one individual without SAD (n = 37 SAD dyads). All participants underwent a getting-acquainted task and were videotaped during the conversation. Half of the interactions were small talk interactions and half were closeness-generating interactions that required significant self-disclosure. We found that both types of coding were associated with self-reported social anxiety but that machine-based coding was superior in capturing social anxiety in closeness-generating contexts. Implications for research on nonverbal behavior in SAD are discussed.

Factors impacting the experience of empathic distress in social anxiety: a path analysis approach

Personal distress is a manifestation of empathy characterized by a tendency to respond to others' difficulties by increasing one's distress. Previous work on socially anxious individuals has shown mixed results, consistent with a model of social anxiety symptomatology characterized by increased personal distress in empathy eliciting situations, which is driven by emotional dysregulation. The current study aimed to test a serial mediation model to uncover the role of emotional dysregulation in the relationship between social anxiety and empathic distress. 330 young adults were included in the sample. Social anxiety symptomatology, difficulty identifying one's feelings, expressive suppression, and empathic distress were analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling. Measurement and structural models were supported by data, with social anxiety exhibiting direct and indirect effects on empathic distress. Results also suggest that expressive suppression exhibits a negative effect on the distress exhibited in empathy eliciting situations, which brings forth relevant theoretical and clinical implications.

Co-Rumination May Mitigate Depressive and Anxious Symptoms for Those High in Social Interaction Anxiety

Introduction: Early co-rumination research has demonstrated that engagement in co-rumination, or persistent discussion of one's problems at length, can lead to increased depressive and anxious symptoms. There is limited research examining the direct relationship between a specialized type of anxiety—social interaction anxiety—and co-rumination, and that research has conflicting results, making it unclear what the relationship between the two is. The purpose of the present study was to further examine the relationship between co-rumination and social interaction anxiety, depressive symptoms, and symptoms of anxiety. Method: Ninety-six college women and men completed online questionnaires twice, separated by one month. Results: We found that co-rumination at Time 1 negatively predicted social interaction anxiety at Time 2. We also found co-rumination predicted reduced depressive symptoms, but only among those who had moderate and high levels of social interaction anxiety. In that respect, our findings replicate van Zalk and Tillfors (2017), who found that co-rumination acts as a buffer against depressive symptoms for individuals high in social anxiety. Our study also offers an extension of van Zalk and Tillfors in that the same pattern was found for anxious symptoms, but only among those with the highest levels of social interaction anxiety. Discussion: Therefore, co-rumination for highly socially-anxious individuals may serve as a form of positive social support, which highlights important individual differences on internalizing symptoms.

When two hearts beat as one: Heart-rate synchrony in social anxiety disorder

Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) experience significant interpersonal impairment. However, little is known about the physiological processes that are associated with interpersonal dysfunction in the disorder. In the present study we examined heart-rate (HR) synchrony in SAD during "getting-acquainted" interactions between opposite-sex partners. Participants included 118 individuals who formed 59 dyads: 30 dyads that included one individual with SAD and one non-socially anxious (NSA) individual (SAD dyads) and 29 dyads that included two NSA individuals (control dyads). Dyads were randomly assigned to either a closeness-generating conversation or a small talk conversation. For closeness-generating conversations, we found that social anxiety was positively associated with HR synchrony in control dyads but negatively associated with HR synchrony in SAD dyads. These results remained when controlling for depressive symptoms and participants' movement. Our findings suggest that in more intimate social contexts, SAD may impair the ability to create HR synchrony between interlocuters and this can have negative relational consequences. Our findings are further discussed in the context of cognitive behavioral and interpersonal models of SAD, and clinical and research implications are delineated.

