Measures Of Shyness Research Articles

Typological Measures of Shyness: Additive, Interactive, and Categorical

A typological model of shyness as neurotic-introversion has been suggested but never evaluated. We compared the ability of two direct measures of trait-shyness (Revised Shyness scale, Social Anxiety scale) and two typological measures (additive and interactive versions of neurotic-introversion) to predict peer-rated shyness and talk-time in leaderless groups. One hundred and twenty participants, initially unacquainted, met in small weekly discussion groups. At weeks 2 and 7, participants rated their group members on current shyness and talk-time. The two direct-measures and the additive typological measure showed substantial validities at both points in time. Although not as effective, Introversion was predictive at both times but Neuroticism only at Time 2. Little support was found for either the interactive or categorical measure.

Behavioral and neuroendocrine responses in shy children.

Previous research has shown that infants who display a high frequency of motor activity and negative affect at 4 months of age are likely to be behaviorally inhibited toddlers. We examined social behaviors, maternal report of temperament, salivary cortisol, and baseline startle responses at age 4 in a sample of children, some of whom displayed a high frequency of motor activity and negative affect at 4 months of age. Infants who displayed this temperamental profile were reported by their mothers as more shy at age 4 compared with other children. We also found that 4-year-olds who displayed a high frequency of wary behavior during peer play exhibited relatively high morning salivary cortisol, were reported as contemporaneously shy by their mothers, and were behaviorally inhibited at 14 months of age. There were no significant relations found between baseline startle and morning salivary cortisol and measures of shyness at age 4. We speculate that high levels of cortisol in shy children may induce changes in the amygdala, exacerbating their fearfulness.

PREDICTORS OF SHYNESS: A TEST OF VARIABLES ASSOCIATED WITH SELF-PRESENTATIONAL MODELS

This study assessed the impact of several variables central to self-presentation theories on self-reported shyness. Data were collected from 286 Canadian college students who completed measures of shyness, expectations of rejection, interpersonal competence, and perfectionism. The sample was randomly divided in half to allow for cross-validation. Consistent with hypotheses, shyness was predicted by expectations of rejection and interpersonal competence for the initial sample. However, contrary to self-presentation theories, shyness was not predicted by high self-standards nor by perceptions that others held high expectations of the self. These findings were replicated in the cross-validation sample. Results partially support self-presentation theories of shyness and suggest that while interpersonal competence and fear of rejection are central to shyness, the shy do not necessarily hold unrealistically high standards for themselves or view others as expecting perfection from them.

Shyness Ratings: Stability and Correlates in Early Childhood

This study explores the stability and correlates of shyness from infancy to 6 years of age using five sets of data from a large representative sample. Included in each set are maternal ratings on a temperament dimension named Approach which assesses reactions to new people and situations, and is the measure of shyness employed here. Two issues are examined: (1) the stability of shyness as revealed by log-linear analyses, in comparison to other temperamental attributes, and when comparing extreme groups to those with moderate scores; (2) the correlates of shyness in infancy and at 5-6 years. The results suggest that the stability of shyness from 1-2 years onwards is moderate, and similar in level and patterning to other temperamental attributes. Comparisons of four subgroups differing on shyness indicate differences on other temperamental and behavioural characteristics; shyness was related to general "difficultness" in infancy, but at 5-6 years was associated with the presence of internalising problems and the absence of externalising problems.

Preschoolers' Creativity, Shyness, and Self-Esteem

Measures of shyness, self-esteem, and creativity were administered to 64 preschool children. Correlational analyses indicated a positive relation between self-esteem and creativity, and a negative relation between shyness and creativity. Analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) indicated that the relation between shyness and creativity continued to exist after self-esteem was covaried. Suggestions are made for future research examining the contributions of social style and social competence to young children's creative potential.

Shyness and Self‐Esteem in Early Childhood

Relationships were examined between measures of shyness and self‐esteem for 53 preschool children. Shyness was negatively related to a self‐esteem rating and to a measure of the child's expectations of self‐efficacy in performing motor tasks. Continued attention to early shyness in empirical, theoretical, and practical work is suggested.

