Cognitive Components of Social Anxiety: An Investigation of the Integration of Self-Presentation Theory and Self-Efficacy Theory

This study tested the utility of the integration of self-efficacy theory and self-presentation theory of social anxiety. The study examined: (1) the relationship between general social anxiousness and expectancies concerning specific anxiety-producing social situations, and (2) the relationship between situational expectancies and situational social anxiety. Results supported the usefulness of distinguishing between the expectancy of executing a particular self-presentation relevant behavior (presentational self-efficacy expectancy) and the expectancy that a particular behavior, if successfully executed, will achieve one's interpersonal goal (presentational outcome expectancy). The results suggest that: (1) social anxiety is related to low expectations regarding one's ability to execute certain self-presentational behaviors, and (2) socially anxious people may be characterized by a pessimistic view of interactions in which others are not expected to respond favorably even when one's behavior is appropriat...