Social Anxiety

Social anxiety is a fear of being evaluated negatively, embarrassed, or judged by others. It is a construct that overlaps significantly with the personality trait of shyness. When a person's social anxiety is associated with life interference or significant personal distress, he or she is diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (or social phobia, as listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision [2000]). It is important to acknowledge that nearly everyone experiences some degree of social anxiety in certain social or evaluative situations. Social anxiety is regarded as problematic when it is associated with avoidance of these situations and/or decreased life satisfaction.

According to the Self-Presentation Theory of social anxiety, described by Mark Leary and his colleagues, socially anxious individuals would like to make a favorable impression on others, but they doubt their ability to do so. As a result, they behave in a submissive, conciliatory manner to avoid rejection. Unfortunately, this strategy often prevents them from achieving the pleasurable rewards that most people obtain from social engagement. Research has documented many deleterious interpersonal consequences of social anxiety. For example, data from large epidemiological studies indicate that people with social anxiety disorder experience mild to moderate impairment in their close relationships, and they are less likely to be married than people without this disorder. Other studies have demonstrated that socially anxious individuals report higher levels of loneliness, fewer friends, less dating experience, and fewer daily social interactions than nonanxious individuals. Some socially anxious people are unsatisfied with their social networks and the social support they receive from close others.

This entry discusses some of the specific cognitive, behavioral, and interpersonal deficits experienced by socially anxious individuals that have been identified in published research. It also describes psychosocial and pharmacological interventions that can be used to treat the symptoms of social anxiety that exacerbate these deficits. However, this entry also considers the manner in which social anxiety can be adaptive in forming and maintaining relationships.