When the Need to Belong Goes Wrong: The Expression of Social Anhedonia and Social Anxiety in Daily Life

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Leslie H. Brown (Creator)
Thomas R. Kwapil, Associate Professor (Creator)
Paul Silvia, Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: Baumeister and Leary (1995) proposed that people possess an innate “need to belong” that drives social interactions. Aberrations in the need to belong, such as social anhedonia and anxiety, provide a point of entry for examining this need. The current study employed experience sampling methodology to explore deviations in the belongingness need in the daily lives of 245 undergraduates. PDAs signaled participants eight times daily for a week to complete questionnaires regarding affect, thoughts, and behaviors. As predicted, social anhedonia was associated with increased time alone, a preference for solitude, and lower positive affect. Social anxiety, on the other hand, was associated with higher negative affect and unassociated with time alone. Furthermore, social anxiety was associated with greater self-consciousness and preference to be alone while interacting with unfamiliar people. Thus, deviations in the belongingness need affect social functioning differently depending on whether the belongingness need is absent or thwarted.

Additional Information

Publication
Language: English
Date: 2007
Keywords
social anxiety, belonging, social interaction, social anhedonia, self-consciousness, psychology

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