Heinrichs et al (2005)

'''Heinrichs et al is a study that supports the social side of the nature-nurture debate of phobias. It is a study into social anxiety and cultural norms and how they affect the behaviour of people within that culture.'''

Some background information:

A  'collectivist' society is a society that has strong social norms, more pressure is put on people to fit in.

An  'individualistic' society is a society that has weak social norms, there is little pressure put on people to fit in.

Here are the countries used in the study:

Individualistic cultures:    Less social norms

USA, Australia, Canada, The Netherlands, Germany

Collectivist cultures:        More social norms

Spain, Korea, Japan

Aim
They wanted to see if being brought up in differences cultures affected social anxiety and fear of blushing.

Procedure
909 psychology students were tested. From 8 unis and 8 different countries. Volunteered to take part. They were divided into two groups, collectivist or individualistic cultures based on the cultures in where they lived. Given a short description of a social situation and asked to say how they would react. If they said they would speak up/answer the problem that would be a low anxiety answer. If they said they would do nothing that would be a high anxiety answer.

Results
Highest social anxiety: Japan Korea Spain

Middle: USA Canada

Lowest social anxiety: Australia The Netherlands Germany

Conclusion
Collectivist cultures show greater social anxiety and fear of blushing than individualistic cultures, because they have stricter rules about acceptable behaviour. If someone breaks a social norm they will experience a greater punishment, makes them more anxious. The behaviour of an individual affects the whole group. In individualistic cultures a high value is placed on individuality. It is important to stand out from the crowd, shyness may be a burden.

Nature-Nurture Debate
Relates to the development of fears and phobias. Explains that culture determines how we think and act, family and friends teach us these social norms so that we fit in. Culture can actually make us anxious or confident in social situations.