I'm Not Feeling It: Momentary Experiential Avoidance and Social Anxiety Among Individuals With Social Anxiety Disorder

Previous studies have found that social anxiety and experiential avoidance (EA) are significantly associated, but the directionality of this relationship has not been firmly established. The present study examined momentary EA and social anxiety using repeated measurements during an opposite-sex interaction. Participants were 164 individuals (50% female): 42 were diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (SAD) and the remaining 122 were non-socially-anxious individuals (NSAs). Participants formed 42 experimental dyads including 1 individual with SAD and 1 NSA individual, and 40 control dyads including 2 NSA individuals. Lower-level mediational modeling indicated that for individuals with SAD, a reciprocal relationship was observed in which changes in both EA and social anxiety mediated changes in each other. However, changes in EA explained approximately 89% of changes in social anxiety whereas changes in social anxiety explained approximately 52% of changes in EA throughout the interaction. For NSA individuals, only social anxiety predicted EA. These findings point to a deleterious cycle driven mostly by EA among individuals with SAD, but not NSA individuals. Findings are discussed within the context of previous empirical findings as well as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and cognitive-behavioral models of psychopathology.

Behavior when socially anxious individuals expect to be (dis)liked: The role of self-disclosure and mimicry in actual likeability

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to unravel the relationship between socially anxious individuals' expectation of being (dis)liked and actual likeability by looking at the mediating role of both strategic and automatic social behavior: Self-disclosure as well as mimicry were examined.

METHOD

Female participants (N = 91) with various levels of social anxiety participated in a social task with a confederate. Before the task, participants indicated their expectation of being liked by the confederate. Afterwards, objective video-observers rated the likeability of the participants before and after the social task as well as their level of self-disclosure and mimicry.

RESULTS

Social anxiety correlated negatively with the expectation to be liked but was not related to observer ratings of likeability, self-disclosure or mimicry. However, degree of social anxiety moderated the relation between expectations and self-disclosure. As expected, participants with low levels of social anxiety disclosed more if they expected to be liked. A reversed pattern was found for the high socially anxious participants: Here, higher expectations of being liked were related to less self-disclosure.

LIMITATIONS

The study used an analogue female sample. Our social interaction task was highly structured and does not reflect informal day-to-day conversations.

CONCLUSION

Socially anxious individuals function rather well in highly structured social tasks. No support was found for declined likeability or disrupted mimicry. Nevertheless, high socially anxious individuals did have a cognitive bias and show a self-protective strategy: when expecting a neutral judgment they reduce their level of self-disclosure. This pattern probably adds to their feelings of social disconnectedness.

Biased distance estimation in social anxiety disorder: A new avenue for understanding avoidance behavior

OBJECTIVES

People regulate their interpersonal space appropriately to obtain a comfortable distance for interacting with others. Socially anxious individuals are especially prone to discomfort from and fear of physical closeness, leading them to prefer a greater interpersonal distance from others. Previous studies also indicate that fear can enhance the threat-related elements of a threatening stimulus. For example, spider phobia is associated with estimating spiders as bigger and faster than they actually are. Nonetheless, it is still unclear whether the preference of those with social anxiety disorder (SAD) to maintain greater distance from others is associated with biased estimations of interpersonal distance.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 87 participants (44 clinically diagnosed with SAD and 43 control) performed validated computerized and ecological tasks in a real-life setting while social space estimations and preferences were measured.

RESULTS

Participants with SAD felt comfortable when maintaining a greater distance from unfamiliar others compared to the control group and estimated unfamiliar others to be closer to them than they actually were. Moreover, the estimation bias predicted their preferred distance from strangers, indicating a strong association between estimation bias severity and actual approach-avoidance behavior.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate that distance estimation bias underlies avoidance behavior in SAD, suggesting the involvement of a new cognitive mechanism in personal space regulation.

The blurred line between anxiety and depression: hesitations on comorbidity, thresholds and hierarchy

The delineation of anxiety and depression as well as the relation between anxiety and depression are still subject of debate. Many patients suffering from depression also suffer from anxiety, and many patients with anxiety suffer or will suffer from depression. The co-occurrence or co-morbidity is higher than what could be expected based on their respective prevalences, and even pushed some authors to call it cothymia. This epidemiological and clinical reality results in many conceptual hesitations. We first will summarize how the different (versions of the) classification systems do not seem to have been successful in their attempts to delineate the blurred line between depression and anxiety, before questioning whether a dialogue with a more phenomenological or psychopathological approach could be helpful in understanding the articulation between both affective phenomena, as well as in bridging neurobiological research and clinical practice.

