Shyness
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.
[9] 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.
"[12] In their analysis, scientists assigned conception dates to the children relative to their known birth dates, which allowed them to obtain random samples from children who had a mid-gestation point during the longest hours of the year and the shortest hours of the year (June and December, depending on whether the cohorts were in the United States or New Zealand).
Shy people 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.
Longitudinal data suggests that the three different personality types evident in infancy – easy, slow-to-warm-up, and difficult – tend to change as children mature.
[16] Shyness may 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, may not be second nature for a shy person.
Even when an attempt to draw out a shy person is conducted in a kindly and well-intentioned manner the exercise may still backfire, as by focusing attention on the individual it increases their self-consciousness and sense of awkwardness.
[18]: 87–89 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 (reluctance in asserting oneself), apprehension and anticipation (general fear of potential interaction), or intimidation (relating to the object of fear rather than one's low confidence).
[19] Apparent shyness, as perceived by others, may simply be the manifestation of reservation or introversion, a character trait which causes 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.
[20] Research using the statistical techniques of factor analysis and correlation have found shyness overlaps mildly with both introversion and neuroticism (i.e., negative emotionality).
A variety of research suggests that shyness and introversion possess clearly distinct motivational forces and lead to uniquely different personal and peer reactions and therefore cannot be described as theoretically the same,[15][25][26] with Susan Cain's Quiet (2012) further discerning introversion as involving being differently social (preferring one-on-one or small group interactions) rather than being anti-social altogether.
Collectivist cultures view shyness as a more positive trait related to compliance with group ideals and self-control, while perceiving chosen isolation (introverted behavior) negatively as a threat to group harmony; and because collectivist society accepts shyness and rejects unsociability, shy individuals develop higher self-esteem than introverted individuals.
[26] On the other hand, individualistic cultures perceive shyness as a weakness and a character flaw, while unsociable personality traits (preference to spend time alone) are accepted because they uphold the value of autonomy; accordingly, shy individuals tend to develop low self-esteem in Western cultures while unsociable individuals develop high self-esteem.
[15] An extreme case of shyness is identified as a psychiatric illness, which made its debut as social phobia in DSM-III in 1980, but was then described as rare.
[28][page needed] By 1994, however, when DSM-IV was published, it was given a second, alternative name in parentheses (social anxiety disorder) and was now said to be relatively common, affecting between 3 and 13% of the population at some point during their lifetime.
Social anxiety disorder, on the other hand, is a strong irrational fear of interacting with people, or being in situations which may involve public scrutiny, because one feels overly concerned about being criticized if one embarrasses oneself.
[36] Research indicates that shy children have a harder time expressing their knowledge in social situations (which most modern curricula utilize), and because they do not engage actively in discussions teachers view them as less intelligent.
[35] Depending on the level of a teacher's own shyness, more indirect (vs. socially oriented) strategies may be used with shy individuals to assess knowledge in the classroom, and accommodations made.
[17] Thomas Benton claims that because shy people "have a tendency toward self-criticism, they are often high achievers, and not just in solitary activities like research and writing.
Without characteristics that shy people bring to social interactions, such as sensitivity to the emotions of others, contemplation of ideas, and valuable listening skills, there would be no balance to society.
"[18]: 2 She explores the idea that "shyness is a form of deviance: a problem for society as much as for the individual", and concludes that, to some extent, "we are all impostors, faking our way through social life".
[18]: 165, 174 One of her interview subjects (self-defined as shy) puts this point of view even more strongly: "Sometimes I want to take my cue from the militant disabled lobbyists and say, 'hey, it's not MY problem, it's society's'.
[39] In cultures that value autonomy, shyness is often analyzed in the context of being a social dysfunction, and is frequently contemplated as a personality disorder or mental health issue.
Some researchers are beginning to study comparisons between individualistic and collectivistic cultures, to examine the role that shyness might play in matters of social etiquette and achieving group-oriented goals.
"[40] In a cross-cultural study of Chinese and Canadian school children, researchers sought to measure several variables related to social reputation and peer relationships, including "shyness-sensitivity."
Children in Mayan, Indian, Mexican, and Kenyan cultures are less expressive in social styles during interactions and they spend little time engaged in socio-dramatic activities.
[48] Implementing such tactics could prove to be an important step in combating the psychological effects of shyness that make living normal life difficult for anxious individuals.
Teachers can model social skills and ask questions in a less direct and intimidating manner in order to gently encourage shy students to speak up in class, and make friends with other children.
