Anxious Affiliation: A Look at Need for Affiliation and Social Anxiety
Location
Guzman 202, Dominican University of California
Start Date
4-17-2019 4:00 PM
End Date
4-17-2019 5:00 PM
Student Type
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor(s)
Matt Davis, PhD
Presentation Format
Poster Presentation
Abstract/Description
An important motivation when forming interpersonal relationships stems from our need for affiliation. Need for affiliation is seen as a personality trait, characterized by the desire to create relationships and to cooperate and reciprocate with an allied other. It is seen as one of three major, subconscious motivations that drive human behavior. While demographic variables such as sex differences and birth order have been shown to relate to differences in the need to affiliate, another variable that should be correlated with need for affiliation is social anxiety; or feelings of fear in social and performance situations. If an individual suffers from social anxiety, it would be logical to conclude that he or she has little desire to affiliate with others. The purpose of the present study was to focus on the relationship between need for affiliation and social anxiety. Approximately 40 participants, recruited from Facebook and from classes at Dominican University, completed an anonymous, online survey which measured need for affiliation using Hill’s Interpersonal Orientation Scale, levels of social anxiety using Mattick and Clarke’s Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, and included a number of demographic items. Although data collection and analysis have not been fully completed, it is expected that individuals with higher levels of need for affiliation are likely to have lower levels of social anxiety. It is also expected that based on past literature on this topic, there will be a significant gender difference in both need for affiliation and social anxiety, with women displaying higher levels of both variables than men. Lastly, it is expected that only children and youngest children will have lower levels of need for affiliation than first borns.
Anxious Affiliation: A Look at Need for Affiliation and Social Anxiety
Guzman 202, Dominican University of California
An important motivation when forming interpersonal relationships stems from our need for affiliation. Need for affiliation is seen as a personality trait, characterized by the desire to create relationships and to cooperate and reciprocate with an allied other. It is seen as one of three major, subconscious motivations that drive human behavior. While demographic variables such as sex differences and birth order have been shown to relate to differences in the need to affiliate, another variable that should be correlated with need for affiliation is social anxiety; or feelings of fear in social and performance situations. If an individual suffers from social anxiety, it would be logical to conclude that he or she has little desire to affiliate with others. The purpose of the present study was to focus on the relationship between need for affiliation and social anxiety. Approximately 40 participants, recruited from Facebook and from classes at Dominican University, completed an anonymous, online survey which measured need for affiliation using Hill’s Interpersonal Orientation Scale, levels of social anxiety using Mattick and Clarke’s Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, and included a number of demographic items. Although data collection and analysis have not been fully completed, it is expected that individuals with higher levels of need for affiliation are likely to have lower levels of social anxiety. It is also expected that based on past literature on this topic, there will be a significant gender difference in both need for affiliation and social anxiety, with women displaying higher levels of both variables than men. Lastly, it is expected that only children and youngest children will have lower levels of need for affiliation than first borns.