Social Anxiety

The study of Social anxiety shows no clear causes for its variety of symptoms, but psychologists have been able to determined triggers and possible factors for its development. As psychologists continue to study social phobia, they have determined many possible causes. Since the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, psychologists have

A study by Heeren, et al. (2012) focused on attention training and the changes in levels of anxiety caused by social phobias. The study was focused on answering two research questions; the first question was if attention training reduces measures of anxiety in people with social phobia, and secondly, they wanted to know if attention in any direction would reduce anxiety levels relative to a control condition. The participants of the study were 60 Caucasians who had the diagnosis of Generalized Social Phobia who attended the Université catholique de Louvain community, and they also had no issues with substance abuse, heart or repertory problems, no use of psychotropic medications, were not in any form of psychological treatment, and had normal or

The questioner that will be administered to the participants will be the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale and The Rathus Assertiveness Schedule. The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale comprises of 13 questions related to performance anxiety and 11 concern social situations. The scale is composed of 24 items divided into 2 subscales, 13 items concerning performance anxieties, and 13 items concerning to social situations. The items on the test are first rated from 0 to 3 on fear felt during the situations. Secondly, the same items then are rated regarding avoidance of the situation. Subsequently, the total score of the fear and avoidance are combined and will be utilized to assess if race and ethnicity are significantly impacted by these factors. For the purposes of this perspective, experiment scores will also be assessed separately and assessed to identify if fear or anxiety and avoidance are impacted by assertiveness.

Social anxiety disorder, which is also called social phobia involves overwhelming worry and self-consciousness about everyday social situations. The worry often centers on a fear of being judged by others, or behaving in a way that might cause embarrassment or lead to ridicule. The fear may be made worse by a lack of social skills or experience in social situations. The anxiety can build into a panic attack. As a result of the fear, the person endures certain social situations in extreme distress or may avoid them altogether. In addition, people with social anxiety disorder often suffer anticipatory anxiety, the fear of a situation before it even happens, for days or weeks before the event. In many cases, the person is aware that the fear is unreasonable, yet is unable to overcome it. (Goldberg)

     Social anxiety is the fear of social situations and the interaction with other people that can automatically bring on feelings of self-consciousness, judgement, evaluation, and inferiority. Put differently social anxiety is the fear and anxiety of being judged and evaluated negatively by other people, leading to feelings of inadequacy, embarrassment, humiliation, and depression. If a person usually becomes anxious in social situations, but seems fine when they are by them selves, then social anxiety may be the problem.

Hirsch and Clark (2004) suggests that individuals with social phobia (SP) experience information processing bias – meaning they experience social situations differently. Individuals with SAD were more self-critical, had negative expectations, and better at recognizing negative expressions on faces (Hirsch & Clark, 2004). When anticipating a social interaction, SAD individuals recalled more negative and less positive traits about themselves (Hirsch & Clark, 2004). This can explain their fear, and anxiety, because they were afraid their actions would be negatively evaluated by others (e.g. if they forgot, or stumbled over their lines during a presentation causing embarrassment). On the other hand, AVPD individuals avoid social situations because of their dysfunctional way of thinking. They hold very negative evaluations of themselves - that they are socially inadequate and unlikeable (Beck et al., 2001). Thus, they expect others to reject them. For example, AVPD individuals were more likely to agree with following statement

Among all anxiety problems, social anxiety disorder is most common anxiety issue and third most common problem in all mental complications (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; Hofmann & Bogels, 2006). SAD is a mental disorder which has a tendency to become chronic and badly disturbs normal functions of life if not diagnosed and treated in time (Beesdo-Baum, et al., 2012; Garcia-Lopez, Piqueras, Diaz-Castela, & Ingles, 2008). It is also among the most prevailing mental disorders and is described in Criterion A of DSM-V as “Marked fear or anxiety about one or more social situations in which the individual is exposed to possible scrutiny by others. Examples include social interactions (e.g., having a conversation, meeting unfamiliar people), being observed (e.g., eating or drinking), and performing in front of others (e.g., giving a speech)” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). A specific amount of anxiety is always anticipated socially and helps an individual managing future threats (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). But having social anxiety means that anxiety is too much for normal functioning during social situations and often interferes with

Living a healthy life, as a routine, is helpful to prevent social anxiety symptoms, however a self-help guide from Moodjuice, a self-help organization dedicated to providing resources to the public, outlines behaviors to overcome when reducing social

‘Social phobia is characterised by intense and persistent fear of social situations in which scrutiny and embarrassment could occur’. (Orsillo & Hammond 2001, p.159) The individual with social phobia often feels they are being looked at, studied and critically analysed. Social anxiety is unlike other phobias in that it has the constant likelihood of being verified as being true. (Beck 2005, p.151)

People with social phobia are afraid of doing common things facing other people. For example, they might experience fear to sign a check in front of a cashier at the grocery store, or they might be hesitant to eat or drink in front of other people. We all have been a little bit nervous, at one time or another, about things like giving a speech or meeting new people. But people with social phobia get tense about these and other things for weeks before they happen. Most of the people facing social phobia know that they should not be as afraid as they are, but they have no control over their fear[NIMH].

The Social anxiety Association classifies social anxiety as the fear of interacting with other and social situations. Social anxiety causes fear and anxiety in most if not all aspects of ones lives. Social anxiety is the fear of being negatively judge or evaluated by others. It is a chronic disease that it does not go away on its own, only direct cognitive-behavioral therapy can help people overcome their social anxiety. There are a few situations that can trigger social anxiety such as being introduced to

Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) can be described as an extreme, persistent fear of being scrutinized or judged by others in social situations. This fear may lead to feelings of embarrassment, humiliation and self-consciousness. People who suffer from this condition may “feel powerless against their anxiety” (ADAA). These emotions often interfere with daily activities, such as school, work and personal relationships. The person might begin to withdraw socially or avoid situations in which he or she is afraid. Millions of Americans endure this devastating condition every day of their lives. There are several causes, symptoms and treatments.

Social anxiety is a disorder in which individuals assume that they will be negatively evaluated. This results in an extreme fear of social situations or performance-based situations (Iverach, Rapee, Wong, & Lowe, 2017, p. 542) for a period of time lasting longer than six months (Brundage et al., p. 498). Those with social anxiety fear negative judgement during

Social anxiety is “a feeling of discomfort, fear, or worry that is centered on our interactions with other people and involves a concern with being judged negatively, evaluated, or looked down upon by others” (Social Anxiety Support, 2014). Social anxiety can affect anyone. Individuals with social anxiety tend to prefer to keep to themselves because they are afraid others will judge them negatively and have a hard time interacting socially.

People with social anxiety disorder become anxious that they will make mistakes, feel awful, and humiliated in front of others. The fear become immense due to a lack of social skills or experience in social situations. As a result of that people undergo extreme distress in certain social situation and try to avoid them.