Handbook of Social and Evaluation Anxiety

558 Pages·1990·18 MB·English

by  Harold Leitenberg (auth.)

Handbook of
Social and
Evaluation Anxiety
Handbook of
Social and
Evaluation Anxiety
EOITED BY
HAROLD LEITENBERG
Universily of Vermonl
Burlinglon, Vermonl
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
Llbrary of Congress Cataloglng-ln-Publlcatlon Data
Handbook of social and evaluation anxiety I edited by Harold
Leitenberg.
p. cm.
Includes blbliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-4899-2506-0 ISBN 978-1-4899-2504-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4899-2504-6
1. Anxiety--Social aspects. 2. Self-consciousness. 3. Social
role. 4. Bashfulness. I. Leitenberg. Harold.
HM251.H2236 1990
152.4'6--dc20 90-6853
CIP
© 1990 Springer Science+Business Media New York
Originally published by Plenum Press, New York in 1990.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1990
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrievaI system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical. photocopying, microfilming,
recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher
T 0 my wife, Barbara,
and children, David, Elliot, and Joe
Contributors
DAVID H. BARLow, Department of Psychology, State University of New York at
Albany, Albany, New York 12203
JOSEPH 1. BREITENSTEIN, Department of Psychology, West Virginia University,
Morgantown, West Virginia 26506-6040
TIMOTHY J. BRucE, Department of Psychology, State University of New York at
Albany, Albany, New York 12203
JONATHAN M. CHEEK, Department of Psychology, Wellesley College, Wellesley,
Massachusetts 02181
PAUL M. G. EMMELKAMP, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Gro
ningen, Academic Hospital, 9713 EZ, Groningen, The Netherlands
WILLIAM J. FREMOUW, Department of Psychology, West Virginia University, Mor
gantown, West Virginia 26506-6040
P AUL GILBERT, South Derbyshire Health Authority, South Derbyshire DE3 5DQ,
England
CAROL R. GLASS, Department of Psychology, Catholic University of America,
Washington, DC 20064
RICHARD G. HEIMBERG, Department of Psychology, State University of New York
at Albany, Albany, New York 12203
ROBERT K. HEINSSEN, JR., Chestnut Lodge Research Institute, 500 West Mont
gomery Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20850
DEBRA A. HOPE, Department of Psychology, State University of New York at
Albany, Albany, New York 12203
WARREN H. JONES, Department of Psychology, University of Tulsa, Tulsa,
Oklahoma 74104
NEVILLE J. KING, Faculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria
3168, Australia
ELLEN TOBEY KLASS, Department of Psychology, Hunter College, City University
of New York, New York, New York 10021
HAROLD LEITENBERG, Department of Psychology, University of Vermont, Bur
lington, Vermont 05405
vii
viii CONTRIBUTORS
SUSAN P. LIMBER, Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln,
Nebraska 68588-0308
JENNIFER ALANSKY MAURO, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon,
Eugene, Oregon 97403
LISA A. MELCHIOR, The Measurement Group, 6245 Bristol Parkway, Suite 242,
Culver City, California 90230
THOMAS H. ÜLLENDICK, Department of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
RONALD J. PRINz, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina,
Columbia, South Carolina 29208
JAYNE ROSE, Department of Psychology, Augustana College, Rock Island, IlIinois
61204
MARY K. ROTHBART, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene,
Oregon 97403
ESTHER D. ROTHBLUM, Department of Psychology, University of Vermont, Bur
lington, VermontO~5
DANIEL RUSSELL, Graduate Program in Hospital and Health Administration,
College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
BARBARA R. SARASON, Department of Psychology, University of Washington,
Seattle, Washington 98195
IRWIN G. SARASON, Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seat
tle, Washington 98195
AGNES SCHOUNG, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Groningen,
Academic Hospital, 9713 EZ, Groningen, The Netherlands
GEORGINA SHERLING, Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, Middlesex HAI 3UJ
England
RONALD E. SMITH, Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seat
tle, Washington 98195
FRANK 1. SMOLL, Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle,
Washington 98195
Ross A. THOMPSON, Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska, Lin
coln, Nebraska 68588-0308
PETER TROWER, Solihull Health Authority, Solihull, West Midlands B93 OPX,
England.
Preface
For a long time I have wanted to put together a book about sodal and evaluation
anxiety. Sodal-evaluation anxiety seemed to be a stressful part of so many
people's everyday experience. It also seemed to be apart of so many of the
