Verbal irony, a form of figurative language, uses the discrepancy between a speaker’s intended meaning and the literal word meanings to achieve social goals. Yet, little research exists on individual differences that may disrupt irony understanding. Verbal irony may challenge shy children, who tend to interpret ambiguous stimuli as being threatening, and who have difficulties with mentalizing in social contexts. This study assessed whether shy children interpret ironic statements differently than do non-shy children. Children (8- to11-year-olds) listened to stories wherein one character made a statement to another character that was a literal or ironic criticism or a literal or ironic compliment. Children appraised the speaker’s belief and communicative intention. Shyness was assessed using self report measures of social anxiety symptoms and shy negative affect. Shy children did not differ from non-shy peers in comprehending speakers’ beliefs. However, shy children rated speakers who made ironic criticisms as being more mean than did children low in shyness. Thus, while understanding that speakers intended to communicate their true beliefs, shy children construed the social meaning of irony differently, indicating difficulties with pragmatics. Such subtle differences in pragmatic understanding may underlie some of the social difficulties facing shy children.

Verbal irony, a form of figurative language, uses the discrepancy between a speaker’s intended meaning and the literal word meanings to achieve social goals. Yet, little research exists on individual differences that may disrupt irony understanding. Verbal irony may challenge shy children, who tend to interpret ambiguous stimuli as being threatening, and who have difficulties with mentalizing in social contexts. This study assessed whether shy children interpret ironic statements differently than do non-shy children. Children (8- to11-year-olds) listened to stories wherein one character made a statement to another character that was a literal or ironic criticism or a literal or ironic compliment. Children appraised the speaker’s belief and communicative intention. Shyness was assessed using self report measures of social anxiety symptoms and shy negative affect. Shy children did not differ from non-shy peers in comprehending speakers’ beliefs. However, shy children rated speakers who made ironic criticisms as being more mean than did children low in shyness. Thus, while understanding that speakers intended to communicate their true beliefs, shy children construed the social meaning of irony differently, indicating difficulties with pragmatics. Such subtle differences in pragmatic understanding may underlie some of the social difficulties facing shy children.

Shy children often have difficulty communicating; however, it is not clear whether these difficulties stem from a skills deficit or from an anxiety-driven performance deficit. Therefore, the present study examined how shy children’s communication skills differed from those of average, non-shy children, using the Internet as a medium for social communication. It was hypothesized that shy children may be more reticent than average children to initiate conversation in a novel situation. However, over time shy children were expected to become more comfortable in discussions with their on-line partner and to become less anxious as they acknowledge the anonymity of chat groups. This study also investigated potential changes in negative effects associated with shyness over time. Fifteen shy children (Mean shyness score=72.3; SD=6.43) and 15 average children (Mean shyness score=53.7; SD=5.6) participated in the 10 MSN conversation groups. Children were also given a series of questionnaires prior to and after the 10 sessions. Results from this study suggest that shy children communicate in a similar manner to their average partners when online. Results also suggest that shy children had higher levels of social anxiety than average children before beginning an online conversation with an unknown partner. However, by the end of the 10 sessions, their anxiety had been significantly reduced. No other changes or differences in psychological functioning were noted between shy and average children.

Two studies were conducted in which we examined the relation between shyness and facial expression processing in children. In Study 1, facial expression recognition was examined by asking 97 children ages 12 to 14 years to identify six different expressions displayed at 50% and 100% intensity, as well as a neutral expression. In Study 2, the focus shifted from the recognition of emotions to the interpretation of emotions. In this study, 123 children aged 12 to 14 years were asked a series of questions regarding how they would perceive different facial expressions. Findings from Study 1 showed that, in the case of shy boys, higher levels of shyness were related to lower recognition accuracy for sad faces displayed at 50% intensity. However, in most cases, shyness was not related to facial expression recognition. The results from Study 2 suggested broader implications for shy children. The findings of Study 2 demonstrated that shyness is predictive of biased facial expression interpretation and that rejection sensitivity mediates this relation. Overall the results of these two studies add to the research on facial expression processing in shy children and suggest that cognitive biases in the way facial expressions are interpreted may be related to shy children’s discomfort in social situations.

The general aggression model (GAM) has suggested that the interaction between person factors (e.g., personality variables) and situation factors (e.g., playing violent video games [VVGs]) can increase individuals’ aggressive behaviors through their cognition (e.g., hostile attributions), affect (e.g., negative affect), and/or arousal. The present study employed a modified competitive reaction time task to test the effects of shyness, violent (vs. nonviolent) gameplay, and shyness on individuals’ positive–negative affect, hostile attributions, and aggressive behaviors. In addition, the present study also employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the mediation (by cognition and affect) and moderation (by shyness). Results showed that playing a VVG increased aggressive behaviors, negative affect, and hostile attributions primarily among shy participants. In addition, the results of SEM also revealed that this moderating role was mediated by negative affect and hostile attributions. The present study supported GAM and showed that individuals’ aggressive behaviors are differentially susceptible to VVGs, depending on their level of shyness in a “for bad and for worse” manner.