Insights from the German Version of the Social Touch Questionnaire: How Attitude towards Social Touch relates to Symptoms of Social Anxiety

Social interpersonal touch is an important part of nonverbal communication and mediates human bonding. However, one's attitude towards touch is highly individual, and touch is not always perceived as pleasant. For instance, socially anxious people show less touch comfort and higher touch avoidance than socially extroverted people. To investigate which aspects of touch attitude relate to symptoms of social anxiety, we adapted the "Social Touch Questionnaire" (STQ) to the German-speaking population and related it to the "Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale" which assesses symptoms related to social anxiety. In a sample of 479 students, validation of the STQ disclosed good reliability and internal consistency. Exploratory factor analysis conducted in half of the sample revealed a three-factor model and suggested shortening the STQ for higher quality. Confirmatory factor analysis in the other half supported these findings. Subscale analyses revealed a correlation between symptoms of social anxiety and dislike of social touch but not between the former and liking of social touch. Overall, touch is an important channel of social communication which individuals with symptoms of social anxiety seem hindered to benefit from. Screening for this issue via the shortened STQ might provide supporting information for therapists. To investigate the transferability of the STQ as a screening tool for daily clinical practice, we suggest further research in clinical samples.

Social curiosity as a way to overcome death anxiety: perspective of terror management theory

Social curiosity has been found to have great benefits in human life, especially in fostering interpersonal relationships. Nevertheless there is indication of other benefit of social curiosity that have not yet been explored, namely overcoming the anxiety of death. This indication is based on previous research which found a positive relationship between anxiety and social curiosity. In this study, social curiosity is framed as representation of symbolic immortality, which people use to overcome the terror of death. To support this conjecture, two studies were conducted using the Terror Management Theory (TMT) framework. Study 1 (N = 352, M age = 19.39) found a positive relationship between death anxiety and social curiosity. In Study 2 (N = 507, M age = 20.68) it was found that intolerance of uncertainty and desire for self-verification mediated the relationship between death anxiety and social curiosity. The results of this study indicate that increasing interest in obtaining information about how other people think, feel, or act is a form of mechanism used by people to control anxiety related to death.

Social Anxiety and Perceived Social Support: Gender Differences and the Mediating Role of Communication Styles

Social anxiety has been linked with lower perceived social support, and there is some evidence that communication styles may explain this relationship. In addition, a body of literature has found gender differences in social anxiety, communication, and perceived social support. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate six communication styles as mediators of the relationship between social anxiety and perceived social support and whether such relationships vary by gender. College men and women (N = 813) completed an online survey. Among men and women, social anxiety was associated with lower social support through lower expressiveness. Among men, social anxiety was associated with lower perceived social support through lower preciseness; among women, this link was through lower verbal aggressiveness and higher emotionality. Psychotherapy may function as an environment in which socially anxious individuals can learn communication skills and acquire the confidence to use them in order to increase perceived social support.

Facial Affect and Interpersonal Affiliation: Displays of Emotion During Relationship Formation in Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) often involves difficulty developing relationships. Facial expressions are important in relationship formation, but data are limited regarding facial display production among persons with SAD during social interaction. The current study compared facial displays of individuals diagnosed with SAD (n=41) to control participants (n=24) as they interacted with a confederate; confederates and observers then rated their desire for future interaction with participants. Automated software used the Facial Action Coding System (FACS; Ekman & Friesen, 1978) to classify displays. During portions of the interaction that involved listening to partners, the SAD group smiled less frequently and less intensely than controls, and lower smiling was associated with others' lower desire for future interaction with participants. Diminished positive facial affect in response to interaction partners may disrupt relationship formation in SAD and may serve as an effective treatment target.

