Social Anxiety

by Leary, Mark R.; Kowalski, Robin Mark

• ISBN13: 9781572300071
• ISBN10: 1572300078
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1995-08-11
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

Social anxiety is a pervasive part of everyday life. Whether experienced during public speaking, in casual conversation, or in interactions with a boss, a potential romantic partner,or a complete stranger, feelings of anxiety, uncertainty, and awkwardness are often the consequence of quite ordinary encounters. Why does social anxiety occur? Why are some people more prone to it than others? A complete and authoritative review of the latest theory
and research, this book examines the situational, dispositional, and evolutionary causes of social anxiety, its physiological, cognitive, and emotional aspects, and strategies for prevention and treatment. Special features include scales for measuring different manifestations of social anxiety as well as concise boxed segments highlighting topics of particular interest.

Author Biography

Mark R. Leary, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at Wake Forest University. His research interests focus on social motivation and emotion, particularly processes involving self-presentation, social anxiety, and self-esteem. The author of a number of books, he is also Associate Editor of the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology.
Robin M. Kowalski, PhD, has taught at Wake Forest University and Western Carolina University, where she is currently Assistant Professor of Psychology. Her research interests include social anxiety, social psychological factors in health and illness, gender and aggression, and complaining. Her research on complaining has received national attention, including an appearance on NBC's Today Show.

Table of Contents

The Stage Fright of Everday Life	1	(15)
A Definition	4	(2)
The Experience of Social Anxiety	6	(2)
Types of Social Anxiety	8	(2)
Individual Differences	10	(2)
Behavioral Science and Social Anxiety	12	(3)
The Interpersonal Basis of Social Anxiety	15	(15)
Self-Presentation and Interpersonal Behavior	16	(3)
The Self-Presentational Basis of Social Anxiety	19	(4)
The Evolutionary Basis of Social Anxiety	23	(5)
Implications of the Self-Presentational Approach	28	(2)
Self-Presentational Motivation	30	(20)
Impression Monitoring	31	(6)
The Value and Importance of Hoped-for Outcomes	37	(5)
Self-Image and Self-Esteem	42	(3)
Approval Seeking	45	(5)
Self-Presentational Expectancies	50	(26)
Self-Presentational Efficacy	50	(2)
Appraisal of Interpersonal Load	52	(9)
Appraisal and Self-Presentational Resources	61	(10)
Biases in Assessment of Self-Presentational Efficacy	71	(5)
Self-Presentational Disasters	76	(25)
Predicaments	77	(5)
Embarrassment	82	(2)
Theories of Embarrassment	84	(4)
Embarrassability	88	(3)
Remedial Tactics	91	(2)
The Maladaptive Side of Embarrassment	93	(6)
The Importance of Embarrassment	99	(2)
Trait Social Anxiety and Social Phobia	101	(27)
Is Social Phobia Extreme Social Anxiety?	103	(1)
Temperamental Underpinnings	104	(5)
The Development of Personality Predispositions	109	(6)
Susceptibility to Social Anxiety in Specific Contexts	115	(8)
Gender Differences	123	(1)
Age-Related Changes	124	(4)
Subjective Aspects of Social Anxiety: Physiology, Cognition, and Emotion	128	(28)
Physiological Arousal	129	(4)
Anxious Cognitions	133	(3)
Emotional Experience	136	(5)
Effects of Anxious Arousal and Thought	141	(9)
Blushing	150	(6)
Interpersonal Behavior	156	(23)
Disaffiliation	157	(8)
Self-Presentation	165	(4)
Innocuous Sociability	169	(2)
Prosocial Behavior	171	(1)
Consequences of Disaffiliation	172	(7)
Chasing Away the Butterflies	179	(24)
Treatments for Social Anxiety	180	(3)
Self-Presentational Motivation	183	(2)
Self-Presentational Efficacy	185	(6)
Lowering Anxiety	191	(4)
Relative Effectiveness of Various Treatments	195	(4)
Self-Help Approaches	199	(1)
The Social-Clinical Interface: A Concluding Comment	200	(3)
References	203	(36)
Index	239