Social Reticence Research Articles

Impact of Behavioral Inhibition and Parenting Style on Internalizing and Externalizing Problems from Early Childhood through Adolescence

Behavioral inhibition (BI) is characterized by a pattern of extreme social reticence, risk for internalizing behavior problems, and possible protection against externalizing behavior problems. Parenting style may also contribute to these associations between BI and behavior problems (BP). A sample of 113 children was assessed for BI in the laboratory at 14 and 24 months of age, self-report of maternal parenting style at 7 years of age, and maternal report of child internalizing and externalizing BP at 4, 7, and 15 years. Internalizing problems at age 4 were greatest among behaviorally inhibited children who also were exposed to permissive parenting. Furthermore, greater authoritative parenting was associated with less of an increase in internalizing behavior problems over time and greater authoritarian parenting was associated with a steeper decline in externalizing problems. Results highlight the importance of considering child and environmental factors in longitudinal patterns of BP across childhood and adolescence.

The Role of Maternal Behavior in the Relation between Shyness and Social Reticence in Early Childhood and Social Withdrawal in Middle Childhood

AbstractThe moderating effect of maternal behavior in the relations between social reticence and shyness in preschool and subsequent social withdrawal was investigated. Eighty children (47 females) were judged for degree of social reticence during play with unfamiliar peers at the age of four and mothers completed the Colorado child temperament inventory (CCTI). At the age of seven, the children were coded for degree of social withdrawal during peer play and mothers and children were observed during structured and unstructured activities. Two significant interaction effects indicated that maternal report of shyness was a positive predictor of age‐seven social withdrawal when mothers lacked positivity; whereas observed social reticence was associated with higher degrees of social withdrawal when mothers were highly negative. Maternal positivity and negativity differentially influenced the development of social withdrawal in childhood, such that maternal negativity is associated with poor social functioning in children who have an established history of social withdrawal; whereas maternal positivity is associated with better social outcome for preschoolers who are viewed as temperamentally shy.

Salivary cortisol levels and infant temperament shape developmental trajectories in boys at risk for behavioral maladjustment

Behavioral problems in young children can take on a variety of forms, which are linked to distinct antecedents and co-occurring markers. Internalizing difficulties in young children, for example, have been linked to individual differences in infant temperament and cortisol levels. In addition, there is growing evidence that these biobehavioral mechanisms are also shaped by gender. Four-year-old children participated in a study examining the relations between salivary cortisol and behavioral maladjustment as a function of gender and temperament. Both longitudinal (maternal report of infant temperament at 9 months) and concurrent (morning salivary cortisol at age 4) data were used to predict two forms of maladjustment: 'Withdrawal' (maternal report of internalizing behavior and laboratory observation of social reticence) and 'Acting Out' (maternal report of externalizing behavior and laboratory observation of solitary active play). High basal cortisol levels were strongly associated with Withdrawal in male participants. However, the relation was significant only in boys who exhibited high levels of negative temperament in infancy. There were no comparable findings with 'Acting Out' beyond a main effect of gender reflecting greater difficulty in boys. The data suggested that there are unique biobehavioral mechanisms shaping specific patterns of maladjustment in childhood.

Predicting Social Wariness in Middle Childhood: The Moderating Roles of Childcare History, Maternal Personality and Maternal Behavior

Children with behavioral inhibition, a temperamental style characterized by infant distress to novelty and childhood social reticence, exhibit both continuity and discontinuity of this behavioral trait over the course of development. However, few researchers have identified factors that might be responsible for these different patterns. In the current study, child care history, maternal personality and maternal behavior were examined as moderators of the relations between infant temperament, preschool social reticence and childhood social wariness. Seventy-seven children participated in this longitudinal study that began in infancy and continued into middle childhood. Maternal negative personality moderated the relation between infant temperament and 7-year social wariness. In addition, maternal behavior moderated the relation between preschool social reticence and 7-year social wariness. The findings suggest that a complex interplay of within-child and maternal factors affect the development of internalizing behavior in the early school years.

Shyness and anxiety as predictors of patterns of Internet usage.

The Internet has the potential to empower or isolate. Shyness and anxiety may potentially influence the extent to which people avail themselves of Internet services such as email, chat rooms, information searches, entertainment, and commerce. To understand how personality moderates Internet usage, 177 participants completed an Internet Use Survey, the Social Reticence Scale, and a Trait Anxiety Inventory. Shyness, anxiety, gender, and academic achievement were employed within separate multiple regressions to predict forms of Internet usage. The use of email and chat-rooms was not related to shyness or anxiety, suggesting that shyness or anxiety does not pose an obstacle to these Internet applications. Males were more likely to use the Internet for downloading entertainment. Shy males were more likely to use the Internet for recreation/leisure searches. Highly educated males were more likely to use the Internet for banking and paying bills. Although shyness or anxiety does not seem to modify the communicative functions of the Internet, it may influence people's use of other recreational applications.