Shyness and Loneliness: Relationship to the Exercise Frequency of College Students

The purpose of the current study was to estimate the relationship between exercise frequency and measures of shyness and loneliness in a sample of 882 college students. Analysis provided evidence that higher shyness and loneliness scores were associated with not exercising and infrequent exercising. Also, subjects who exercise 7 times a week scored significantly lower than the other exercise-frequency groups. Analysis of covariance, controlling for possible confounding variables, gives further support.

Continuity and change in infant shyness from 14 to 20 months

Objective measures of shyness in the MacArthur Longitudinal Twin Study were obtained in two testing situations: the laboratory and the home. A longitudinal hierarchical model was fitted to the data, allowing estimation of the extent to which genetic, shared environmental, and unique environmental influences contributed to continuity and change of the shyness phenotype from 14 to 20 months of age. The sample consisted of 163 monozygotic and 138 same-sex dizygotic twin pairs. Models were fitted to raw data using a maximum-likelihood pedigree approach. Genetic, shared environmental, and unique environmental first-order factors, with specific variances, were modeled on each of four shyness ratings assessed in the laboratory and home at 14 and 20 months. Four second-order genetic, shared environmental, and unique environmental factors were also modeled. Results indicated that developmental change from 14 to 20 months and situational specificity between the laboratory and the home are mediated largely by shared and unique environmental influences. Genetic variation is largely responsible for both the stability in shyness from 14 to 20 months and the phenotypic correlations observed between the laboratory and the home settings.

Attributions of Shy Persons in Affiliation and Achievement Situations

ABSTRACT Because research has identified cognitive patterns in shy or socially anxious persons similar to those observed in depression, this study examined the relation of two measures of shyness with a measure of attributional style used in depression research. Seventy-six subjects took the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ; Seligman, Abramson, Semmel, & Von Baeyer, 1979), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck, 1967), the Social Anxiety and Distress (SAD; Watson & Friend, 1969) scale, and the Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE; Watson & Friend) scale. Correlations are presented for each of the latter three measures with the ASQ. Partial correlations are also reported with depression removed. Attributional patterns in shyness were found to overlap those reported for depressives. The pattern of correlations indicates that the measures of social anxiety (SAD or FNE) interact with type of situation (affiliation or achievement). A principle components analysis of the scores supported the validity of the...

Shyness as a risk factor for adolescent substance use.

The role of shyness in adolescent substance use was examined in a sample of about 1,300 high school students from 14 senior high schools. Sample members were classified as not-shy, shy, or super-shy based on scores from an established measure of shyness, the Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale. Significant shyness category by gender interaction analysis of variance effects and gender-specific chi-square analyses indicated shy males were more likely to use marijuana or hashish, cocaine, amphetamines, and hallucinogenic substances than not-shy males and females. Further, super-shy males were more likely to report use of most of the substances than shy males. Super-shy females were less likely to drink alcohol than females who were less shy or not-shy. Findings from this study, as well as studies investigating other behavioral problems, suggest shyness may be more a burden for males than for females. Use of certain substances may assist very shy males cope with shyness by reducing psychosocial discomfort and inhibition.

Individual response profiles in the behavioral assessment of personality

A long‐standing problem in the behavioural assessment of personality is the individual specificity of responses. Often, different persons externalize the same trait in different responses. One solution to this problem is to aggregate many different responses. The paper compares the power of response aggregation for predicting self‐and other‐ratings of personality with two alternative strategies of response selection: the nomothetic strategy of selecting the response with the highest overall predictive power, and the more idiographic strategy of selecting, for each individual, the most extreme response. Seventy subjects were videotaped in a sequence of social situations inducing shyness to various degrees. Five different nonverbal measures of shyness all correlated significantly with the subjects' self‐ or other‐rated shyness, and showed low correlations across subjects and a substantial cross‐situational consistency of response profiles. Response aggregation and both strategies of response selection were found to be equally powerful in predicting the subjects' self‐ and other‐ratings of shyness from the five behavioural responses. Therefore, these findings somewhat dampen the hope often expressed in recent theoretical discussions of personality assessment that more respect for the individual case may improve nomothetic assessment procedures.