The pursuit of social acceptance: aberrant conformity in social anxiety disorder

The defining pathological features of social anxiety disorder primarily concern the social landscape, yet few empirical studies have examined the potentially aberrant behavioral and neural patterns in this population using socially interactive paradigms. We addressed this issue by investigating the behavioral and neural patterns associated with social conformity in patients with social anxiety disorder. We recorded event-related potentials when healthy subjects (n = 19), and patients with social anxiety disorder (n = 20) made attractiveness judgements of unfamiliar others, while at the same time, being exposed to congruent/incongruent peer ratings. Afterwards, participants were asked to rerate the same faces without the presence of peer ratings. When compared with healthy controls, social anxiety disorder patients exhibited more positive attitudes to unfamiliar others and conformed more with peers-higher feedback. These behavioral effects were in parallel with neural responses associated with social conflict in the N400 signal, showing higher conformity to peers-higher feedback compared with peers-lower or peers-agree feedback among social anxiety disorder patients. Our findings provide evidence on the behavioral and neural patterns of social anxiety disorder during social interactions, and support the hypothesis that individuals with social anxiety disorder are more motivated to pursue social acceptance and possibly avoid social rejection.

Effects of Social Anxiety on Emotional Mimicry and Contagion: Feeling Negative, but Smiling Politely

Socially anxiety may be related to a different pattern of facial mimicry and contagion of others' emotions. We report two studies in which participants with different levels of social anxiety reacted to others' emotional displays, either shown on a computer screen (Study 1) or in an actual social interaction (Study 2). Study 1 examined facial mimicry and emotional contagion in response to displays of happiness, anger, fear, and contempt. Participants mimicked negative and positive emotions to some extent, but we found no relation between mimicry and the social anxiety level of the participants. Furthermore, socially anxious individuals were more prone to experience negative emotions and felt more irritated in response to negative emotion displays. In Study 2, we found that social anxiety was related to enhanced mimicry of smiling, but this was only the case for polite smiles and not for enjoyment smiles. These results suggest that socially anxious individuals tend to catch negative emotions from others, but suppress their expression by mimicking positive displays. This may be explained by the tendency of socially anxious individuals to avoid conflict or rejection.

The effects of social anxiety on interpersonal evaluations of warmth and dominance

Social anxiety disorder is associated with interpersonal dysfunction, but it is not clear why people with the disorder feel unsatisfied with their relationships. One possibility is that higher social anxiety could lead to changes in sensitivity to interpersonal traits. We examined whether social anxiety moderates the types of interpersonal evaluations people make regarding warmth and dominance. We developed vignettes in which central characters systematically varied in dominance and warmth and asked two samples of participants (undergraduate students, n=176, and online workers, n=403) to rate their willingness to interact with, and the social desirability of, these characters. Participants in general reported stronger desire to interact with warmer and less dominant characters, and rated warmer and more dominant characters as being more socially desirable. People with higher social anxiety exhibited greater tolerance for colder and more submissive characters on both rated dimensions. The perceived similarity of the characters accounted for the bulk of these effects. Participants indicated a higher desire to interact with characters more similar to themselves, and people with higher social anxiety were more likely to rate submissive and cold characters as being like themselves. The results have implications for clinical interventions for social anxiety disorder.

Social Anxiety, Affect, Cortisol Response and Performance on a Speech Task

BACKGROUND

Social anxiety is characterized by increased emotional reactivity to social stimuli, but results of studies focusing on affective reactions of socially anxious subjects in the situation of social exposition are inconclusive, especially in the case of endocrinological measures of affect.

SAMPLING AND METHODS

This study was designed to examine individual differences in endocrinological and affective reactions to social exposure as well as in performance on a speech task in a group of students (n = 44) comprising subjects with either high or low levels of social anxiety. Measures of salivary cortisol and positive and negative affect were taken before and after an impromptu speech. Self-ratings and observer ratings of performance were also obtained.

RESULTS

Cortisol levels and negative affect increased in both groups after the speech task, and positive affect decreased; however, group × affect interactions were not significant. Assessments conducted after the speech task revealed that highly socially anxious participants had lower observer ratings of performance while cortisol increase and changes in self-reported affect were not related to performance.

CONCLUSIONS

Socially anxious individuals do not differ from nonanxious individuals in affective reactions to social exposition, but reveal worse performance at a speech task.

Family and friendship informal support networks and social anxiety disorder among African Americans and Black Caribbeans

BACKGROUND

This study explores relationships between Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and quality and frequency of involvement with family and friends.

METHODS

Data are from a nationally representative sample of African American and Black Caribbean adults (n = 5191), the National Survey of American Life. SAD was assessed using the DSM-IV World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview.

