People with social anxiety disorder generally display safe behaviors when interacting with other people. As a result, those they interact with don’t find them cute or friendly, psychologists from McMaster University found. The results were published in the journal Behavioral and Cognitive Psychotherapy.
Therefore, safe behavior tactics can trigger further conditions that lead to the development or worsening of the symptoms of the disorder. It often manifests itself in fear of being negatively judged in social situations. To avoid this, people can engage in a variety of “safe” behaviors, including rehearsing their reactions, holding back their emotions, and limiting their reactions (speaking less, avoiding eye contact, etc.).
The study included 69 people, 40 of whom did not have social anxiety disorder. The experiment also involved eight women assigned to speak with various participants. They then assessed each subject’s sincerity, desire to have future contact with him, and the level of sympathy they felt for him.
Analysis of these data showed that participants with the disorder scored significantly lower than others on attractiveness and intimacy.