In order to assess the factors which influence the occurrence of social anxiety, 45 subjects (25 male and 20 female) were divided into high, moderate and low social anxiety groups on the basis of a self‐report inventory. Their performance in a series of simulated social interactions was assessed on self‐report measures of anxiety and social skill, cognitive self‐statements and judge ratings of overt behaviours. Results obtained indicated differences across the anxiety groups on each of these sets of variables. This was interpreted as being consistent with a view that both cognitive and behavioural variables influence social an