Trait shyness, actual-ought self-discrepancy and discomfort in social interaction

A trait approach was compared to a social cognition approach in predicting discomfort in a laboratory social interaction. The relationships of trait shyness and actual-own/ought-other (AOO) self-discrepancy with multiple aspects of discomfort were evaluated. Results from a canonical correlation analysis showed that the overall relationship between these two predictors of shyness and criteria of discomfort was significant. Partialled multivariate tests of trait shyness and AOO discrepancy revealed that both predictors of shyness were uniquely related to discomfort criteria. A comparison of these analyses revealed that subjective anxiety and negative self-statements made the strongest contribution to trait shyness, while positive self-statements made no contribution. In contrast, both positive and negative self-statements made moderately strong contributions to AOO discrepancy as did the other measures of discomfort. The findings suggest that a social cognition approach is viable in predicting discomfort related to social interaction. Implications for theory and research are discussed.