Why does social anxiety occur, and why are some people more prone to it than others? Drawing on work on personality and social psychology, clinical and counselling psychology, communication and sociology, this book provides an overview of basic and applied research in the feelings of anxiety, shyness and embarrassment that are often the consequences of quite ordinary social encounters. The authors examine the features of situations that elicit social anxiety, personality variables that predispose people to be socially anxious, the cognitive and emotional experience of social anxiety, its evolutionary and physiological underpinnings, and strategies for prevention and treatment. The book includes scales for measuring different manifestations of anxiety, as well as boxed material providing coverage of topics ranging from social anxiety among famous personalities to the implications of social anxiety for student achievement.