Shyness

The quality or state of being shy. [Written also shiness.]

Frequency in heavenly contemplation is particularly important to prevent a shyness bewtween God and thy soul.

Syn. -- Bashfulness; reserve; coyness; timidity; diffidence. See Bashfulness.

Definition

Shyness is a psychological state that causes a person to feel discomfort in social situations in ways that interfere with enjoyment or that cause avoidance of social contacts altogether.

Description

Shyness can vary from mild feelings to moderately uncomfortable in social circumstances to debilitating levels of anxiety that interfere in children with the process of socialization (social withdrawal). Shyness is a personality trait that affects a child's temperament. Some infants are born shy and more sensitive. Some of them are quiet when new people enter a room. A shy baby might sink his head into his mother's shoulder, while a baby who is outgoing might smile or squeal with delight when someone new visits. Some children may feel shy in certain situations, like when meeting new people. Other children may learn to be shy because of experiences in school or at home. As of 2004, research tended to distinguish shyness from introversion. Introverts simply prefer solitary to social activities but do not fear social encounters as shy people do, while extroverts prefer social to solitary activities.

Evidence suggests a genetic component to shyness. Studies on the biological basis of shyness have shown that shyness in adults can often be traced as far back as the age of three. A Harvard study of two-year olds showed that, even at that age, widely different personality types can be recognized: roughly 25 percent of children are bold, sociable, and spontaneous regardless of the novelty of the situation, while 20 percent are shy and restrained in new situations. The remaining 55 percent of newborns fall between the extremes of shyness and boldness. These two basic temperaments were also recognized in studies examining infants as young as four months old. As children grow, their shy temperament tends to display itself in predictable ways: for example, in play groups at age seven, shy children play by themselves, while more outgoing children seek to play together in groups. Evidence of a genetic predisposition for shyness is found in parents and grandparents of shy infants who report childhood shyness more often than relatives of children who are not shy. Further evidence for a congenital link to shyness is found in studies that show that identical twins (who have identical genes) are more likely to be shy than fraternal twins (who are no more alike than other siblings).

Research shows, however, that 25 percent of the time genetic predisposition to shyness does not develop into shyness. Some researchers believe that a shy temperament may require environmental triggers, such as insecurity of attachment in the form of difficult relationships with parents, family conflict or chaos, frequent criticism, a dominating older sibling, or a stressful school environment.

Research has also identified a strong cultural link to shyness. In the United States, shyness surveys typically show that shyness is highest among Asian Americans and lowest among Jewish Americans. Using culturally sensitive adaptations of the Stanford Shyness Inventory, researchers in eight countries administered the inventory to groups of 18 to 21 year olds. Results showed that a large proportion of participants in all cultures reported experiencing shyness to a considerable degree—from 31 percent in Israel to 57 percent in Japan and 55 percent in Taiwan. In Mexico, Germany, India, and Canada, shyness levels were close to the U.S figure of 40 percent. In all countries, shyness is perceived as more negative than positive, with 60 percent or more considering shyness to be a problem. There is no gender difference in reported shyness, but males tend to conceal their shyness because it is considered a feminine trait in most countries. For example, in Mexico, males report shyness less often than females do.

Common Problems

When shyness is intense, it can often lead to social anxiety disorder or to avoidant personality disorder, both characterized by the avoidance of interpersonal contacts accompanied by significant fears of embarrassment in social interaction. According to the most recent statistics, provided by the National Co-morbidity Survey—carried out in 1994—approximately 40 percent of Americans consistently report since the early 1970s that they are shy to the extent of considering it a problem in their lives. Subsequent research showed that the percentage of problem-related shyness gradually increased during the 1990s to nearly 50 percent. The National Co-morbidity Survey results were also indicative of a lifetime prevalence of social anxiety of 13.3 percent, making it the third most prevalent psychiatric disorder in the United States.

