The role of friendships in shy students’ dialogue patterns during small group discussions

Abstract

Students are often concerned about social relationships when negotiating ideas with peers. The issue may be especially salient for shy students, whose behavioral solitude is associated with their inner conflicts – longing for social connections but are overly anxious about peer evaluations. This study examined the associations between shyness and students’ dialogue patterns (interactive, constructive, active, passive) during small group discussions and the moderating role of friendships in shy students’ dialogue patterns. A total of 60 small group discussions (5949 speaking turns) generated by 120 fifth-graders (Rangeage = 9–10) were examined for turn-by-turn dialogue patterns and their associations with speaker and addressee characteristics. Results of exponential random graph models showed that students with a greater degree of shyness were less likely to initiate interactive dialogues and less likely to receive any dialogues from others. However, friendships with group members were found to buffer against the negative effects of shyness on various forms of dialogue patterns between dyads.