Shyness
Shyness is a trait that 80 percent of Americans claim to have possessed at some time and that 40
percent say continues to cause problems. Indeed, some celebrities have considered themselves to
be shy, including David Letterman and Garrison Keillor.
What is shyness? One model suggests that it consists of a cognitive component (acute
public self-consciousness, self-deprecating thoughts, and worries over a negative evaluation), a
physiological component (heart pounding, upset stomach, and sweating), and a behavioral
component (social incompetence, reticence, and inhibition). Jonathan Cheek reports that shy
people suffer most from interactions with strangers, particularly those of the opposite sex. Shy
people also typically feel more responsible for failure than for success, they remember mostly
negative information about themselves, and they have a low expectancy for social success.
Neuroscientists suggest that shy persons may have a more reactive amygdala (a part of
the limbic system associated with fear). For example, Carl Schwartz and his colleagues found
that adults who had been assessed as shy in early childhood showed a greater fMRI response
within the amygdala to novel versus familiar faces, compared with “nonshy” adults. Jacqueline
Bruce’s research team examined levels of the stress hormone cortisol in first-graders during the
first week of school. They found that, in contrast to their nonshy counterparts, shy first graders
showed an elevated cortisol level continuing into the fifth day.
Jules Asher’s review examines the interaction of biology and environment in shyness.
Some infants show a strong physiological response to even mildly stressful situations and seem
inherently inhibited. Others do not become shy until early adolescence, perhaps because their
parents are socially anxious and provide models of shyness. Even the temperamentally shy,
however, can be helped through good parenting and, if necessary, psychotherapy.
To score Handout 13-5 (the Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale), reverse the scores
for items 3, 6, 9, and 12 (5 = 1, 4 = 2, 2 = 4, and 1 = 5). Cheek and Buss report a mean score of
36 for students.
Asher, J. (1987, April). Born to be shy? Psychology Today, 56-64.
Bruce, J., Davis, E.P., & Gunnar, M.R. (2002). Individual differences in children’s cortisol
response to the beginning of a new school year. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 27, 635-650.
Cheek, J.M., & Buss, A.H. (1981). Shyness and sociability. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 41, 330-339.
Cheek, J.M., & Melchoir, L.A. (1990). Shyness, self-esteem, and self-consciousness. In H.
Leitenberg (Ed.), Handbook of social and evaluation anxiety (pp. 47-82). New York: Plenum.
Schwartz, C.E., Wright, C.I., Shin, L.M., Kagan, J., & Rauch, S.L. (2003). Inhibited and
uninhibited infants “grown up”: Adult amygdalar response to novelty. Science, 300, 1952-1953.