What Happens When You “Can't Read the Air”? Cultural Fit and Aptitude By Values Interactions on Social Anxiety

Poor ability to decode others' emotions has been linked with social anxiety; however, does this association differ according to the degree to which one values interconnectedness and emotional attunement? The authors propose an intra-personal cultural fit hypothesis suggesting that the association between emotion recognition ability and social anxiety is moderated by the degree to which one holds an interdependent self-construal. In a sample of Asian American (AA) and European American (EA) college students, emotion recognition ability was assessed using laboratory task and self-report methods, and associations with self-reported social anxiety were examined. Results provide initial support for the hypothesized aptitude by values interaction, indicating that problems reading the air have greater costs for social anxiety among AAs who endorsed high collectivism.