Stability and social-behavioral consequences of toddlers' inhibited temperament and parenting behaviors.

A prospective longitudinal design was employed to ascertain whether different types of behavioral inhibition (i.e., traditional, peer-social) were stable from toddler to preschool age, and whether inhibited temperament and/or parenting style would predict children's subsequent social and behavioral problems. At Time 1, 108 toddlers (54 males, 54 females) and their mothers were observed in the Traditional Inhibition Paradigm and in a toddler-peer session; then at age 4 years, 88 children were observed with unfamiliar peers, and maternal ratings of psychological functioning were obtained. How mothers and their toddlers interacted was also observed. Results revealed meaningful connections between toddler inhibition, maternal intrusive control and derision, and nonsocial behaviors at age 4. Both forms of toddler inhibition predicted socially reticent behavior during free play at 4 years. If mothers demonstrated relatively high frequencies of intrusive control and/or derisive comments, then the association between their toddlers' peer inhibition and 4-year social reticence was significant and positive; whereas if mothers were neither intrusive nor derisive, then toddlers' peer inhibition and 4-year reticence were not significantly associated. Thus, maternal behaviors moderated the relation between toddlers' peer inhibition and preschoolers' social reticence.

Emotion Regulation, Parenting and Display of Social Reticence in Preschoolers

The study of social reticence in early childhood has focused primarily on those dispositional, intra-individual factors that might account for its demonstration among peers. Little is known, however, about the relations between social reticence and its association with the quality of parenting behaviors. Indeed, the independent and interactive "contributions" of dispositional and parenting factors to children's demonstration of socially reticent behavior have not received adequate attention. In this study, 188 preschool children and their mothers were observed during unstructured Free-play and a structured Lego-building teaching task. Additionally, the children were observed in quartets of same-sex, same-age unfamiliar peers. Results indicated that children's shy, socially reticent behavior was predicted by the extent to which mothers were over-solicitous during Free-play. In addition, preschooler's expressions of reticent behavior were predicted by the interactions between emotion dysregulation and the lack of maternal guidance and control during a teaching task. Emotionally dysregulated children whose mothers provided little control in this putatively stressful teaching task were more likely to be shy and reticent. This relation was non-significant for dysregulated children with mothers who provided high levels of guidance. The results suggest that early childhood educators offer reticent/shy children opportunities to explore their impersonal and social milieus and to warmly encourage such exploratory activities. Without such encouragement and opportunity building, reticent preschoolers may suffer from not having experienced sufficient exploration-to-play sequences thereby stifling the problem-solving competencies derived from such experiences.

Does infancy matter? predicting social behavior from infant temperament

In this essay we argue that infant temperament, defined as behavioral styles that appear early in life as a direct result of neurobiological factors, plays a significant role in the development and expression of social behavior. Temperament may be studied using a typological or dimensional approach and the relations between early temperament and later behavior can be examined in terms of homotypic or heterotypic continuity. The implication of each of these approaches for understanding the influence of infant temperament on social development is examined. As well, utilizing data from our laboratory, we suggest that under certain circumstances one can predict social behavior by identifying two temperament types in infancy. These types are high reactive/high negative infants and high reactive/high positive infants. A significant proportion of the high reactive/high negative infants display behavioral inhibition and social reticence through the preschool years, whereas a significant proportion of the high reactive/high positive infants display exuberance and positive social interaction through the preschool period.

A test of the effectiveness of the reticence program at the Pennsylvania state university

The primary goal of this investigation was to assess the effectiveness of the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) Reticence Program as a treatment for individuals with communication difficulties, such as communication apprehension, reticence, and shyness. Special sections of the basic speech communication course at PSU and regular public speaking sections of that same course were compared. Participants completed the PRCA‐24, the McCroskey, Andersen, Richmond, and Wheeless (1981) Shy Scale, and the Jones and Russell (1982) Social Reticence Scale during the first and last weeks of the semester. Results indicated that on the overall Social Reticence Scale and one of its subscales (difficulty meeting people), participants in the reticence group showed significant decreases in shyness relative to both the public speaking and control groups. A similar pattern of effects was found for the Shy Scale and the public speaking and meeting subscales of the PRCA‐24. On the group subscale, those in reticence and public speaking courses showed significant improvement relative to the control group. Those in the reticence section showed the greatest reduction in public speaking and composite PRCA‐24 scores, although public speaking students also reported significant improvement over the control group.

Shyness, egocentricity, and psychopathology: their relationships among nonhospitalized individuals and mental hospital patients.

