Lay Theories for Social Anxiety: Examining the Impact of Viewing Social Anxiety as Malleable Due to Personal Effort versus Fixed in Nature in a Non-clinical Sample

In a pre-registered study, we evaluated the impact of viewing social anxiety as malleable through personal effort (incremental lay theory) or fixed in nature (entity lay theory) in a non-clinical sample.

An online community sample of 586 American participants (M age = 40.38 years, 57% female) were randomly assigned to either an incremental, entity, or control condition, and completed various self-report measures.

Participants in the incremental (vs. entity) condition viewed social anxiety as more malleable, perceived greater control over their social anxiety (greater onset responsibility and offset efficacy), reported greater self-compassion and stronger intentions to engage in social behaviours, and yet greater self-blame. Greater baseline social anxiety predicted less perceived control, lower self-compassion, and weaker social behavior intentions, but did not moderate the effects of the lay theory manipulation. Correlational results based on individual differences in lay theories for social anxiety were consistent with findings based on comparisons among experimental conditions.

An incremental mindset concerning social anxiety could be advantageous in helping individuals with various levels of social anxiety manage their fears concerning social evaluation and social interactions.