Definition
Shyness is a temperamental trait characterized by heightened fear and wariness in novel social situations (e.g., meeting new people) and self-consciousness and embarrassment in situations of perceived social evaluation (e.g., being the center of attention) (Rubin et al. 2009). Shyness is also considered to be a narrow personality trait (related to facets of introversion and neuroticism). In its extreme form, shyness shares some conceptual overlap (but is still considered distinct from) clinically diagnosed social anxiety disorder (Chavira et al. 2002). From a motivational perspective, shyness is thought to reflect a social approach-avoidance conflict. That is, shy individuals desire social contact (high social approach motivation) but at the same time are wary and anxious about participating in social exchanges (high social avoidance motivation). This distinguishes shyness from...
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Coplan, R.J., Xiao, B. (2016). Shyness. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1113-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1113-1
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