The Right Fit: When Socially Anxious Individuals Gain the Most From Social Interactions

Abstract

Social interactions are crucial for social connection and well-being, yet individuals differ in how much they benefit from them. This two-week experience sampling study (N = 157; 10,547 social interactions) explored how trait social anxiety shapes interaction quality (i.e., pleasantness, playfulness, and meaningfulness) and momentary energy. We also examined the moderating roles of interaction channel (face-to-face vs. mediated), group size (large vs. small), and familiarity (familiar vs. unfamiliar). Dimensions of interaction quality were robustly positively associated with increased momentary energy at both the within- and between-person levels. Social anxiety was negatively related to energy. For interaction quality, the social context mattered: the negative effect of social anxiety on playfulness was attenuated in small (vs. large) group interactions, and the negative effect on meaningfulness was weaker in mediated (vs. face-to-face) interactions. The findings suggest that more controllable and close-knit social contexts better align with the psychological needs of socially anxious individuals.

Keywords

social anxiety interaction quality energy situations contexts mediated face-to-face group size familiarity personality social connection experience sampling method ecological momentary assessment

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