Social anxiety and liking: Towards understanding the role of metaperceptions in first impressions.

Social anxiety and liking: Towards understanding the role of metaperceptions in first impressions. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2020 Aug 27;: Authors: Tissera H, Gazzard Kerr L, Carlson EN, Human LJ Abstract A core component of social anxiety is the constant concern about what others think of the self. Could such metaperceptions-beliefs about how others view the self-play a role in relationship initiation attempts? In the present research, we examined whether metaperceptions may contribute to why people higher in social anxiety experience difficulties in initial interactions. In 2 first-impressions contexts, a platonic getting-acquainted context (Study 1: N = 544; 2,878 dyads) and a speed dating context (Study 2: N = 376; 4,797 dyads), we explored the roles of 2 components of metaperceptions: meta-positivity (i.e., believing interaction partners' perceptions of the self are in line with the socially desirable personality profile) and distinctive meta-accuracy (i.e., accurately recognizing interaction partners' unique perception of the self, controlling for meta-positivity). Results revealed that people higher in social anxiety were liked less by interaction partners across both contexts, a link that was partially accounted for by lower distinctive meta-accuracy displayed by those higher in social anxiety. Further, lower meta-positivity displayed by people higher in social anxiety also contributed to the links between greater social anxiety an...
Source: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: J Pers Soc Psychol Source Type: research