At a loss for words? Introduction to the special issue on shyness and language in childhood

Abstract

Shy children experience social fear and anxiety in novel social settings and feel embarrassed and self-conscious when they perceive themselves as being socially evaluated or the center of attention (Crozier, 1995). Shyness is thought to involve an approach–avoidance conflict. That is, although shy children desire social interaction, this approach-motivation is simultaneously inhibited by a competing avoidance-motivation triggered by social fear and anxiety (Asendorpf, 1990; Coplan, Prakash, O’Neil, & Armer, 2004). Over the last 25 years, shyness has garnered increased attention from researchers, clinicians, teachers, and parents (for historical and recent reviews, see Asendorpf, 1990; Buss, 1984; Coplan & Armer, 2007; Crozier, 2001; Kagan, 1997; Rubin & Asendorpf, 1993; Rubin, Coplan, & Bowker, 2009; Zimbardo, 1977). From its earliest conceptualizations, shyness has been linked with language. Terms like ‘quietness’, ‘not speaking’, or ‘difficulty talking’ are a core component of almost every definition of shyness (Buss & Plomin, 1984; Coplan, Rubin, Fox, & Calkins, 1994; Crozier, 1995; Kagan, Reznick, & Snidman, 1988; Rezendes, Snidman, Kagan, & Gibbons, 1993; Rubin, 1982). Indeed, ‘does not talk’ is the most commonly mentioned characteristic used by both children and adults to describe their shy peers (Crozier, 1995; Younger, Schneider, & Guirguis-Younger, 2008; Zimbardo, 1977). Results from a number of empirical studies indicated that shy children do indeed speak less than their non-shy peers across a number of different settings, including, novel, social, and classroom situations (e.g. Asendorpf & Meir, 1993; Coplan, 2000; Evans, 1987; Van Kleeck & Street, 1982), structured tasks (e.g. Coplan et al., 1994; Crozier & Perkins, 2002), and even at home with parents (e.g. Reynolds & Evans, in press; Spere, Evans, Hendry, & Mansell, 2008). This has led a growing number of researchers to more formally assess the language skills of shy versus non-shy children (for an extensive recent review, see Evans, in press).