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Effects of performance expectancy and self-focused attention on social interaction
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|June 1, 1986
Summary
High performance expectancies improved social skills, but only when individuals were self-focused, such as when observed by a camera. Self-focused attention alone had minimal impact on social performance.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Self-Regulation
Background:
- Social anxiety can influence social performance.
- Self-focused attention and performance expectancies are key factors in social interactions.
- The self-regulation model provides a framework for understanding these dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the combined effects of performance expectancies and self-focused attention on social performance.
- To examine how these factors interact in a mixed-sex dyad.
- To test predictions derived from the self-regulation model.
Main Methods:
- 48 undergraduate men with moderate social anxiety participated.
- Participants were divided into high and low performance expectancy groups.
- Social performance was assessed during a phone call with a female confederate, with or without a video camera present.
Main Results:
- Self-focused attention alone had limited impact on social performance when anxiety was controlled.
- Performance expectancies significantly influenced social performance, but only under self-focused conditions.
- Confident subjects were rated as more socially skilled than doubtful subjects when observed by a camera.
Conclusions:
- The interaction between performance expectancies and self-focused attention is crucial for social performance.
- Self-focus amplifies the effect of expectancies on social skills.
- Findings support the self-regulation model of social behavior.