Misattributed attraction.

[tommy34]

Hey everyone. I recently watch a video on Psychology from Yale university. The video concentrated on love and other similar emotions. It explained that attraction can often be mistaken for your current physical situation. For example, you've run around the block, meet a girl and because you are sweaty, your heart is beating fast and your breathing is shallow that you mistake these physical conditions for love. Now my question is. Would someone that suffers from social anxiety often mistake the physical symptoms of social anxiety for love?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZoBgX8rScg&playnext=1&list=PL75E2C4D60DCA0BDF

 

[Rated E]

Wow, long video, I'm not going to watch it, but it is an interesting idea. It seems to fit in with attribution theory of emotion: link.

Would someone that suffers from social anxiety often mistake the physical symptoms of social anxiety for love?

That is an interesting thought. I know that I often get more nervous around someone I'm attracted to. I assume someone with social anxiety would get nervous in a lot of social situations though, and they would probably be aware of this, so wouldn't attribute it to 'being in love' with everyone they meet. I assume they would usually be able to tell the difference between their regular socially anxious level of arousal, and the level of arousal associated with sexual attraction (which I assume would be even greater than usual).

 

[Care]

Sorry, i didnt watch the vid, but here is my 2c on the topic anyways.

Physical atraction is, for me, very common. Most of the time when i see an attractive girl my mind automatically goes into "ok this girl is way hot, act confident or smart or funny or whatever" mode so I can get to know her. The only time this doesnt happen is when im in a stressful/painful ect situation that makes me not focus on how attractive she is. I dont think ive ever been more attracted to somene than I would normally be because of an abnormal physical state.

Love is much different. In my limited experience love is something that you develop after sharing good experiences with someone else that you find physically attractive and form a special bond.

 

[ocean]

I didn't watch the video but do suffer from Anxiety-
I can tell the difference between attraction, love and anxiety.
It's a really interesting topic though.
I wonder if others with anxiety have confusion about feelings like this?
I'll be interested to see if others respond with an honest opinion.......


This is a perfectly fine spot for this subject but I think TDS would also be fitting- If you decide you'd like it moved at some point, just PM me.