Interpretations for safety behaviours in high and low socially anxious individuals

It has been suggested that socially anxious individuals often engage in a wide range of safety behaviours in social situations that are intended to reduce the risk of social failure and humiliation.

This study explored the interpretations that people make for behaviours considered to be safety seeking. High and low socially anxious individuals completed one version of a questionnaire that assessed how the safety behaviours that they may exhibit are interpreted by others, and then completed a second version of the same questionnaire that assessed how they typically interpret safety behaviours in other people. Participants rated the extent to which each of eight interpretations was viewed as a likely interpretation of the behaviour.

Individuals high in social anxiety were more likely than low socially anxious participants to think that being arrogant, suffering from a psychological problem, or experiencing a normal level of anxiety, nervousness or fear are likely explanations for safety behaviours, regardless of who exhibits them. Additionally, high socially anxious participants were more likely than those low in social anxiety to think that others interpreted these behaviours as being indicative of intense anxiety or other negative emotional condition.

The results suggested that socially anxious people are, at least, aware of the negative effects of certain behaviours characterized as safety seeking.