The relationship between social comparison and submissive behaviors in people with social anxiety: Paranoid social cognition as the mediator

Abstract

Biased evaluation fears and paranoid thoughts lead to various safety behaviors that are the cardinal features and perpetuating factors of social anxiety. The present study aimed to emphasize evaluative and paranoid thoughts that predispose and maintain this growing psychological condition. A cross-sectional research design was employed to explore the relationship between social comparison, paranoid social cognitions, and submissive behaviors in patients with social anxiety. Furthermore, predictive effects of social comparison and paranoid ideation on submissiveness, along with mediating factors, were assessed in a clinical sample. The study sample consisted of 100 treatment-seeking female patients of social anxiety (M = 25.21 years), recruited through purposive sampling. The findings revealed significant correlations between social comparison, paranoid social cognitions, and submissive behaviors. Rank, a subscale of social comparison, and paranoid social cognitions turned out as predictive factors of submissive behaviors. A novel finding is that paranoid social cognitions mediate the relationship between social comparison and submissive behaviors in socially anxious individuals. Study results will assist clinicians to devise effective management plans for patients by comprehending possible causes of submissiveness and considering paranoid ideation as a manifestation of social anxiety.

Endocannabinoid basis of personality—Insights from animal model of social behavior

“…Research has shown that social hierarchy is linked to personality traits in both animals and humans ( Colléter and Brown, 2011 ; David et al, 2011 ; Dasgupta et al, 2022 ; Vékony et al, 2022 ). For example, dominant individuals tend to be more assertive, confident, and proactive ( Blanchard et al, 1988 ; Salonen et al, 2022 ), while submissive individuals are often more anxious, passive, and reactive ( Catarino et al, 2014 ; Zaffar and Arshad, 2020 ). In addition, social hierarchy can shape individual behavior and physiology ( Schmid Mast, 2010 ; Flota-Bañuelos et al, 2019 ) including stress responses ( Knight and Mehta, 2017 ; Karamihalev et al, 2020 ), brain activity ( Breton et al, 2014 ; Williamson et al, 2019a ), and gene expression ( Pohorecky et al, 2004 ; Horii et al, 2017 ; Lea et al, 2018 ; Williamson et al, 2019b ).…”

Self-processing characteristics from first-person and third-person perspectives in individuals with social anxiety disorder: insights into negative bias

“…As a special group, individuals with social anxiety disorder tend to have less positive bias than those without SAD. Although people often attribute positive events to internal and stable factors, this attribution tendency is difficult to be found in individuals with social anxiety disorder ( 21 , 22 ). They make internal attributions to negative events, believing that failure is their lack of ability but success has nothing to do with them ( 23 ).…”

Hostile Organizational Climate as an Antecedent to Paranoid Cognition and Sleep: Moderating Role of Emotional Suppression

“…A similar report suggested that the character attributes assumed a part in figuring out who will be engaged with unfriendly practices and who keep away from such demonstrations. Exploration is expected to discover the variables and other individual contrasts that clarify why and how individuals act distinctively to saw antagonistic environments (Thoroughgood et al, 2019;Zaffar et al, 2020;McTiernan et al, 2020) This examination endeavors to investigate the distal impacts of antagonistic HOC that are sent to workers, to some degree, through PC and low sleep quality. Since, the unfriendly environment is a stressor to which workers may react by over reasoning and initiating distrustful discernment, which will additionally prompt low rest quality.…”