Medicine:Evolution of social anxiety
There are many ways to consider anxiety. For example, anxiety is perceived as an emotion but if dysfunctional or debilitating, it may be considered a disorder (see anxiety disorder). From there, anxiety can be divided down into a plethora of categories such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, and social anxiety. People with social anxiety tend to be shy, refrain from speaking up, lack self-esteem, and defer attention.[1] If severe, social anxiety can be detrimental. Debilitating fears restrain some from performing everyday activities such as public speaking, test taking, or sexual intercourse (see social anxiety disorder). There are a number of evolutionary theories on how social anxiety may have developed, the most prominent of which is exclusion theory.
Biological adaptation to living in small groups
There is a suggestion that people have adapted to live with others in small groups. Living in a group is attractive as there are more people to provide labor, protection, and a concentration of potential mates.[2][3] Since much of evolutionary theory is concerned with reproduction, the benefit of exposure to potential mates within a group cannot be overemphasized. But first, one must gather enough resources to be of a certain status to attract a mate. Working together to gather these resources, is thus, is a major attraction. Any perceived threat to group resources would leave an individual on guard, as would any potential position of status that might bring conflict with others.[4] Finally, living in groups offers health benefits.
Resources
Resources have served as a symbolic form of one's status, allowing the individual to survive and acquire mates. Searching for resources as a collective group may have given access to a substantial amount of capital. Social anxiety might stem back to when people had to negotiate or defend their resources, thereby initiating some kind of 'alert'.[4] Suppression of these negative reactions ultimately helps the individual avoid conflicts which might lead to lack of resources at their disposal, expulsion from the group, or even death. In effect, anxiety in this way is adaptive because it helps people understand what is socially acceptable and what is not. The threat of exclusion of resources could lead to death.
Mates
The aspect of a partnership will be covered in depth in the "sex, partnership, and familial relations" section. However, it is important to note how access to resources and compatibility within a group impacts an individual's mate selection. Due to the vulnerability of human mothers and babies after birth, a father had to protect both individuals. While they spent less time with the offspring, they were investing more time mastering the external environment for the safety and security of mother and child.[5] Fathers may be confronting external forces threatening resources or social status. Having resources to nourish mother and child attracts potential mates. Maintaining a harmonious relationship among the community helps to access those original resources. Without mates and other relationships to sustain and support an individual, the person faces potential exclusion and isolation.
Health benefits
At a basic level, being confined to a particular group of people limits exposure to certain diseases.[3] Studies have suggested that social affiliation has an impact on health and the more integrated and accepted we are, the healthier we are.[6][2][4]
Theories on social anxiety
Buss- Social Anxiety may have developed from fearful temperament and either excessive socialization of a child to the point that they are hyperaware of inappropriate social situations or underdeveloped social skills.[7]
Aron- Genetic inheritance of a high level of sensory-processing sensitivity.[8]
Seligman- prepared by evolutionary history to have anxiety (fear) towards objects and situations which were previously perceived as a threat by our early ancestors.[9]
Trower and Gilbert- social anxiety as a way to maintain cohesion in a society [10]
Gilbert- Social anxiety triggered by competition (status and resources) [4]
Leary and Kowalski- fostering social inclusion and reducing the risk of exclusion/rejection [11]
Exclusion theory
One of the leading theories regarding social anxiety is exclusion theory. At its simplest, social anxiety might be regarded as a basic human need to 'fit' into a given social group.[2] Someone might be excluded due to their inability to contribute to a group, deviance from group standards, or even unattractiveness. Based on the above section outlining the benefits of living in a group, an individual would want to avoid social isolation at any cost. Anxiety may serve as anticipation to an event that may lead to social exclusion.[2] An example that has been put forth puts the mother-infant relationship into play. When an infant is put down and mother leaves, the infant cries out until the mother comes back. The theory put forth claims the infant ensures social inclusion by the mother's return.[12][13] Another example offers a new perspective on the classic Oedipus Complex. The Oedipus Complex has traditionally referred to an inherent desire to kill one's father and sleep with their mother. This motivation is disbanded due to fears of castration. Perhaps a more practical interpretation of the Oedipus complex is an interpretation through exclusion theory. Instead, the infant fears being abandoned and excluded from the family.[2] The same conclusion can be applied to children who wish to sleep with their parents at night; they fear social exclusion rather than a desire to be intimate with a parent.[2]
"It is doubtful how often parents make explicit verbal threats of castration to their children, but they do often make threats of leaving the child, putting the child away somewhere, giving the child away to the police or other strangers, and so forth."[14]
Ultimately anxiety as interpreted by exclusion theory emphasizes people's needs to be accepted by other people. Knowing what is and is not seen as attractive to the self and other individuals allows one to prevent rejection, criticisms, or exclusion from others.[4] Indeed, there is a reason that adultery, mate poaching, and murder are prominent reasons for group exclusion, as they impact the fitness (reproductive and physical) of the group.[3]
Sex, partnership, and familial relations
As referenced before, living in a group gives an individual access to resources and partners. Humans are physiologically sensitive to social cues and therefore detect changes in interactions which may indicate dissatisfaction or unpleasant reactions.[4] People can enhance how others view them by wearing particular clothes, accomplishing academic achievements, playing a certain sport, etc. All of these variables are attributes of how attractive an individual is perceived.
