Examining social anxiety and dual aspects of social comparison orientation: the moderating role of self-evaluation of social skills

Abstract

IntroductionSocial comparison orientation comprises ability comparison, which entails superior and inferior ratings; and opinion comparison, which does not include such ratings. Previous research on negative emotions and the social rank theory of social anxiety indicates that social anxiety is positively associated with ability comparison. This is particularly true of individuals with a stronger sense of inferiority (e.g., lower self-evaluation of their social skills). Nevertheless, the relationship between the two aspects of social comparison orientation and social anxiety remains unclear.MethodsTwo hundred thirty-eight individuals (Mage = 40.53 ± 9.78 years, 50.4% men) participated in an online cross-sectional survey questionnaire.ResultsSocial anxiety was positively correlated with ability comparison but not opinion comparison. The relationship between social anxiety in situations observed by others and ability comparison was stronger for individuals with lower (vs. higher) self-rated social skills.DiscussionThis study showed that the two types of social comparison are differentially related to social anxiety. The findings support the social rank theory of social anxiety, which states that social comparisons involving superior and inferior ratings lead to social anxiety owing to the perception of one’s inferiority. Making such social comparisons can result in heightened social anxiety, particularly for individuals with low self-evaluations of social skills. The results indicate the importance of these social comparisons in the emergence and persistence of social anxiety. Furthermore, the potential of interventions based on mindfulness, compassion, social media, and video feedback in mitigating the negative effects of such social comparisons is discussed.

The Relationship between Parents’ Social Comparison Orientation and Educational Anxiety of Preschool Children Aged 2-5 Years Old in A District of Jilin Province, China: the Mediating Role of Parental Educational Expectations

“…The results of this study are generally consistent with those of previous studies. Previous research in other domains has found that making social comparisons is strongly related to individuals' anxiety (Chen et al, 2023;Jung & Kim, 2023;Okano & Nomura, 2023;Ruan et al, 2023;Yang et al, 2023). Parental social comparison was found to be significantly related to parental anxiety (Yang et al, 2021).…”

“…There are many factors that influence parental educational anxiety, including parents' economic level, parents' personal traits and social environment (Zhou, 2023). Previous research has confirmed that individuals who make frequent social comparisons have higher levels of anxiety (Jung & Kim, 2023;McCarthy & Morina, 2020;Okano & Nomura, 2023). It remains to be tested whether parents with a high orientation for social comparison have higher levels of anxiety in their children's education in the broader context of educational involution.…”