Health psychology/Phobias & anxiety · Anxiety / phobia

Social anxiety disorder

What it means

Marked fear of social or performance situations because of possible scrutiny and negative evaluation by others, leading to avoidance.

Worked example

Avoiding speaking in meetings, eating in public, or being introduced to strangers.

In the exam

A student avoids seminars and declines to eat in the canteen, terrified that others are judging him and that he will embarrass himself.

What settles it

Social anxiety fears NEGATIVE EVALUATION by others. Agoraphobia fears being trapped or unable to get help; the fear is of the situation, not of judgement.

Classically confused with

Agoraphobia

Source: ICD-11; DSM-5