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Parlance, Places, Process, and Paradox: Revisiting the Discussion of Gender Differences in Childhood Shyness

  • Feminist Forum Review Article
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Abstract

In our recent review article (Doey et al. 2013), we provided an overview and synthesis of the extant literature pertaining to gender differences in the prevalence and implications of childhood shyness. In response to this review, Sex Roles solicited three commentaries from noted experts in the field. This rebuttal is meant to briefly address some of the central themes raised in these commentaries. Our comments focus on the issues of parlance i.e., nomenclature, operationalization, and assessment, places (i.e., the importance of considering context), process (i.e., mechanisms that may underlie gender differences in shyness), and paradox (comparing gender differences in the prevalence of shyness versus internalizing problems).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada

    Robert J. Coplan & Mila Kingsbury

  2. University of Ottawa, 11 Marie Curie Private, Ottawa, ON, K1N 9A4, Canada

    Laura Doey

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  1. Robert J. Coplan
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  2. Mila Kingsbury
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  3. Laura Doey
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Correspondence to Robert J. Coplan.

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Coplan, R.J., Kingsbury, M. & Doey, L. Parlance, Places, Process, and Paradox: Revisiting the Discussion of Gender Differences in Childhood Shyness. Sex Roles 70, 309–314 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-014-0371-y

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