When a gaze seems to say one thing and a word another: what a study detected about social anxiety

A University of Michigan study revealed that people with social anxiety show more intense brain activity in response to contradictory signals. (Illustrative image Infobae)A gaze that seems to say one thing and a word that suggests another can trigger a more intense brain reaction in those with higher levels of social anxiety. A University of Michigan study found that this sensitivity to contradictory signals appears in the brain's electrical activity, although it does not make interpretations of what others think or feel more accurate. The research, published in the journal Psychophysiology, examined a common scene in everyday relationships: trying to decipher the meaning of a gaze. The result adds nuance to a widespread idea about social anxiety. Paying more attention to others' gestures does not necessarily mean understanding them better. Electroencephalography recording detected greater disruption of the N400 signal when the gaze and the word did not match. (Illustrative image Infobae)The team led by Irene Melani studied young adults with different levels of social anxiety. During the test, they recorded their brain activity using electroencephalography, a technique that measures the electrical signals produced by the brain. Participants saw gaze patterns followed by words describing mental states, such as thoughts or emotions. Some combinations were congruent with the usual interpretation of that gesture. Others presented a mismatch between the visual signal and the word presented. That is where the difference appeared. People with more social anxiety had a greater brain response when the gaze and the word did not match. The observed indicator is known as the N400, a signal associated with the moment when the brain encounters a meaning that is unexpected or incompatible with what it anticipated. The same pattern did not emerge in a control task based on stereotypes about animals. For the researchers, this comparison suggests that the reaction is linked to reading other people's mental states and not to a greater detection of contradictions in general terms. The greater brain response to gestural incongruence did not improve the accuracy or speed of participants' conscious judgments. (Illustrative image Infobae)The data that organizes the results lies in what happened afterward. After the brain activity measurement, the volunteers had to explicitly judge the meaning of the gazes. Those with higher levels of social anxiety did not respond faster or show more correct answers than the rest. The greater N400 reaction, therefore, did not translate into an advantage when deciding what a social signal might mean. The study shows a gap between the brain's automatic sensitivity to an incongruence and the conscious capacity to elaborate an interpretation. Melani, who holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Michigan and is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, noted that people with more social anxiety exhibited higher neural sensitivity to the meaning conveyed by the gaze, but that difference was not reflected in their subsequent judgments. Focused vigilance on facial expressions can sustain worry about possible negative evaluation. (Illustrative image Infobae)The work also suggests that attending intensely to others' expressions, eyes, or reactions could help notice signals that go unnoticed by others. But that same vigilance can also sustain worry about a possible negative evaluation or about intentions that are unclear. The authors did not determine whether this response favors or harms interactions outside the laboratory. The study design allows identifying an association between levels of social anxiety and the brain activity recorded during the task, but not establishing that one condition causes the other. The research was conducted with young adults and assessed levels of social anxiety. The authors emphasize that their results do not constitute, by themselves, a clinical diagnostic tool nor do they describe the experience of all people with this disorder. Cognitive-behavioral therapy and pharmacological treatments are among the main professional alternatives for addressing this condition. (Freepik)The scene reproduced by the experiment is not unfamiliar: a person looks away during a conversation, responds with a gesture that is hard to read, or remains silent after a remark. In daily life, these signals rarely come with a clear explanation. The brain must complete the meaning based on context, prior experiences, and expectations. In that terrain of uncertainty, social anxiety can make the details that seem to indicate approval, disinterest, or rejection more salient. The study does not claim that people with this trait "read others poorly." What it shows is something more specific: their brain activity reacted more intensely when two social signals conveyed meanings that did not fit together. That precision matters because a larger N400 response does not equate to a better ability to guess thoughts. The recording captures a fast process that occurs before the person formulates a conscious conclusion. Other variables then come into play, such as the available information, experience, and how each person evaluates a situation. The result also helps separate two moments that are often conflated. On one hand, there is the detection of a possible contradiction. On the other, the subsequent interpretation of that signal. The research found differences in the first, but not in the second. Social anxiety can include fear of being judged, palpitations, or avoidance of encounters, but its diagnosis requires a professional evaluation and persistent symptoms that affect daily life. (Illustrative image Infobae)Anxiety before a presentation, a job interview, a date, or joining a new group is a common experience. The diagnosis of social anxiety disorder requires a professional evaluation and cannot be deduced from an isolated reaction, shyness, or feeling uncomfortable in certain encounters. The United States National Institute of Mental Health explains that the disorder is related to an intense fear of situations in which a person may feel watched, judged, or evaluated. It can include anticipating a conversation, a presentation, or a meeting for weeks, as well as avoiding activities that interfere with work, educational, or romantic life. Among the possible manifestations are blushing, trembling, sweating, palpitations, physical discomfort, difficulty maintaining eye contact, and the sensation of being at a loss for words. However, these signs can have other causes. For a diagnosis to exist, the anxiety must persist over time and cause significant impairment in daily life, according to the institute's guidance.