Reagan Kaelle
Research Mentor(s): Elizabeth Trinh
Mentor Department: Management and Organizations
Authors:
Session: Session 1 (9:00am – 9:50am)
Presentation Type: Oral
Abstract
Awkward experiences, ranging from minor missteps to significant social disruptions, are common in everyday interactions. However, targeted empirical exploration of awkwardness is scant. In this article, we investigate awkwardness, defining it as discomfort arising from a perceived violation of social norms or expectations. We propose that people tend to overestimate the magnitude of awkwardness in their predictions compared to their lived experiences, and we test this hypothesis in five experiments. Participants who anticipated a range of awkward situations rated them as more awkward than those who recalled (Experiment 3) or experienced them in real time (Experiments 1–2B, 4). This overestimation occurred in both in-person (Experiments 1, 3–4) and online interactions (Experiments 2A–2B) across various scenarios, including dancing in a public space (Experiment 1), giving feedback on sensitive topics (Experiments 2A–2B, 4), and singing in front of a stranger in public (Experiment 4). The gap between predicted and experienced awkwardness arises partly from a failure to recognize their own behaviors in response to mitigate or reduce awkwardness (Experiment 3). In conclusion, awkwardness is often less intense than people expect, which suggests that reducing exaggerated social fears could enhance social interactions and improve overall social coordination. Keywords: awkwardness, prediction, social judgment, social connection.
