Affiliation strategies and increasing likability in social anxiety – A systematic literature review

Abstract

Affiliation is an essential psychosocial process through which individuals express their need for belonging and positive interpersonal connection. Social Anxiety often creates significant barriers to forming and maintaining social bonds, leading to isolation. For individuals with social anxiety, affiliation takes on increased importance, being motivated by the desire to reduce the fear of negative evaluation and rejection, as well as to facilitate social integration. As far as we know, this is the first systematic review using only experimental design conducted in the last 10 years that explores the main strategies at fostering affiliation and enhancing perceived likeability among individuals with social anxiety. We aimed to analyze how strategies like self-disclosure can help individuals into being affiliated into a social group and increase the level of sympathy they receive from others. Acknowledging and addressing these issues can contribute to a deeper awareness of social integration challenges in SAD, illustrating the importance of targeted strategies that not only alleviate symptoms, but also promote sustainable, positive social engagement. However, even if these strategies are important for facilitating the social integration of people with anxiety, their effectiveness may vary depending on contexts.