Excessive shyness usually leads to social withdrawal. If it is based on social fear and anxiety despite a desire to interact socially—such as in children who are unhappy because they are unable to make friends, it is called "conflicted shyness"; if it is based on the lack of a strong motivation to engage in social interaction, it is called "social disinterest." Both types are detected at an early age. The major behavioral components of excessive shyness in children are as follows:

• difficulty talking, stammering, stuttering, blushing, shaking, sweating hands when around other people
• difficulty thinking of things to say to people
• absence of outgoing mannerisms such as good eye contact or an easy smile
• reluctance to play with other kids, to go to school, to visit relatives and neighbors

Parental Concerns

Parents may worry about if their shy infant, child, or teenager has a socialization problem. Parents should know that a child who seems mildly anxious or quiet at certain times may be shy. The best thing they can do is to help the child feel comfortable about being shy, by explaining that shyness can be a normal part of growing up. Teasing or being critical can make a shy child even more afraid to be around people. Sometimes, just encouraging a quiet child to play with others helps the child overcome shy feelings. Although many children who are shy remain shy all of their lives, many others overcome it in time as they develop social skills. Many children overcome shyness by themselves, some through associating with younger children, which allows them to display leadership behavior, still others through contact with other sociable children. Nothing assists in overcoming shyness more than experiencing social successes, as when a child takes the initial risk of engaging in some social activity that is rewarded, for example, in successfully developing friendships.

The use of video games, CD-ROM games, Web surfing, and other computer-related marvels all interfere with the time required to seek out direct contact with others for fun and friendship. Increasingly, social time is being replaced with the anonymous exchange of information within an externally imposed medium that effectively promotes shyness in young people. While some shy children may benefit from using the anonymity and structural control features of cyberspace, the danger is that for many others virtual on-line reality may become a substitute for the reality of close human relationships. Many parents are concerned because their young children prefer "chat time" on their computers more than actually talking face to face with other children, so these children may not socialize as much in the homes of neighbors and friends.

When to Call the Doctor

When a child is excessively shy, when shyness is persistent and results in high levels of anxiety in social settings and leads to social withdrawal and parents feel that their child is unhappy being shy, they should seek professional help. It is very important to determine if there is a social anxiety disorder, and if so, what treatment can best help the child overcome shyness. Child and adolescent psychiatrists are trained to help parents sort out whether their child's level of shyness is normal introversion or indicative of a disorder.

See also Parent-child relationships; Personality development; Personality disorders.

Resources

Books

Antony, Martin M. 10 Simple Solutions to Shyness: How to Overcome Shyness, Social Anxiety, and Fear of Public Speaking. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, 2004.

Carducci, Bernardo. The Shyness Breakthrough: A No-Stress Plan to Help Your Shy Child Warm Up, Open Up, and Enjoy the Fun. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 2003.

Hillard, Erika B., et al. Living Fully with Shyness and Social Anxiety: A Comprehensive Guide to Managing Social Anxiety and Gaining Social Confidence. New York: Avalon Publishing Group, 2005.

Swallow, Ward K. The Shy Child: Helping Children Triumph over Shyness. New York: Warner Books, 2000.

Periodicals

Battaglia, M., et al. "Children's discrimination of expressions of emotions: relationship with indices of social anxiety and shyness." Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 43, no. 3 (March 2004): 358–65.

Coplan, R. J., et al. "Do you 'want' to play? Distinguishing between conflicted shyness and social disinterest in early childhood." Developmental Psychology 40, no. 2 (March 2004): 244–58.

Eley, T. C., et al. "A twin study of anxiety-related behaviors in pre-school children." Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry 44, no. 7 (October 2003): 945–60.

Henderson, H. A., et al. "Psychophysiological and behavioral evidence for varying forms and functions of nonsocial behavior in preschoolers." Child Development 75, no. 1 (January-February 2004): 251–63.

Jefferson, J. W. "Social Anxiety Disorder: More than Just a Little Shyness." Primary Care Companion: Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 3, no. 1 (February 2001): 4–9.

Yuen, C. N., and M. J. Lavin. "Internet dependence in the collegiate population: the role of shyness." Cyberpsychology Behavior 7, no. 4 (August 2004): 379–83.

Zimmermann, L. K., and K. Stansbury. "The influence of emotion regulation, level of shyness, and habituation on the neuroendocrine response of three-year-old children." Psychoneuroendocrinology 29, no. 8 (September 2004): 973–82.

