Does upper body movement,  smiling or frowning indicate  social anxiety?: A study about the extent of observed upper body  movement, smiling and frowning and experienced  social anxiety.

Socially anxious individuals often worry about social outcomes. Social situations are experienced as threatening and are endured with a lot of stress and anxiety. The human's physiological and behavioral response to threat is coordinated by the stress response system. Previous research provided support that spontaneous body sway and autonomic responses to, purely social threat cues, involve a complex freeze-like pattern of behavior. Socially anxious individuals can also show different facial expressions. Research provided evidence for more blank facial expressions by people who score higher on social anxiety during a socially anxious situation. This study investigated the relation between social anxiety and upper body movement, smiling and frowning. It is hypothesized that individuals who show less upper body movement, less smiling and less frowning score higher on socially anxiety. Healthy participants (N = 68; 14 male and 54 female), aged 18 to 39 years old (M = 22.40; SD = 3.90),...Show moreSocially anxious individuals often worry about social outcomes. Social situations are experienced as threatening and are endured with a lot of stress and anxiety. The human's physiological and behavioral response to threat is coordinated by the stress response system. Previous research provided support that spontaneous body sway and autonomic responses to, purely social threat cues, involve a complex freeze-like pattern of behavior. Socially anxious individuals can also show different facial expressions. Research provided evidence for more blank facial expressions by people who score higher on social anxiety during a socially anxious situation. This study investigated the relation between social anxiety and upper body movement, smiling and frowning. It is hypothesized that individuals who show less upper body movement, less smiling and less frowning score higher on socially anxiety. Healthy participants (N = 68; 14 male and 54 female), aged 18 to 39 years old (M = 22.40; SD = 3.90), reporting normal vision, participated in an interaction with an avatar that showed interactive nonverbal behavior. Social anxiety was measured by the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale. The frequency and duration of body movements, smiles and frowns were coded based on the videos of the participants. Data were analysed using regression analysis. Upper body movement, smiling and frowning were separately treated as independent variables and social anxiety as a dependent variable. The results show no relation with social anxiety. Neither did the results of a multiple regression analysis show that one type of behavior was more characteristic of individuals with social anxiety. This is in contrast with the literature. Limitations of the present study are discussed and suggestions for further research are offered. Identifying behaviors at an early stage could be helpful for early interventions or prevention of social anxiety.Show less

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Does upper body movement, smiling or frowning indicate social anxiety? A study about the extent of observed upper body movement, smiling and frowning and experienced social anxiety.