(PS1-67) Understanding Social Anxiety Among Asian Americans and European Americans: The Role of Appeasement

Abstract Text: Cross-cultural studies have consistently shown ethnic differences in social anxiety, with individuals of Asian
heritage reporting higher levels of social anxiety compared to those of European heritage. However, there is a lack
of empirical research integrating both cultural and evolutionary perspectives to explain these differences.
Appeasement, defined as the process by which individuals pacify others to avoid conflict (Keltner et al., 1997), may
be a potential construct explaining ethnic differences in social anxiety. There are two types of appeasement:
reactive appeasement, which involves emotions such as embarrassment and shame to reduce conflict, and
anticipatory appeasement, which involves more general, dispositional strategies like polite modesty and shyness to
prevent potential conflict from occurring. This study aims to fill this gap by investigating how reactive and
anticipatory appeasement mediate the relationship between ethnicity and social anxiety among Asian American
and European American individuals.

A total of 510 European American (392 females; M age = 19.86, SD = 3.43) and 479 Asian American (308 females;
M age = 19.47, SD = 2.45) undergraduate students participated. Participants completed an online questionnaire,
including demographic items, appeasement measures (Modest Responding Scale [MRS], Guilt and Shame
Proneness Scale [GASP], Embarrassability Scale [ES], and the Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale [RCBS]), and
the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale [SIAS]. Measurement invariance was established using the alignment method
to compare latent means between groups. Path analysis was conducted to examine how cultural group differences
in appeasement mediate cultural group differences in social anxiety symptoms.

Measurement invariance was established for all measures using the alignment method. Latent mean comparisons
revealed that Asian Americans exhibited significantly higher latent means for social interaction anxiety (M = 0.311),
modesty (M = 0.298), shyness (M = 0.449), and embarrassability (M = 0.364). Path analysis results indicated a good
model fit (χ²(7) = 153.34, p < .001, RMSEA = 0.147, CFI = 0.912, TLI = 0.812, SRMR = 0.067). Both Reactive and
Anticipatory appeasement were positively associated with SIAS, with Anticipatory appeasement showing a
stronger effect (β = 0.852, p < .001) compared to Reactive appeasement (β = 0.563, p < .001). Regarding Ethnicity,
Anticipatory appeasement showed a significant direct effect (β = 0.169, p = .001), while Reactive appeasement did
not (β = 0.067, p = .198). These findings suggest that Asian Americans experience higher levels of social anxiety and
engage more in appeasement behaviors, such as modesty, shyness, and embarrassability, compared to European
Americans. Specifically, anticipatory appeasement, which involves preventing conflict before it arises, plays a
significant role in mediating the relationship between ethnicity and social anxiety. This indicates that cultural
behaviors aimed at avoiding potential social conflict may contribute to higher anxiety levels reported in Asian
Americans compared to European Americans.