Organizations

American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP). 3615 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20016–3007. Web site: www.aacap.org.

American Psychological Association (APA). 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002–4242. Web site: www.apa.org.

Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA). 8730 Georgia Avenue, Suite 600, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Web site: www.adaa.org.

The Shyness Institute. 2000 Williams St., Palo Alto, CA 94306. Web site: www.shyness.com.

Web Sites

"Shyness." KidsHealth. Available online at (accessed November 5, 2004).

The Shyness Homepage. Available online at www.shyness.com/ (accessed November 5, 2004).

[Article by: Monique Laberge, Ph.D.]

Quotes:

"The bashful are always aggressive at heart." - Charles Horton Cooley

"The shy man does have some slight revenge upon society for the torture it inflicts upon him. He is able, to a certain extent, to communicate his misery. He frightens other people as much as they frighten him. He acts like a damper upon the whole room, and the most jovial spirits become, in his presence, depressed and nervous." - Jerome K. Jerome

"Shyness is just egotism out of its depth." - Penelope Keith

"Shy and proud men are more liable than any others to fall into the hands of parasites and creatures of low character. For in the intimacies which are formed by shy men, they do not choose, but are chosen." - Sir Henry Taylor

"Shy" redirects here. For other uses, see Shy (disambiguation).

The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009)

In humans, shyness (also called diffidence) is a social psychology term used to describe the feeling of apprehension, lack of confidence, or awkwardness experienced when a person is in proximity to, approaching, or being approached by other people, especially in new situations or with unfamiliar people. Shyness may come from personality introversion, genetic traits, or the environment in which a person is raised.

In biology, shy generally means "tends to avoid human beings"; See crypsis. Shyness in gorillas manifests with ostensibly similar behavioral traits, but differs wholly from humans in cognition and motivation.

Contents 1 Triggers, traits and misperception 1.1 Complications 2 Origins 2.1 Genetics and heredity 2.2 As symptom of mercury poisoning 3 Shyness as pathology 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links

Triggers, traits and misperception

A lack of eye contact is often perceived as a sign of shyness.

Shyness is most likely to occur during unfamiliar situations, though in severe cases it may hinder an individual in his or her most familiar situations and relationships as well. Admitting feelings may become difficult for the individual. Shy persons avoid the objects of their apprehension in order to keep from feeling uncomfortable and inept; thus, the situations remain unfamiliar and the shyness perpetuates itself. Shyness may fade with time; e.g., a child who is shy towards strangers may eventually lose this trait when older and more socially adept. This often occurs by adolescence or young adulthood (generally around the age of 13). In some cases, though, it may become an integrated, life-long character trait. Humans experience shyness to different degrees and in different areas. For example, an actor may be loud and bold on stage, but shy in an interview. In addition, shyness may manifest when one is in the company of certain people and completely disappear when with others— one may be outgoing with friends and family, but experience love-shyness toward potential partners, even if strangers are generally not an obstacle.

The condition of true shyness may simply involve the discomfort of difficulty in knowing what to say in social situations, or may include crippling physical manifestations of uneasiness. Shyness usually involves a combination of both symptoms, and may be quite devastating for the sufferer, in many cases leading them to feel that they are boring, or exhibit bizarre behavior in an attempt to create interest, alienating them further. Behavioral traits in social situations such as smiling, easily producing suitable conversational topics, assuming a relaxed posture and making good eye contact, which come spontaneously for the average person^{[citation needed]}, may not be second nature for a shy person. Such people might only effect such traits by great difficulty, or they may even be impossible to display. Shyness is considered to be a neutral personality trait by people who are not shy, but a very negative trait by those who are shy themselves^{[citation needed]}. In fact, those who are shy are actually perceived more negatively because of the way they act towards others. Shy individuals are often distant during conversation, which may cause others to create poor impressions of them, simply adding to their shyness in social situations.

Complications

The term shyness may be implemented as a lay blanket-term for a family of related and partially overlapping afflictions, including timidity (apprehension in meeting new people), bashfulness and diffidence (lack of assertiveness), apprehension and anticipation (general fear of potential interaction), or intimidation (relating to the object of fear rather than one's low confidence).[1] Apparent shyness, as perceived by others, may simply be the manifestation of reservation or introversion, character traits which cause an individual to voluntarily avoid excessive social contact or be terse in communication, but are not motivated or accompanied by discomfort, apprehension, or lack of confidence.