RESULTS

Findings indicated that among both populations, close supportive ties with family members and friends are protective against meeting criteria for SAD. Negative interactions with family (e.g., conflicts), however, are a risk factor for SAD among both African Americans and Black Caribbeans. For African Americans, an interaction indicates that the relationship between negative interaction and social anxiety is much stronger among African Americans who are not emotionally close to their families. For Caribbean Blacks, an interaction suggests that the odds of meeting criteria for SAD were higher among Black Caribbeans who had high negative interaction with family as well as low levels of friendship closeness.

LIMITATIONS

The cross-sectional nature of the study does not allow for causal attributions for findings.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that SAD may impact black ethnic subgroups differently, which has important implications for understanding the nature, etiology, and treatment of this disorder.

Try to find me: social anxiety and peer first impressions

Following initial interactions, some people are less willing to pursue ongoing contact with socially anxious individuals than with those who are not socially anxious. To better understand this process, we conducted two studies that examined peers' first impressions of target individuals. Unacquainted individuals (N=104 and 114) participated in round robin, unstructured interactions in groups of 3 to 10 and then rated each partner and themselves on items reflecting the Big Five personality dimensions. The ratings were analyzed according to Biesanz's (2010) social accuracy model of interpersonal perception, which distinguishes the positivity from the accuracy of social judgments. Study 1 revealed that perceivers did not view socially anxious targets more negatively or as less likable than non-socially anxious targets but were less able to recognize their unique personality features. Study 2 replicated those findings and indicated that perceivers' difficulties recognizing socially anxious targets' unique features were not due to negative biases in the socially anxious targets' self-ratings or to general psychological maladjustment. The findings are consistent with cognitive models, which underscore the role of self-concealment in social anxiety disorder.

An investigation into the lower peer liking of anxious than nonanxious children

Peer dislike of anxious behaviour was investigated in 7-12 year olds. Child actors delivered an identical verbal presentation: once in an anxious manner and once confidently. The videos were rated for liking and seven potential mediators by three groups of children: 32 anxiety-disordered peers with social phobia; 16 anxiety-disordered peers without social phobia; and 48 nonclinical peers. A mediation model with moderation effects was tested within a within-subjects framework. "Anxious" actors were liked significantly less than "confident" actors. This effect differed by group rater, in that relative dislike of the anxious actor was significantly greater for the nonclinical than socially phobic raters. Physical attractiveness and friend acceptance mediated the effect for all group raters. Other identified mediators differed depending upon the group rater. The findings direct future efforts to help anxiety-disordered children circumvent an increased risk of negative peer relations, and testify to consideration of the rater in sociometric studies.

Modifying automatic approach action tendencies in individuals with elevated social anxiety symptoms

Research suggests that social anxiety is associated with a reduced approach orientation for positive social cues. In the current study we examined the effect of experimentally manipulating automatic approach action tendencies on the social behavior of individuals with elevated social anxiety symptoms. The experimental paradigm comprised a computerized Approach Avoidance Task (AAT) in which participants responded to pictures of faces conveying positive or neutral emotional expressions by pulling a joystick toward themselves (approach) or by moving it to the right (sideways control). Participants were randomly assigned to complete an AAT designed to increase approach tendencies for positive social cues by pulling these cues toward themselves on the majority of trials, or to a control condition in which there was no contingency between the arm movement direction and picture type. Following the manipulation, participants took part in a relationship-building task with a trained confederate. Results revealed that participants trained to approach positive stimuli displayed greater social approach behaviors during the social interaction and elicited more positive reactions from their partner compared to participants in the control group. These findings suggest that modifying automatic approach tendencies may facilitate engagement in the types of social approach behaviors that are important for relationship development.

