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Self and identity in social anxiety disorder
Author(s) -
GilboaSchechtman Eva,
Keshet Hadar,
Peschard Virginie,
Azoulay Roy
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/jopy.12455
Subject(s) - psychology , self , social anxiety , association (psychology) , identity (music) , social psychology , experiential learning , rank (graph theory) , subject (documents) , anxiety , self concept , object (grammar) , social identity theory , psychology of self , developmental psychology , psychotherapist , social group , linguistics , philosophy , physics , mathematics education , mathematics , combinatorics , psychiatry , library science , computer science , acoustics
Models of social anxiety (SA) place the self as an organizing and causal center involved in the maintenance of this condition. An integrative conceptual framework for the understanding of the self is used to review the literature on the self in SA. Two main distinctions are emphasized: the self‐as‐a‐subject (I‐self) versus self‐as‐an‐object (Me‐self), and the evolutionary‐based distinction of social rank versus affiliation. We argue that (a) although much progress has been made in understanding the association between SA and Me‐self, the association between SA and I‐self remains largely unexplored (with the important exception of anxiety‐related processes in social situations); and (b) experiences and representations of the self in SA center on social rank. We suggest that in SA, social rank themes constitute the linchpins of identity, defined as the content and structure of the Me‐self. We speculate that processes related to low social rank contribute to the focus on representational (Me), rather than experiential (I), self‐aspects. Finally, we delineate the ways in which such an understanding may direct and refine the construction of novel, individually tailored, therapeutic approaches.