Socially Anxious Individuals

A socially anxious individual perceives rejection from a conversational partner, turns his or her attention away, and never learns that the individual is actually welcoming.

Individuals who are high in social anxiety tend to show increased initial attention toward negative social cues such as threatening faces followed by attention away from these social cues, indicating a pattern of hypervigilance followed by avoidance.

Focus on the self has been associated with increased social anxiety and negative affect, however, there are two types of self-focus:

1. In public self-focus, one shows concern for the impact of one's own actions on others and their impressions.

   1. This type of self-focus predicts greater social anxiety.

2. Other more private forms of self-consciousness (e.g., egocentric goals) are associated with other types of negative affect.

Research suggests that cognitive biases can be modified.

Attention bias modification training has been shown to temporarily impact social anxiety.