Socially Anxious Individuals Get a Second Chance After Being Disliked at First Sight: The Role of Self-Disclosure in the Development of Likeability in Sequential Social Contact

Socially anxious individuals (SAs) not only fear social rejection, accumulating studies show that SAs are indeed judged as less likeable after social interaction with others. This study investigates if SAs already make a more negative impression on others in the very first seconds of contact. The study further investigates the development of likeability and the role of self-disclosure herein in two sequential social interactions: first after an unstructured waiting room situation and next after a ‘getting acquainted’ conversation. Results showed that high SAs (n = 24) elicited a more negative first impression than low SAs (n = 22). Also, although high SAs improved from the first to the second task, they were rated as less likeable after both interactions. The level of self-disclosure behaviour was the strongest predictor for the development of likeability during the sequential social tasks. The absence of an interaction between group and self-disclosure in predicting the development of likeability suggests that this is true for both groups. Thus, high SAs can improve their negative first impression if they are able to increase their self-disclosure behaviour. However, SAs showed a decreased level of self-disclosure behaviour during both social interactions. Targeting self-disclosure behaviour may improve the negative impression SAs elicit in others.

Anticipation of Social Interaction Changes Implicit Approach-Avoidance Behavior of Socially Anxious Individuals

Earlier research has revealed implicit avoidance of social stimuli in social anxiety (SA). This study investigated such reactions in anticipation of social interaction. High (n = 24) and low (n = 22) SA females were assessed in anticipation of a getting-acquainted conversation (anticipation) and in a no-conversation-expected (neutral) condition. The Face-Turn Approach Avoidance Task was used in which participants responded to profiles of human faces or control stimuli by either pulling (approach) or pushing (avoidance) a joystick. Upon pulling, the stimuli turned toward the participant, while they turned away upon pushing. The results demonstrated the expected decreased approach response to faces in the neutral condition for the high SAs compared to the low SAs group. Unexpectedly, in the anticipation condition the high SAs showed increased approach tendencies to faces whereas, the low SAs demonstrated a decreased approach response. The implicit social approach response of the high SAs in the anticipation condition is discussed.

Anger suppression and subsequent pain behaviors among chronic low back pain patients: moderating effects of anger regulation style

BACKGROUND

Suppression of anger is linked to subsequent pain intensity among chronic low back patients, but it is not clear whether anger regulation style (trait anger-out, anger-in) moderates these effects or if aroused anger accounts for links between anger regulation style and pain.

METHOD

Chronic low back pain patients (N=58) were assigned to Suppression or No Suppression conditions for a task with harassing confederate and then underwent structured pain behavior procedures. Spielberger Anger Expression Inventory tapped trait anger-out (AOS) and anger-in (AIS).

RESULTS

Regressions tested Emotion Regulation condition × AOS and AIS effects on outcomes. AOS was related to grimacing and sighing for Suppression condition patients. AIS was related negatively to guarding and bracing for Suppression condition patients. Anger report partly mediated effects for AOS and AIS.

CONCLUSIONS

Anger regulation style moderated effects of state anger suppression on subsequent pain behaviors, effects that were partly explained by aroused anger.

Differential effects of safety behaviour subtypes in social anxiety disorder

Clinical observations indicate that individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) use a variety of safety behaviours; however, virtually no research has examined the functional effect of different safety-seeking strategies. Accordingly, we conducted two studies to address this issue. Study 1 measured global patterns of safety behaviour use in a large analogue sample. Factor analysis revealed two primary safety behaviour categories, avoidance and impression management. Study 2 assessed situational use of safety behaviours during a controlled social interaction in a clinical sample of 93 patients with Generalised SAD. Factor analysis again revealed support for avoidance and impression-management subtypes. Notably, the two types of safety behaviours were associated with different social outcomes. Avoidance safety behaviours were associated with higher state anxiety during the interaction and negative reactions from participants' interaction partners. Impression-management strategies appeared to impede corrections in negative predictions about subsequent interactions. These findings suggest that it may be beneficial to consider the unique effects of different safety-seeking strategies when assessing and treating SAD.

The relations between social anxiety and social intelligence: a latent variable analysis

Social anxiety has been associated with biases in cognitive processing and deficits in social performances. Yet, it remains unclear if these variations may be partly attributable to deficits in fundamental social abilities: for example, social intelligence (SI). Using the Magdeburg Test of Social Intelligence (MTSI) as an objective and performance based SI measure, we examined the relationship between social anxiety and SI in a general population sample (N=110) using Structural Equation Modeling. Dimensions of social anxiety as postulated by Clark and Wells (1995) and facets of SI (social understanding, social memory, and social perception), were negatively correlated. Use of safety-behavior in particular was related to deficits in social understanding (r=-0.25; p<0.05) and social perception and memory (r=-0.24; p<0.05). Results suggest small to medium sized relationships between specific facets of social anxiety and certain domains of SI. Therapeutic implications for socially anxious individuals concerning SI are discussed.