To investigate the relationship between shyness and egocentricity in both psychiatric (hospitalized) and nonhospitalized groups, 162 adult men and women diagnosed as paranoid or undifferentiated schizophrenic, and a control group of 162 nonhospitalized individuals matched for age and gender were studied. Shyness was assessed on the Social Reticence Scale and egocentricity by the Self-focus Sentence Completion. Analysis indicated that the patients were more shy than nonhospitalized individuals. Paranoid schizophrenics were not different from undifferentiated schizophrenics on egocentricity and the Self-focus Sentence Completion subscales. Nonhospitalized individuals and the mental hospital patients were egocentric on the Self-focus Sentence Completion. For this reason, relationships among shyness, egocentricity, and psychopathology could not be demonstrated.

SHYNESS, EGOCENTRICITY, AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY: THEIR RELATIONSHIPS AMONG NONHOSPITALIZED INDIVIDUALS AND MENTAL HOSPITAL PATIENTS

To investigate the relationship between shyness and egocentricity in both psychiatric (hospitalized) and nonhospitalized groups, 162 adult men and women diagnosed as paranoid or undifferentiated schizophrenic, and a control group of 162 nonhospitalized individuals matched for age and gender were studied. Shyness was assessed on the Social Reticence Scale and egocentricity by the Self-focus Sentence Completion. Analysis indicated that the patients were more shy than nonhospitalized individuals. Paranoid schizophrenics were not different from undifferentiated schizophrenics on egocentricity and the Self-focus Sentence Completion subscales. Nonhospitalized individuals and the mental hospital patients were egocentric on the Self-focus Sentence Completion. For this reason, relationships among shyness, egocentricity, and psychopathology could not be demonstrated.

Rhetoritherapy revisited: A test of its effectiveness as a treatment for communication problems

The present study examined the effectiveness of rhetoritherapy (Phillips, 1986) as a treatment for individuals with communication difficulties, such as communication apprehension, reticence, and shyness. Following Glaser's (1981) comments on problems in previous studies, the present study employed several standardized tests of social communication problems and used a pretest‐posttest design with a control group and two treatment groups: one was identical to the rhetoritherapy program developed at Penn State University and the other was a speech communication class. Participants in all three groups completed the PRCA‐24, the McCroskey, Andersen, Richmond, and Wheeless Shy Scale, and the Jones and Russell Social Reticence Scale (SRS) during the first and last weeks of the semester. In addition, participants had a friend complete the Shy and SRS measures about them at both points in time. Dummy variable regression analyses were used to identify significant differences between the three groups in their relationships between posttest and pretest scores. On the self‐assessed SRS measure, rhetoritherapy appeared to offer significant advantages over the speech treatment, but only for those with high pretest scores. A significant sex X condition interaction on the self‐assessed Shy measure indicated that rhetoritherapy females gained significantly more than any other sex X condition groups, except males in the speech class. For the PRCA and other‐assessed Shy measures, both rhetoritherapy and the speech communication class showed significant differences from the controls, but not from each other. No differences were observed for the scores on the other‐assessed SRS measure. Examination of the subscales also indicated a similar set of mixed results. Suggestions for future studies are provided.

Shyness and Perceptions of Parental Behavior

Previous research has indicated that parental behavior affects development of shyness in children. Specifically decreased levels of parental acceptance tend to foster social anxiety and shy behavior. The present study examined the relationship between 56 female college students' perceptions of their parents' behavior and their own reports of shyness or social reticence. Confirmation of the hypothesis that shyness decreases as parents are perceived as accepting and supportive and that shyness is related to perceived parental control was tested. This study examined differences in daughters' perceptions of their mothers and fathers in relation to their own shyness. Shyness correlated negatively with perceived maternal acceptance (−.28 to −.35) and positively with perceived maternal psychological control (.26 to .44).

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.

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.

Son of Thunder: Stephen Crane and the Fourth Evangelist

IN THE FALL OF 1891, an obscure customs collector named Herman Melville died quietly in New York, leaving among his papers Billy Budd. A few months later Stephen Crane showed his friends the first known draft of his first novel, not yet titled Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. In our briefer literary chronicles, the contrast between these two events has considerable value: the setting sun of the nineteenth century is a world away from the rising sun of the twentieth; the myth-burdened visions of a sub-sub librarian fade, even as, with a suddenness that destroys all shadows, the Bowery world scalds us with sour light. Naturalism has arrived, in effect, and with it modern American literature. The drama so played was always too absolute to be true; but Crane has been thought ever since to mark the sudden turning of a corner, and he has also been stuck ever since, more or less prominently, with the epithet naturalist. And for good reason. Nothing seems to connect Crane with Melville except, perhaps, a curious common interest in Goethe; a good deal seems to link him with the new literary scientism. First, Maggie embodies a close study of Bowery life: Crane may have started the book in Syracuse, but he took it to New York to finish. Second, it treats that life with an almost surgical detachment: no social reticence, no literary custom, no windy symbol obscures our view of Maggie's insipid daydreams, her mother's liquor-swollen veins, her brother's arthritic decencies-of the human animal in the human jungle. Last, Maggie's defeat and death at the hands of her world are inevitable: the novel's essential narrative structure seems to flow from an almost scientific interest in mass phenomena and from the determinism