Choking Under Social Pressure: Social Monitoring Among the Lonely

Knowles, Megan L.; Lucas, Gale M.; Baumeister, Roy F.; Gardner, Wendi L.

doi:10.1177/0146167215580775

Cited by 48Death Anxiety and Social ExclusionAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesAttachment and Relationship Dynamics

Choking Under Social Pressure: Social Monitoring Among the Lonely

Knowles, Megan L., Lucas, Gale M., Baumeister, Roy F., Gardner, Wendi L.·2015·Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

DOI 10.1177/0146167215580775

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Abstract

Lonely individuals may decode social cues well but have difficulty putting such skills to use precisely when they need them--in social situations. In four studies, we examined whether lonely people choke under social pressure by asking participants to complete social sensitivity tasks framed as diagnostic of social skills or nonsocial skills. Across studies, lonely participants performed worse than nonlonely participants on social sensitivity tasks framed as tests of social aptitude, but they performed just as well or better than the nonlonely when the same tasks were framed as tests of academic aptitude. Mediational analyses in Study 3 and misattribution effects in Study 4 indicate that anxiety plays an important role in this choking effect. This research suggests that lonely individuals may not need to acquire social skills to escape loneliness; instead, they must learn to cope with performance anxiety in interpersonal interactions.

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Lonely individuals struggle to use their social skills and approach social situations in a more defensive manner.
“Lonely individuals also struggle to use their social skills (Knowles et al., 2015) and approach social situations in a more defensive manner (Cacioppo et al., 2006;Cacioppo & Hawkley, 2009), such that even if they are motivated to seek connections with others, these attempts to reconnect may not be successful.”
From Investigating the interplay of loneliness and social isolation across adolescence: Findings from a nationally representative longitudinal study (2026) · cites this paper as Knowles et al., 2015

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Self-citation

Authors: Knowles, M. L., Lucas, G. M., Baumeister, R. F., & Gardner, W. L.
Affiliations: Franklin & Marshall College (US)
University of Southern California (US)
Florida State University (US)
Northwestern University (US)
ORCID: Knowles, Megan L.
Lucas, Gale M.
Baumeister, Roy F.
Gardner, Wendi L.
Venue: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2015-05-08
Volume: 41
Issue: 6
Pages: 805-821
ISSN: 0146-1672 (ISSN-L)
1552-7433
DOI: 10.1177/0146167215580775
OpenAlex: W1947736229
Cited by: 48
References: 62
Citations by year: 2026: 4 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1
FWCI: 4.37
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
Keywords: loneliness, choking under pressure, social pressure, social sensitivity, performance anxiety, misattribution, social skills, task framing, interpersonal interaction
MeSH terms: Facial Recognition, Anxiety, Facial Expression, Female, Humans, Loneliness, Male, Social Skills

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Choking Under Social Pressure: Social Monitoring Among the Lonely

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