New theoretical conceptions of social anxiety and social phobia

In this theoretical paper, it is argued that social anxiety arises from the activation of an evolved mechanism for dealing with intra-species (conspecific) threat, a mechanism which has played a vital role in the evolution of social groups. A model is developed showing how this "agonic" mode of defense, working through the psychological systems of appraisal and coping, leads the socially anxious to perceive others as hostile dominants, to fear negative evaluation from them and to respond, at one level of the disorder, by appeasement and submissive behavior, and at a more severe level of the disorder, by more primitive actions such as escape or avoidance. A further theme put forward is that the socially anxious person appears unable to recruit another evolved mechanism for social relating called the "hedonic" mode, in which social groups are structured in terms of cooperation, equality, and mutual support. Some therapeutic implications of these concepts are explored.