Relational treatment strategies increase social approach behaviors in patients with Generalized Social Anxiety Disorder

We incorporated strategies based on relational and interpersonal circumplex research within a standard cognitive-behavioral regimen for Generalized Social Anxiety Disorder (GSAD, Generalized Social Phobia) to determine whether these techniques increased the social approach behaviors that facilitate relationship development. Individuals seeking treatment for GSAD were randomly assigned to either the integrated interpersonal cognitive-behavioral group treatment (ICBT) or a wait list condition (WL). Results revealed that the interpersonal techniques were readily implemented by the majority of patients. ICBT produced significant increases in frequency of social approach behaviors and relationship satisfaction, in addition to GSAD symptom reductions comparable to other group CBT regimens. The current research highlights the feasibility and potential benefit of incorporating strategies based on relational and circumplex theories into cognitive-behavioral regimens for GSAD.

Behavioral and socio-emotional functioning in children with selective mutism: a comparison with anxious and typically developing children across multiple informants

We examined differences among 158 children, 44 with selective mutism (SM; M = 8.2 years, SD = 3.4 years), 65 with mixed anxiety (MA; M = 8.9 years, SD = 3.2 years), and 49 community controls (M = 7.7 years, SD = 2.6 years) on primary caregiver, teacher, and child reports of behavioral and socio-emotional functioning. Children with SM were rated lower than controls on a range of social skills, but the SM and MA groups did not significantly differ on many of the social skills and anxiety measures. However, children with SM were rated higher than children with MA and controls on social anxiety. Findings suggest that SM may be conceptualized as an anxiety disorder, with primary deficits in social functioning and social anxiety. This interpretation supports a more specific classification of SM as an anxiety disorder for future diagnostic manuals than is currently described in the literature. The present findings also have implications for clinical practice, whereby social skills training merits inclusion in intervention for children with anxiety disorders as well as children with SM.

What determines observer-rated social performance in individuals with social anxiety disorder?

Clark and Wells (1995) proposed that cognitive variables and safety behaviors are related to social performance in social anxiety disorder (SAD). Here, we tested this relationship by concurrent assessment of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological variables and social performance in a prototypical social interaction situation. 103 participants with SAD and 23 healthy controls interacted with a confederate. Anxiety, self-focused attention, cognitions, and safety behaviors were assessed by self-report and by confederate ratings. Social performance was evaluated by independent observers using a behavioral coding system. Social performance was predicted using two regression models for self-report and confederate ratings. Between-group differences in social performance disappeared when talking time was taken into account. Talking time emerged as the most powerful predictor of social performance (54% and 58% accounted variance). Positive cognitions, self-focused attention and safety behaviors accounted for an additional, but marginal amount of variance. Reduced talking time might represent a safety behavior and may be considered an easy to measure final common behavioral outcome of cognitive processes underlying social anxiety.

The moderated effects of video feedback for social anxiety disorder

Despite initially positive results, video feedback for social anxiety has never been shown to reduce social anxiety in a controlled experiment with diagnosed participants, and only once with undiagnosed participants. Previous studies arguably did not detect such an effect because of limited assessment of anxiety and potential moderators. We tested video feedback with cognitive preparation among treatment-seeking participants with a primary diagnosis of social anxiety disorder. In Session 1, participants gave an extemporaneous speech and either received the intervention or not. In Session 2, 6-14 days later, participants gave a second extemporaneous speech. The intervention improved self-perception of performance, particularly for those participants with the most unrealistically negative impressions of their performance (i.e., high self-observer discrepancy). In addition, the intervention reduced anticipatory anxiety for the second speech for participants with high self-observer discrepancy. These findings extend previous results regarding video feedback and suggest that the intervention may be useful for people with social anxiety disorder and higher self-observer discrepancies for a specific task.