Rather, according to Bernardo J. Carducci, director of the Research Institute, introverts choose to avoid social situations because they derive no reward from them, or may find surplus sensory input overwhelming. Conversely, shy people may fear such situations and feel that they "should" avoid them. [2] Shy people tend to perceive their own shyness as a negative trait, and many people are uneasy with shyness in others, especially in cultures which value individuality and taking charge.^{[citation needed]} This generally poor reception of shyness may be misinterpreted by the suffering individual as aversion related to his or her personality, rather than simply to his or her shyness. Both conditions can lead to a compounding of a shy individual's low self-confidence.

In cultures that value outspokenness and overt confidence, shyness can be perceived as weakness.^{[citation needed]} To an unsympathetic observer, a shy individual may be mistaken as cold, distant, arrogant or aloof, which can be frustrating for the shy individual.^{[citation needed]} However in other cultures, shy people may be perceived as being thoughtful, intelligent, as being good listeners, and as being more likely to think before they speak^{[citation needed]}. Furthermore, boldness, the opposite of shyness, may cause its own problems, such as impertinence or inappropriate behavior.

Origins

The initial causes of shyness vary. Scientists have located some genetic data that supports the hypothesis that shyness is at least partially genetic. However, there is also evidence that the environment in which a person is raised can affect their shyness. This includes child abuse, particularly emotional abuse such as ridicule. Shyness can originate after a person has experienced a physical anxiety reaction; at other times, shyness seems to develop first and then later causes physical symptoms of anxiety. Shyness differs from social anxiety, which is a broader, often depression-related psychological condition including the experience of fear, apprehension or worrying about being evaluated by others in social situations to the extent of inducing panic.

Genetics and heredity

The genetics of shyness is a relatively small area of research that has been receiving an even smaller amount of attention, although papers on the biological bases of shyness date back to 1988. Some research has indicated that shyness and aggression are related—through long and short forms of the gene DRD4, though considerably more research on this is needed. Further, it has been suggested that shyness and social phobia (the distinction between the two is becoming ever more blurred) are related to obsessive-compulsive disorder. As with other studies of behavioral genetics, the study of shyness is complicated by the number of genes involved in, and the confusion in defining, the phenotype. Naming the phenotype – and translation of terms between genetics and psychology — also causes problems. In some research, "behavioral inhibition" is studied, in others anxiety or social inhibition is. One solution to this problem is to study the genetics of underlying traits, such as "anxious temperament."

Several genetic links to shyness are current areas of research. One is the serotonin transporter promoter region polymorphism (5-HTTLPR), the long form of which has been shown to be modestly correlated with shyness in grade school children.^[1] Previous studies had shown a connection between this form of the gene and both obsessive-compulsive disorder and autism.^{[citation needed]} Mouse models have also been used, to derive genes suitable for further study in humans; one such gene, the glutamic acid decarboxylase gene (which encodes an enzyme that functions in GABA synthesis), has so far been shown to have some association with behavioral inhibition.

Another gene, the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) exon III polymorphism, had been the subject of studies in both shyness and aggression, and is currently the subject of studies on the "novelty seeking" trait. A 1996 study of anxiety-related traits (shyness being one of these) remarked that, "Although twin studies have indicated that individual variation in measures of anxiety-related personality traits is 40-60% heritable, none of the relevant genes has yet been identified," and that "10 to 15 genes might be predicted to be involved" in the anxiety trait. Progress has been made since then, especially in identifying other potential genes involved in personality traits, but there has been little progress made towards confirming these relationships. The long version of the 5-HTT gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) is now postulated to be correlated with shyness,^[1] but in the 1996 study, the short version was shown to be related to anxiety-based traits. This confusion and contradiction does not oppose the genetic basis of personality traits, but does emphasize the amount of research there is still to be done before the bases of even one or two of these characteristics can be identified.

