Social Anxiety Flashcards
According to the DSM-5, what characteristics may someone with SAD exhibit?
Significant & persistent fear of social situations where embarrassment/ rejection may occur
Experience immediate anxiety-driven physical reactions to feared social situations
Recognise fears as exaggerated but feel powerless overcoming them
Avoid dreaded social situations at any cost
What is avoidant personality disorder?
Most severe form of SAD
Detached personality pattern where individual avoids people due to fears of humiliation/ rejection
What are typical behaviours for avoidant personality disorder?
Reluctance to engage with others
Lack of close friends
Exaggeration of potential difficulties
Avoidance of activities requiring interpersonal contact
More common in males, starting in early childhood
What are some cognitive symptoms of SAD?
Prone to negative self-thought
Focus on rejection & disapproval
Consequences of unchecked thoughts include low self-esteem & deep feelings of inferiority
What are physical symptoms of SAD?
Panic attacks
Shortness of breath
Tightness/ pain in the chest
Racing heart
Nausea, dizziness, sweating & shaking
How can we distinguish panic disorder from SAD?
Panic disorder - fear centres panic itself
SAD - far centres others witnessing the attack
What are some behavioural avoidances in SAD?
Avoid situations percieved as harmful e.g. parties
Limiting life choices to remain in comfort zones
Engaging in subtle avoidance behaviours e.g. drinking before social events & setting social limits
What are the key findings from Kagan (1994; 1998)?
Explored inhibited & uninhibited temperaments in children
Found 10-15% babies identified as irritable often develop shyness & fearfulness
These children remained cautious, quiet & introverted
Higher rates of SAD in adolescence
What are biological indicators for SAD?
Higher than normal resting HR, increasing under mild stress
Behavioural restraint in new situations, including avoidance & retreat
What are genetic influences of SAD?
Higher rates of prevalence of SAD/ related disorders in parents
Genetically driven trait of social withdrawal, linked to inhibited temperament
What is shyness (Henderson & Zimbardo)?
Discomfort/ inhibition in interpersonal situations
Discomfort impacts interpersonal/ professional goals
What are key characteristics of shyness?
Form of excessive self-focus & preoccupation with ones own thoughts, feelings & physical reactions
What are the symptoms & consequences of shyness?
Behaviours - gaze aversion, nervous movements
Physiology - accelerated HR, shaking & sweating
Cognitions - negative thoughts, worry & rumination
Affect - embarrassment & shame, loneliness
What is trait shyness and how does it differ to state shyness?
Trait - experience heightened self-consciousness in various frequent situations, respond with shyness to lower levels of social threat than typical
State - diminishes when triggering circumstances change, trait is a stable personality trait
What are the biological & developmental roots of trait shyness?
Genetic predisposition - inhibition & excessive anxiety
Developmental - issues forming personal identity in adolescence
What are some social-cognitive appraisals in shyness?
Fearful shyness - develops early, linked to behavioural inhibition, may/ may not influence future behaviour
Self-conscious shyness - emerges later as child develops theory of mind, involves self-evaluation & concern for negative impressions. Developed form ability to reflect on behaviours from other perspectives
What did Zimbardo (1977) find when investigating shyness alongside extraversion?
Shyness & introversions clearly distinguishable
Introverts prefer one company, shy prefer to be with others but retrained from doing so
Some extroverts are shy - privately shy, publicly outgoing - falter in one-to-one situations
What is embarrassment?
Self-conscious feeling experienced after realising one has done something perceived as stupid/ ridiculous
Range from minor physiological reactions to severe embarrassment
Independent from social anxiety/ shyness
Deeply rooted in social processes
What is the dramaturgic model of embarrassment?
Embarrassment arises form inability to maintain public performance
Trigger = poor public performance leads to flustered uncertainty, resulting in agitation & aversive arousal when individual realises they can’t continue gracefully
Embarrassment stems from failure to act part in social context
What is the social evaluation model of embarrassment?
Embarrassment driven by concern for how others perceive us
Fear of failing to impress others leads to embarrassment
Social evaluation by others causes embarrassment
What is the situational self-esteem model of embarrassment?
Embarrassment arises form a temporary loss of self-esteem due to public failure
Negative evaluations by others acts as trigger, individual use situations to judge their own performance, leading to embarrassment
Caused by how individuals evaluate their own performances, not solely others opinion
What is the personal standards model of embarrassment?
Embarrassment occurs when individuals fail to meet their own behaviorual standards
In visual perceptions of failing their personal standards is the key trigger, embarrassment may occur even when alone if behaviour falls throat of self-imposed expectations
Isn’t the situation itself that’s embarrassing, but failure to meet personal standards
