Effects of Social Inclusionary Status on Self-evaluations: The Moderating Role of Social Anxiety

Social inclusionary status might have diverse effects on self-perception. We conducted an online experiment (N=170) to examine the effects of social inclusionary status and social anxiety on self-evaluation. Our hypothesis was that the social exclusion experience will negatively affect self-evaluations in the competence dimension and social anxiety is expected to moderate this relationship. Participants filled out the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale and wrote a short autobiographical essay about an experience from their lives when they felt excluded/rejected (exclusion condition) or included (inclusion condition). Self-evaluation was approached with the two dimensions -warmth and competence- as proposed in the Stereotype Content Model. Results had shown that participants’ warmth judgments about themselves were not affected by neither inclusionary status nor social anxiety. On the other hand, inclusionary status had an effect on self-competence evaluations as a function of participants’ social anxiety levels. Accordingly, remembering an inclusive experience (from their past) was related with higher self-competence only among low social anxiety participants. The positive effect of remembering social inclusion experience was not observed among high social anxiety individuals. In conclusion, the effect of social inclusionary status on self-competence assessments was moderated by social anxiety.