Acknowledging cultural diversity: Perceptions of shyness with in the black culture

This study examines the self‐reported behaviors and perceptions of high, moderate and low‐shy communicators. Specifically, this research addresses two questions: 1) How do black communicators describe their perceptions of shyness, and 2) What behaviors do black individuals who identify themselves as shy think they exhibit? In order to answer these questions, a shyness scale was administered to 100 black students and based on generated scores, 60 subjects participated in interviews. The results of the study indicate a need for in‐depth intracultural investigations of shyness before intercultural behavioral indicators of this phenomenon can be identified and generalized. Further, this study calls for the development of culture‐specific measures of shyness that indicate an awareness of culture‐specific behaviors.

Shyness: conceptualization and measurement.

The concept of shyness and its measurement were investigated in a series of studies (total N = 1,687). Data collection and analysis proceeded in three phases: the revision and continued development of a measure of shyness, the Social Reticence Scale; a psychometric comparison among five measures of shyness; and an examination of the factor structure underlying the construct of shyness. Phase 1 assessed the reliability and validity of the Social Reticence Scale, including ratings of videotaped monologues and ratings by significant others. Phase 2 compared the five shyness measures with one another on indices of internal consistency and with other relevant measures of emotionality, personality, relationships, and behavior. Items from the five shyness measures were combined in a factor analysis in Phase 3, and the resulting factors were correlated with the self-report and rating data obtained in Phase 2. Overall, the results from these studies confirmed that the shyness measures were valid, reliable, and empirically distinct from measures of related constructs. Behavioral validity was observed for several of the shyness scales. Additional analyses suggested that three interpretable factors underlie responses to the shyness scales but provided little support for drawing conceptual distinctions among types of shyness. Discussion focuses on the implications of these data for the measurement and conceptualization of shyness.

Shyness, self-preoccupation and the stroop color and world test

Forty college women who had been pre-tested on a measure of shyness, took the Stroop Color and World Test twice and completed a post-session questionnaire concerning their reactions to taking the test. Shy Ss had significantly lower Color-Word scores on the second Stroop test administration, indicating cognitive interference and distractibility. Shyness was also significantly correlated with self-reports of worry and test-irrelevant thinking as reactions to taking the Stroop test. These results are discussed from the perspective of cognitive approaches to shyness.

SELF-MONITORING, SHYNESS, AND SOCIALIBILITY

The Lennox-Wolfe Self-monitoring scale is examined for its capacity to predict “shrewd and pragmatic” styles of behavior in 95 subjects tested prior to entering college. The scale is shown to correlate with a measure of shyness (negatively) and sociability (positively) in theoretically consistent directions. Results partially validate the self-monitoring scale.

The Social Reticence Scale: An Objective Instrument to Measure Shyness

The development of a 22-item measure of shyness, the Social Reticence Scale, is described. Shyness is a common but often seriously limiting constellation of feelings and attitudes experienced in social situations. Research on shyness has been hampered by the lack of a valid, reliable and easily administered instrument with which to measure shyness. The Social Reticence Scale was found to have substantial internal consistency and test-retest reliability and several assessments of criterion and construct validity suggested that the scale was a valid measure of shyness. Preliminary evidence regarding discriminant validity is also presented as well as the factor structure of the scale.

Correlation of shyness and self-esteem for elementary school children.

98 children were identified as shy based on their self-perceptions and specific criteria related to shyness. These shy children were administered a self-esteem inventory and self-report measures of shyness. A significant correlation of .63 was found between shyness and self-esteem scores which indicated that shyness is related to low self-esteem.

Heterosexual anxiety: Stable multichannel assessment for therapy outcome research

Thirty-six shy males participated in two interpersonal performance tests with attractive female confederates. Between the two interpersonal performances, each was exposed either to one of three elaborate placebo treatments or to no treatment. During and after each performance, “heterosexual anxiety” was measured with instruments recommended for research purposes by Borkovec et al. (1974). Results showed that the recommended shyness measures were immune to unwanted changes either from repeated assessments or from any of the three multisession placebo procedures. Hence the experiment partially replicated and substantially extended previous research, suggesting the feasibility of using the Borkovec et al. shyness-assessment package in behavioral fear-therapy research.