The Pathophysiology of Social Anxiety

Vente, Wieke de; Majdandžić, Mirjana; Bögels, Susan M.

doi:10.1002/9781118653920.ch5

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 91 publications

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“…This supports the hypothesis that the positive expression of shyness may modulate arousal and inhibit fear during an emotionally intense social situation (Amstadter, 2008; Asendorpf, 1990; Leary et al, 1992; Srofe & Waters, 1976). In order to further investigate the regulatory function of positive shyness, future research should explore whether children’s physiological reactions, such as heart rate and, particularly, blushing, vary during and after the positive expression of shyness compared with the negative expression of shyness (de Vente, Majdandžić, & Bögels, in press).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive and negative expressions of shyness in toddlers: Are they related to anxiety in the same way?

Colonnesi

Napoleone

Bögels

2014

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

111

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Shyness has generally been investigated as a negative and unpleasant emotional state, strongly related to social anxiety and loneliness. However, recent evidence has suggested that shyness may have a positive and socially adaptive form. We examined whether the positive expression of shyness differs from the negative expression of shyness during toddlerhood, and whether a negative relation to anxiety exists. Participants were 30-month-old children (N=102; 56 girls) who were asked to mimic animal sounds with a novel person (performance) and then to watch their performance (self-watching). Their expression of pleasure (positive reactions) and distress (negative reactions), as well as their positive and negative expressions of shyness, were coded. Children's temperamental level of shyness, sociability, and anxiety were measured with parent-reported questionnaires. Toddlers produced more positive and negative displays of shyness in the performance task than in the self-watching task. Children's positive expression of shyness was associated with lower parent-reported anxiety and higher sociability. Negative reactions, but not negative shyness, were related to children's higher anxiety levels and lower sociability. Multiple linear regression analyses confirmed a negative predictive role of the positive expression of shyness on anxiety. These results suggest that the positive expression of shyness can regulate early anxiety symptoms and already serves a social function in interpersonal interactions in early childhood.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive and negative expressions of shyness in toddlers: Are they related to anxiety in the same way?

Colonnesi

Napoleone

Bögels

2014

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

111

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“…Blushing, the most prominent physiological response of shyness and embarrassment (Gerlach et al., ; Leary & Meadows, ), is also known to be a ‘hallmark’ physiological reaction of SAD (American Psychiatric Association, ; Bögels et al., ). Although there is a lack of empirical evidence, in theory, blushing has been assumed to be a physiological response specific of SAD and not of other anxiety disorders (de Vente, Majdandžic, & Bögels, ). Furthermore, it has been hypothesized that blushing may be an etiological factor of SAD development (Voncken & Bögels, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autonomic arousal in children of parents with and without social anxiety disorder: a high‐risk study

Nikolić

Vente

Colonnesi

et al. 2016

Child Psychology Psychiatry

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This study adds to the current knowledge on the intergenerational transmission of SAD by providing evidence that children at risk for SAD are characterized by excessive blushing in socially challenging situations. The findings also demonstrate that heightened autonomic activity is a characteristic of social anxiety already during early childhood. Hence, autonomic hyperarousal, and blushing in particular, is likely to play an etiological role in the development of SAD.

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“…The relationships between IA and greeting behaviour found in the present study demonstrate the mind-body interactions that govern social greeting situations in a non-clinical sample. Taking a mind-body perspective can inform complementary treatment approaches for social anxiety disorder: While widely used cognitive behavioural therapies help to regulate anxieties around perceived social threat and negative social evaluations (Hyett & McEvoy, 2018), alternative ‘contemplative training’ therapies focusing on bodily awareness (Bornemann et al, 2015) could be used in clinical practice to diminish social anxiety-related physiological reactions such as blushing or heart rate increases in social settings (de Vente et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of exteroceptive and interoceptive awareness in executing socially relevant bodily actions: A naturalistic investigation of greeting behaviour in the UK and Spain

Payne-Allen

Pfeifer

2022

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

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Body awareness is tightly linked to motor action. Non-verbal greetings constitute a behaviour through which an awareness of both socio-cultural habits (exteroceptive awareness) and internal bodily states (interoceptive awareness) play out to influence the structure of action. To establish the effect of culture on non-verbal greeting behaviours, naturalistic observations were carried out in two countries (Britain and Spain) that are purported to exhibit differences in greeting types. Interoceptive awareness (IA) was subsequently measured in a proportion of observed participants ( N = 33) who filled in the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness, Version 2 (MAIA-2). As expected, a significant difference in greeting type was observed between British ( N = 252) and Spanish ( N = 244) greeters. Scores of greeting intimacy and competency did not differ significantly between Britain and Spain. However, independent of culture, several moderate and strong relationships emerged between selective dimensions of the MAIA-2 and scores of intimacy and competency. Specifically, intimacy and competency scores were positively correlated with the ‘Awareness of Mind-Body Integration’ dimension. Greeting intimacy yielded additional positive relationships with the Not Distracting and Trusting subscales, and a negative relationship with the Not Worrying subscale. These relationships suggest that IA facilitates healthy social approach behaviour as expressed through greetings, irrespective of cultural greeting differences. We discuss IA and greeting behaviour in the context of attachment, consider the clinical implications for social anxiety and the future implications for social interactions in a post-COVID-19 era.

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The Pathophysiology of Social Anxiety

Cited by 5 publications

References 91 publications

Positive and negative expressions of shyness in toddlers: Are they related to anxiety in the same way?

Positive and negative expressions of shyness in toddlers: Are they related to anxiety in the same way?

Autonomic arousal in children of parents with and without social anxiety disorder: a high‐risk study

The role of exteroceptive and interoceptive awareness in executing socially relevant bodily actions: A naturalistic investigation of greeting behaviour in the UK and Spain

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