Topic > The concept of shyness in psychology and its relationship with anxiety

“My feelings are too strong for words and too shy for the world”Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay - Dejan Stojanovic Shyness is the term used to label the emotional state of feeling anxious and inhibited in social situations. From a social psychological perspective, situations differ in their power to elicit social anxiety reactions. Shyness is the embarrassment or apprehension that some people feel when approaching or being approached by other people. Shyness refers to the anxiety a person feels in social situations which is usually made up of 3 parts, a feeling of emotional excitement and specific physical effects such as nausea, acute self-consciousness and being cautious and quiet (Nugent, Pam MS 2013). Shyness is defined as anxious self-preoccupation in response to real or imagined social interactions (Melchoir & Cheek, 1990). Shyness is characterized by active avoidance of social contact (Rubin, Stewart, & Coplan, 1995) due to fear of social contact. scrutiny and embarrassment, feelings of negative self-esteem (Crozier, 1981), low self-esteem (Schmidt & Fox, 1995), anxiety (Hirshfeld et al., 1992), and occasionally depression. Unlike introverts, who feel energized by time spent alone, shy people often want desperately to connect with others, but don't know how or can't tolerate the anxiety that comes with human interaction. Evaluations of shyness-eliciting events reveal that interactions with strangers, especially those of the opposite sex or in positions of authority, encounters requiring assertive behavior, and explicitly evaluative contexts such as job interviews elicit the strongest feelings of social anxiety. Quietness, gaze aversion, and awkward body language are the most common behavioral signs of shyness. New and unfamiliar situations can bring out feelings of shyness, such as the first day of school, meeting someone new, or speaking in front of a group for the first time. People feel shy when they are unsure how to behave, don't know how others will react, or when the attention is on them. People are less likely to feel shy in situations where they know what to expect, feel confident about what to do or say, or are among familiar people. Feelings of shyness can be mild, medium or intense but it depends on the situation and the person. People who feel shy often or sometimes may think of themselves as a shy person. Shy people can be good listeners and may be hesitant to try new things. They usually take a long time to connect with new people and situations. Sometimes being quiet and introverted is a sign that someone has a naturally shy personality. But that's not always the case. Being quiet is not always the same as being shy (D'Arcy Lyness, 2016). Recent research supports the negative image of the trait by documenting how shyness can be a barrier to personal well-being, social adjustment, and professional fulfillment. Some people prefer to spend time alone rather than with others, but they also feel comfortable when they are in social settings. These people are non-anxious introverts who may be unsociable but not shy. The opposite of shyness is social self-confidence, not extroversion. The problem for truly shy people is that their anxiety prevents them from participating in social life when they want or need to. Below are some of the factorswhich lead to shyness. Lack of self-confidence: Low self-esteem or lack of self-confidence can force the brain to try to protect the person by making them shy. Inferiority complex: Feelings of inferiority could lead to shyness. If a person felt useless they would be too reluctant to express themselves or interact with people. Perfectionism: Perfectionism can lead to shyness. If a person wanted to say everything perfectly, they might end up speaking much less and therefore become shy. Lack of social skills: When a person does not have adequate social skills, he will become self-inhibited towards others and he may become shy because he cannot find anything to say. Self-image issues: Any type of self-inhibitory thinking can lead to shyness. Because self-image issues can lead to self-inhibition toward others, they can lead to shyness. Fear of people: A bad past or a dysfunctional family can lead to many problems such as fear of intimacy or fear of people (Radwan, 2007). Shyness is a personality trait that affects a child's temperament. Some children are born shy and more sensitive. Some of them are quiet when meeting new people or might bury their heads in their mother's shoulder. Some children may feel shy in certain situations, such as when meeting new people. Other children may learn to be shy because of experiences at school or at home. As of 2004, research has tended to distinguish shyness from introversion. Introverts simply prefer solitary activities to social ones but do not fear social encounters like shy people do, while extroverts prefer social activities to solitary ones. Eysenck (1947) believed that most individual differences in personality could be explained by varying and interacting levels of neuroticism and extraversion. The initial concept of shyness was rooted in this interaction. Individuals with a low level of extraversion and a high level of neuroticism were characterized as socially shy. A distinction can be made between introverted individuals and individuals characterized as temperamentally shy. For example, both introverted and shy children may prefer to be alone and engage in solitary play activities; however, an introverted child typically shows no obvious signs of anxiety and is unlikely to have difficulty with social interactions. On the other hand, an extremely shy child is likely to show obvious signs of distress and experience problems when attempting to enter social situations (Schmidt & Fox, 1999). Over the last two decades there has been an increase in the amount of research dedicated to the study of shyness. Shyness is a common and pervasive phenomenon that over 90% of the general population reported having experienced at some time in their lives (Zimbardo, 1977). Temperamental shyness is a personality characteristic that emerges during early childhood and is characterized by a more severe and persistent form of shyness and social withdrawal. Ten to fifteen percent of people experience temperamental shyness (Kagan, 1994). Research shows, however, that in 25% of cases the genetic predisposition to shyness does not develop into shyness. Some researchers believe that a shy temperament may require environmental factors, such as attachment insecurity in the form of difficult relationships with parents, family conflict or chaos, frequent criticism, a dominant older sibling, or a stressful school environment. Although decades of research have been devoted to the study of human shyness, problems persist, 1995).