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- Title
Are Socially Anxious Children Poor or Advanced Mindreaders?
- Authors
Nikolić, Milica; Storm, Lisa; Colonnesi, Cristina; Brummelman, Eddie; Kan, Kees Jan; Bögels, Susan; van der Storm, Lisa
- Abstract
Why are some children more socially anxious than others? One theory holds that socially anxious children are poor mindreaders, which hampers their social interactions; another that socially anxious children are advanced mindreaders leading to heightened self-consciousness in social situations. To test these theories simultaneously, this study (N = 105, ages 8-12) assessed children's mindreading (accuracy in detecting mental states from the eye region), self-consciousness (indexed as physiological blushing during public performance), and social anxiety levels. Results support both theories, showing a quadratic relation between mindreading and social anxiety. Low mindreading was related to clinical levels of social anxiety. High mindreading was related to subclinical levels of social anxiety through blushing. Our findings suggest two social-cognitive pathways to heightened social anxiety.
- Subjects
SOCIAL anxiety; ANXIETY in children; SOCIAL interaction in children; BLUSHING; SOCIAL perception in children; THOUGHT &; thinking; RESEARCH; RESEARCH methodology; EVALUATION research; MEDICAL cooperation; COMPARATIVE studies; INTERPERSONAL relations; RESEARCH funding; ANXIETY
- Publication
Child Development, 2019, Vol 90, Issue 4, p1424
- ISSN
0009-3920
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1111/cdev.13248