Function, traits, and signals of anxiety
Overall, social anxiety may serve as a way for people to anticipate certain actions that might bring social exclusion.
People with social anxiety might display characteristics of self-blaming and self-derogating, have high perceived social standards, poorly defined social goals, a heightened sense of self-focused attention and retreat from social situations to avoid social 'mishaps'.[4][15] Eye gaze avoidance is another major trait, as it typically signals that the individual is not a threat.[4][16][17] Those with social anxiety may retreat in social situations to avoid any social mishaps.
References
- ↑ Stein, M. B., & Gorman, J. M. (2001). Unmasking Social Anxiety Disorder. Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 26(3), 185–189.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Baumeister, R., & Tice, D. (1990). Anxiety and Social Exclusion. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9(2).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Buss, D. (1990). The Evolution of Anxiety and Social Exclusion. Journal Of Social And Clinical Psychology, 9(2), 196-201.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Gilbert, P. (2001). Evolution and Social Anxiety: The Role of Attraction, Social Competition, and Social Hierarchies. Psychiatric Clinics, 24(4), 723-751.
- ↑ Bögels, S. M., & Perotti, E. C. (2011). Does Father Know Best? A Formal Model of the Paternal Influence on Childhood Social Anxiety. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 20(2), 171-181.
- ↑ Wilkinson, R. G. (1999). Health, Hierarchy, and Social Anxiety. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 896(1), 48-63.
- ↑ Buss, A. (1980). Self-consciousness and social anxiety. San Francisco: Freeman.
- ↑ Aron, E. (1999). High sensitivity as one source of fearfulness and shyness. In J. Schulkin & L. A. Schmidt (Eds.), Extreme fear, shyness, and social phobia (pp. 251-272). New York: Oxford University Press.
- ↑ Seligman, M. (1971). Phobias and preparedness. Behavior Therapy. 2, 307-320.
- ↑ Trower, P. & Gilbert, P. (1989). New theoretical conceptions of social anxiety and social phobia. Clinical Psychology Review, 9, 19-35.
- ↑ Leary, M. R. & Kowalski, R. M. (1995). Social Anxiety. New York: Guilford.
- ↑ Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and Loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. New York: Basic Books.
- ↑ Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and Loss: Vol. 2. Separation Anxiety and Anger. New York: Basic Books.
- ↑ Baumeister, R., & Tice, D. (1990). Anxiety and Social Exclusion. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9(2), 186-187.
- ↑ Hofmann, S. G. (2007). Cognitive factors that maintain social anxiety disorder: A comprehensive model and its treatment implications. Cognitive behaviour therapy, 36(4), 193-209.
- ↑ Bulley, A., Miloyan, B., Brilot, B., Gullo, M. J., & Suddendorf, T. (2016). An Evolutionary Perspective on the Co-occurrence of Social Anxiety Disorder and Alcohol Use Disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 196, 62-70.
- ↑ Schneier, F. R., Rodebaugh, T. L., Blanco, C., Lewin, H., & Liebowitz, M. R. (2011). Fear and avoidance of eye contact in social anxiety disorder. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 52(1), 81-87.
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