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Humans evolved under very complex social environments. This has happened over millions of years in groups and for the most part, humans have only been able to survive in groups (being that we are relatively weak animals alone). Social dynamics certainly shaped our genes.Complex social dynamics don't exist in nature like they do in society.
What happened over millions of years was completely different from what happened in the last few thousand.. We were only capable of basic social dynamics comparable to what wild animals now have today until very recently. Not that it is even truly significant, but even socially abnormal people can reproduce.Humans evolved under very complex social environments. This has happened over millions of years in groups and for the most part, humans have only been able to survive in groups (being that we are relatively weak animals alone). Social dynamics certainly shaped our genes.
I would agree with that. I've always been shy as long as I can remember and my parents are reserved and tend to keep to themselves but whenever they are out and see someone they know they usually talk to them so I wouldn't say they were completely shy or have SA, however they were overprotective so this could have affected me. Between the ages of 7 and 8 I remember a couple of lads I hung around with at different times but I don't recall ever feeling like there was anything wrong with me (probably because as a child you are more carefree).I think some people are born predisposed to having SA, but environmental factors determine whether those people end up having it.
I think SA can ABSOLUTELY be genetic. My mother and grandfather on my moms side both have anxiety.
I've always had SA as far back as I can remember. I remember sitting in Preschool feeling VERY uncomfortable and scared, and terrified to go each day. I remember Kindergarten like it was yesterday, it was very scary, I talked to no one. Our Kindergarten teacher put out a little newsletter each month, and in the last letter before school ended that year, she congratulated me on being a little more talkative. The first day of first grade, I said something to someone, and a girl came up to me (whom I had gone to Kindergarten with) and said "I didn't know you could talk". I've always been that way, people just thought I was shy. If they only knew.....
When it runs in the family, as it does in mine, I attribute it most to the parenting styles, and not some genetic predisposition. I never had the emotional support or encouragement to boost my self-confidence/esteem and motivate me to achieve. The same was true for my parents when they were kids. I feel like, from the way people talk on here, they believe they have some disease.. A "disorder" is just a name for an abnormal behavior/thought pattern, not a disease. It's a way of labeling "being afraid of social situations," not an abnormality that someone has with said symptoms.For me, part of it is inherited. I am sure my mum has anxiety becuase she is on the edge most of the time. Sometimes she gets so panicked that she has a hard time breathing. My father was treated for depression sometimes back and he still takes medicine to keep it under control. And my grandmum keeps awake at night thinking that the house is going to be robbed. I am glad I was born in one piece with this much of disorders in the family lol
SA has a suspected genetic basis:When it runs in the family, as it does in mine, I attribute it most to the parenting styles, and not some genetic predisposition. I never had the emotional support or encouragement to boost my self-confidence/esteem and motivate me to achieve. The same was true for my parents when they were kids. I feel like, from the way people talk on here, they believe they have some disease.. A "disorder" is just a name for an abnormal behavior/thought pattern, not a disease. It's a way of labeling "being afraid of social situations," not an abnormality that someone has with said symptoms.
That study only proves ("suggests") correlation, not causality. If I was going to make a prediction based on those results, it would be that the lack of successes (and subsequent lack of dopamine release) someone with SA experiences attributes to the diminished binding potential. I've also experienced social success on dopamine-releasing drugs (amphetamines), but I find striking similarities with all of my drug-induced successes to just the way I am when I'm unusually happy.SA has a suspected genetic basis:
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/157/3/457
I personally think the dopamine deficit makes you shy and schizoid, not necessarily socially phobic. It's just the two often go together. From my experiences with drugs I am actually 100% sure I have some sort of dopamine irregularity.
Then why are there socially anxious animals? I had a cat once that was absolutely terrified of socializing.I don't think you can be genetically predisposed to have social anxiety. Complex social dynamics don't exist in nature like they do in society.
I can't pretend to know the answer to your question, but I would bet that your cat probably had some bad experiences and was conditioned to avoid "socializing." Society is so complex that even if you were born with a disposition that may have contributed to your own, unique, conditioned social aversion, another person with the same disposition born into a different environment may have had no trouble at all and grew up socially comfortable and normal.Then why are there socially anxious animals? I had a cat once that was absolutely terrified of socializing.
And myself, I had extreme social anxiety from birth (or at least my earliest memories and the earliest my parents tell me about) and it lightened up slightly since.