Positivity impairment as a broad-based feature of social anxiety

The study of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) has been enriched in the past decade by emerging interest in the concept of positivity. The present chapter seeks to clarify and delineate the prevalent, yet ill-defined, concept of “positive impairment” in social anxiety by addressing four questions. First, we inquire about the scope of positive impairment. Second, we examine the evidence concerning the association of social anxiety and reactivity to positive stimuli/events. Third, we examine the available evidence regarding strategies employed by individuals high in social anxiety in an attempt to regulate their positive affective states. Fourth, we examine the evidence regarding the causal role of positivity impairment in the onset and maintenance of social anxiety. Consistent with evolutionary and interpersonal accounts of SAD, the dimensions of affiliation and dominance frame this review. Finally, the implications of this theoretical position on the core processes in, and treatment of, social anxiety are presented.