Anxiety and self-disclosure: toward a motivational model.
The self-disclosures of socially anxious and nonanxious Ss were compared within the framework of R. M. Arkin's (1981) motivational theory of social anxiety. Ss (N = 84 women) were paired with a confederate who disclosed at either a high or a low level of intimacy (i.e., the classic reciprocity paradigm). Consistent with R. M. Arkin's theory, anxious Ss were concerned with self-protection during the task and disclosed at a moderate level of intimacy regardless of their partner's behavior. In addition, anxious Ss did not reciprocate their partners' disclosures as well as did nonanxious Ss. The self-protective behaviors of the anxious Ss were associated with less liking and more discomfort on the part of their partners. This suggests that the adoption of self-protective strategies may elicit negative interpersonal reactions that maintain self-defeating interpersonal patterns in socially anxious people.
Meleshko
K G
KG
Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Alden
L E
LE
D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D009042:Motivation; D012649:Self Concept; D012650:Self Disclosure; D012931:Social Environment; D012938:Social Perception