clinical problems that I worked with. Common terms that fit under this rubric
include fears of rejection, humiliation, critidsm, embarrassment, ridicule,
failure, and abandonment. Examples of sodal and evaluation anxiety include
shyness; sodal inhibition; sodal timidity; public speaking anxiety; feelings of
self-consdousness and awkwardness in sodal situations; test anxiety; perfor
mance anxiety in sports, theater, dance, or music; shame; guilt; separation anx
iety; sodal withdrawal; procrastination; and fear of job interviews or job evalua
tions, of asking someone out, of not making a good impression, or of appearing
stupid, foolish, or physically unattractive.
In its extreme form, sodal anxiety is a behavior disorder in its own right
sodal phobia. This involves not only feelings of anxiety but also avoidance and
withdrawal from sodal situations in which scrutiny and negative evaluation are
antidpated. Sodal-evaluation anxiety also plays a role in other clinical disorders.
For example, people with agoraphobia are afraid of having a panic attack in
public in part because they fear making a spectacle of themselves. Moreover,
even their dominant terrors of going crazy or having a heart attack seem to
reflect a central concern with sodal abandonment and isolation. People suffering
from obsessive-compulsive disorders are often overwhelmed by guilt-provok
ing sexual and aggressive thoughts and dread that these will be acted upon and
discovered. Women with bulimia nervosa believe they have flawed characters as
weH as flawed bodies and they try to achieve a perfect shape because they fear
rejection otherwise. Men with sexual dysfunctions are often said to suffer from
performance anxiety. School phobia, sodal isolation in children, severe anxiety
in antidpation of loss of employment or loss of a loved one, homophobia, sodal
defidts linked to sodal anxiety in schizophrenia, avoidant personality disor
der-the list can go on and on.
Social-evaluation anxiety is obviously an important issue affecting people of
both genders, all ages, and aH walks of life. It has been relatively neglected for
many years and research has been scattered across different subdisdplines. Of
late, however, interest in this topic appears to be on an upswing. Clinical re
searchers, personality theorists, developmental psychologists, and sodal psy
chologists have aH made important contributions to this area. My goal in this
book was to combine the clinical perspective on sodal and evaluation anxiety
ix
x PREFACE
with that of basic research in development psychology. Iwanted the book to
provide a relatively comprehensive review of the varied topics in this area. Aside
from the convenience of gathering this disparate research into one source, I
hope that this book will serve a useful integrative function and stimulate further
study.
Many people have worked hard to bring this book to completion. Most
obviously I am grateful to the authors of the chapters in this book. An edited
book is only as good as its contributors make it. Writing review chapters involves
time, effort, and sacrifice from people with very busy schedules and competing
demands. I would also like to thank our editor at Plenum, Eliot Werner, for his
patience, flexibility, and support.
HAROLD LEITENBERG
Burlington, Vermont
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Harold Leitenberg
Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Types of Sodal Anxiety .............................................. 1
Phenomenology .................................................... 3
Consequences of Sodal Anxiety ...................................... 4
Organization of This Book ........................................... 5
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
PART I. OVERVIEW
1. Sodal Anxiety, Evolution, and Self-Presentation ............... 11
Peter Trower, Paul Gilbert, and Georgina Sherling
Description and Definition of Sodal Anxiety ....................... 12
A Psychobiological Account of Sodal Anxiety ...................... 13
An Appraisal-Coping Model of Sodal Anxiety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 22
Evaluation and Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 36
Concluding Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 41
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 42
2. Shyness, Self-Esteem, and Self-Consdousness ................ 47
Jonathan M. Cheek and Lisa A. Melchior
Defining Shyness as a Three-Component Syndrome ................ 48
Shyness as a Dimension of Self-Esteem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 58
Shyness and Self-Concept Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 67
Conclusion ..................................................... 71
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 73
xi