Effects of Social Anxiety Level on Negative Interpretation Bias in Ambiguous Social Situations: Focused on Relational Intimacy

Background: This study aimed to examine the differences in negative interpretation bias in ambiguous social situations according to social anxiety level and then confirm the degree of negative interpretation bias according to the relational intimacy with the interacting partner.Methods: A total of 405 adults in their 20s completed the surveys that measured the levels of social interaction anxiety, and the highest 10% (n=30) and lowest 10% (n=30) scorers finally participated in the study. This study used a 2 (high/low social anxiety)×3 (relational intimacy: a stranger/a moderately intimate person/a very intimate person) factorial design. The study provided participants with 15 randomized scenarios with the same social context but different interacting partners and confirmed the degree of agreement with the negative interpretation presented in each situation.Results: The high social anxiety group showed more negative interpretation bias in ambiguous social situations compared to the low social anxiety group. Regarding the negative interpretation biases according to relational intimacy, the high social anxiety group showed the most negative interpretation bias in social interactions with a moderately intimate person than they did with a stranger or very intimate person.Conclusions: Social anxiety may have different effects on the degree of negative interpretation bias depending on intimacy in social interactions, suggesting that differentiated therapeutic interventions are needed.