For each statement, choose the number which
mostly represents your characteristics in the rating scale.
0
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
Not
at all characteristic or true
of me
|
Slightly characteristic or true
of me
|
Moderately characteristic or true
of me
|
Very characteristic or true
of me
|
Extremely characteristic or true
of me
|
I get nervous that people are staring at me as I walk
down the street.
I worry about shaking or trembling when I’m watched by
other people.
I would get tense if I had to sit facing other people on
a bus or train.
I worry I might do something to attract the attention of
other people.
When in an elevator, I am tense if people look at
me.
I
can feel conspicuous standing in a line.
How
high you score? If the total score in the above is higher than seven, you may be
a bit anxious with the presence of others. The statements listed above are some
of the examples in the Social Phobia Scale (SPS). It measures the degree of
anxiety of a person when he/she is expecting observation or actually being
observed by others. The original scale consisted of 20 statements with a total
score of 80.
Who Break the Ice?
 |
| Photo: bellaswanpicss.blogspot.com |
Social
phobics often find interaction difficult. Because of their fear of being
embarrassed, their subsequent actions make them even more embarrassing. This is
the reason why a companion test of Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) is
used along with SPS to test for one’s behavior and fear of interacting with
people.
Treatments
of social phobia should be applied as early as it can be. Having social phobia
during childhood is related to substance abuse, occupational impairment and
suicidal thoughts in adulthood. Much time and patience is needed before the
social phobics get familiar with a stranger. Sometimes people misunderstood
them as they dislike others. However, the truth is they do not know the way to
communicate with others, especially strangers.
 |
| Photo: justrec.com |
Nonetheless, awkwardness can be beautiful too. Have you met some shy people before? Sometimes, instead of linking them to absurdity, you feel the beauty of immaturity, the greenness and the imperfect. Bella Swan is an "imperfect" example. She is shy, so shy that we would describe her as a social phobics. Yet, in the Twilight Saga, she has her friends too. Her friends still invited her out, though at the end she spent most of the time with Edward Cullen. To conclude, shyness should not be accounted for the main reason for unpopularity. In fact, being quiet may by some means or other arouses others' curiousity. If you do not believe me, watch the Twilight movies again.
Venus Lai
Reference:
Brown, E.J.,
Turovsky, J., Heimberg, R.G., Juster, H.R., Brown, T.A. & Barlow, D.H.
(1997). Validation of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and the Social Phobia Scale Across the
Anxiety Disorders. Psychological
Assessment, 9(1), 21-27.
Mattick, R. P., &
Clarke, J. C. (1989). Development and validation of measures of social
phobia scrutiny fear and social interaction anxiety. Unpublished manuscript.
Puliafico,
A.C., Comer, J.S., Kendall, P.C. (2007). Social Phobia in
Youth: The Diagnostic Utility of Feared Social Situations. Psychological Assessment, 19(1), 152-158.