As symptom of mercury poisoning

Excessive shyness, embarrassment, self consciousness and timidity, social-phobia and lack of self-confidence are also components of erethism, which is a symptom complex that appears in cases of mercury poisoning^[2][3]. Mercury poisoning was common among hat makers in England in the 1700s and 1800s, who used mercury to stabilize wool into felt fabric.

Shyness as pathology

Shyness as a psychiatric illness made its debut as "social phobia" in DSM-III in 1980, but was then described as rare.^{[citation needed]} By 1994, however, when DSM-IV was published, it had become "social anxiety disorder" and was now said to be extremely common.^{[citation needed]} This process has been adverted to as a case study of "disease-mongering" in psychiatry^[4]. One drug company product manager has been quoted as saying, "Every marketer's dream is to find an unidentified or unknown market and develop it. That's what we were able to do with social anxiety disorder"^[5]. In developing this market they may not be alone in the exploitation of such, as many may be wealthy, eccentric, high achievers, often do, and driven by a madness they suffer from an anxiety to succeed.

See also

Psychology portal

• Boldness
• Love-shyness
• Introversion
• People skills
• Social anxiety
• Social anxiety disorder
• Selective mutism
• Avoidant personality disorder
• Highly sensitive person
• Schizoid Personality Disorder
• Medicalization of behaviors as illness

References

• Kluger, A. N.; Siegfried, Z.; Epbstein, R. P.: A meta-analysis of the association between DRD4 polymorphism and novelty seeking. Molecular Psychiatry 2002; 7: 712-717.
• Lesch, Klaus-Peter; Bengal, Dietmar; Heils, Armin; Sabol, Sue Z.; Greenberg, Benjamin D.; Petri, Susanne; Benjamin, Jonathan; Muller, Clemens R.; Hamer, Dean H.; Murphy, Dennis L.: Association of anxiety-related traits with a polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene regulatory region. Science 1996; 274(5292): 1527-1531.
• Miller, Rowland S.: Perlman, Daniel.; Brehn, Sharon S.: Intimate Relationships. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 2007; 430.
• Smoller, Jordan W.; Rosenbaum, Jerold F.; Biederman, Joseph; Susswein, Lisa S.; Kennedy, John; Kagan, Jerome; Snidman, Nancy; Laird, Nan; Tsuang, Ming T.; Faraone, Stephen V.; Schwarz, Alysandra; Slaugenhaupt, Susan A.: Genetic association analysis of behavioral inhibition using candidate loci from mouse models. American Journal of Medical Genetics 2001; 105: 226-235.

1. ^ ^{a b} Shoshana Arbelle, Jonathan Benjamin, Moshe Golin, Ilana Kremer, Robert H. Belmaker & Richard P. Ebstein (April 2003). "Relation of shyness in grade school children to the genotype for the long form of the serotonin transporter promoter region polymorphism". The American journal of psychiatry 160 (4): 671–676. PMID 12668354. 
2. ^ WHO (1976) Environmental Health Criteria 1: Mercury, Geneva, World Health Organization, 131 pp.
3. ^ WHO. Inorganic mercury. Environmental Health Criteria 118. World Health Organization, Geneva, 1991.
4. ^ Lane, Christopher (2008), Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness, Yale University Press.
5. ^ Angell, Marcia (2009), "Drug Companies & Doctors: A Story of Corruption", New York Review of Books, Vol 56, No 1; 15 January 2009.

Further reading

• Crozier, W. R., Understanding Shyness: Psychological Perspectives, Basingstoke, Palgrave, 2001. ISBN 0333773713

• Zimbardo, Philip G., "Shyness: What It Is, What to Do about It", Da Capo Press, 1990. ISBN 0201550180.

External links

• Lynn Henderson and Philip Zimbardo: "Shyness". Entry in Encyclopedia of Mental Health, Academic Press, San Diego, CA (in press)
• Don't Call Me Shy: Help For Parents of Shy Children
• Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS-SR)+
• SHY United - Information and support site with articles and community forums / chat room
• How to Get Rid of Shyness - Help to Overcome Shyness and Social Anxiety
• Social Anxiety Anonymous / Social Phobics Anonymous - International network of 12 Step support groups for people suffering from shyness problems and/or social anxiety disorder/social phobia

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