The Soothing Effect of a Stable World: Social Behavior of Individuals Varying on Social Anxiety Under Fixed and Growth Mindsets About Impression Formation

Social anxiety (SA) entails perceiving interactions as threatening and is linked to detrimental social outcomes. This study tested whether individuals scoring higher on SA navigate interactions better when believing the impressions people form of others are relatively fixed (fixed mindset), thereby making interactions feel more controlled and less demanding. A Preliminary Study established that holding a fixed mindset attenuates how demanding interactions feel among individuals higher on SA. Three experiments manipulated impression formation mindsets. In Study 1, higher SA was associated with making a negative impression in a self-presentation task following a growth mindset induction (belief that impressions are malleable) but not following a fixed mindset induction. This pattern was repeated in Study 2 involving a stress-inducing self-presentation task. In Study 3, following a fixed mindset induction, SA predicted better real-life social experiences. In conclusion, a fixed model of impression formation may improve social functioning among individuals predisposed to SA.