While existing research has posited shyness as a risk-factor for floundering in adolescence and emerging adulthood, not all shy young people may struggle to the same extent. Characteristics such as self-regulation and benevolent values may influence the extent to which individuals with high levels of shyness will have socio-emotional challenges. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to use a person-centered analysis to explore subgroups of adolescents with distinct levels of shyness, self-regulation, and benevolent values and to examine how these groups differ on outcomes in adolescence and in emerging adulthood. The sample for this paper consisted of 682 adolescents (48.9% female, 75.4% White). A latent profile analysis was used to identify subgroups of adolescents. Mean comparisons and regressions were then used to compare adolescent profiles on indices of flourishing and floundering. Results indicated shy adolescents with moderate levels of self-regulation and benevolent values reported higher average levels of school engagement and prosocial behavior across targets in comparison to shy adolescents with low levels of self-regulation and benevolent values in adolescence and emerging adulthood; however, there were no differences on internalizing problems. Thus, the present study suggests self-regulation and benevolent values may help individuals high on levels of shyness with social outcomes but may not be of much assistance for those challenges of an internalizing nature.

The study of social withdrawal continues to grow among younger samples, including childhood, adolescence, and emerging adulthood. Little research has addressed socially withdrawn older adults, despite the various losses, declines, and changes experienced by those in later life and their known benefits resulting from social interactions. Shy, avoidant, or unsocial individuals at younger ages may withdraw and possibly miss out on important opportunities; as a result, when they are grown, these same socially withdrawn individuals may experience greater regret and lower fulfillment in later life. Further, socially withdrawn older adults residing in long-term care (LTC) facilities may have more time to reminisce of past regret or fulfillment. Data was collected from 45 older participants (Mage = 83.07) residing in a long-term care facility on O'ahu. The current study used Bayesian linear regression models to examine ways that three subtypes of withdrawal (shyness, avoidance, and unsociability) may relate to regret and fulfillment in later life; with an exploratory qualitative portion assessing withdrawn participant's biggest regrets and accomplishments. Results indicated that higher levels of shyness significantly predicted higher levels of regret, while higher levels of unsociability were related to higher levels of fulfillment. The findings may help us to understand the role of ability to choose in the lives of socially withdrawn individuals, as shy individuals who may withdraw because of fear could be missing out on desired life experiences, while unsocial individuals appear able to participate in their desired activities.

Temperamental self-regulation is typically associated with adaptive outcomes, but considerably less is known about the correlates of rudimentary self-regulation—regulatory capacity—in infancy. Some theoretical frameworks also suggest that low and high levels of inhibitory control—one component of temperamental self-regulation—may be related to negative outcomes, and further that this may depend on individual differences in shyness. In this dissertation, I examined the functional correlates of infants’ regulatory capacity moderated by physiological regulation (Chapter 2), the negative consequences of low and high levels of inhibitory control on preschoolers’ social and psychological outcomes (Chapter 3), and the social (Chapter 4) and contextual (Chapter 5) factors modifying the impact of inhibitory control on shy children’s interpersonal outcomes. In Chapter 2, I found that infants’ regulatory capacity was only negatively related to behavior problems when infants displayed high levels of physiological regulation during an emotionally salient stressor. In Chapter 3, I found that very low and high levels of inhibitory control were related to the highest levels of avoidant social behavior and internalizing and externalizing problems in preschoolers. In Chapter 4, I found that preschoolers’ shyness was only negatively associated with their own observed approach behavior when their own inhibitory control was high (actor effects), and this pattern of results differed when examining the partner’s observed behavior (partner effects). In Chapter 5, I found that shyness was negatively associated with social support seeking when preschoolers displayed high levels of inhibitory control in an unfamiliar context, and this pattern of results differed in a familiar context. These studies challenge the longstanding belief that self-regulatory processes are adaptive for all children all the time, and suggest that developmental, temperamental, and contextual factors may influence whether self-regulation acts as a resiliency or risk factor. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Self-regulation refers to children’s ability to control their behavior and attention to achieve goals and is an important part of personality. Although self-regulation is typically associated with positive outcomes during the preschool period, less is known about the consequences of self-regulation during infancy, and some research has suggested that low and high self-regulation may have negative consequences for children. In this dissertation, I examined whether physiological regulation during infancy influenced the relation between self-regulation and behavior problems, and then I examined whether low and high levels of self-regulation are associated with children’s problematic social and psychological outcomes and whether these relations depend on children’s shyness and their social partner’s characteristics. Together, this work challenges the belief that self-regulation is always protective for all children all the time and suggests that personality and contextual factors may determine whether self-regulation acts as a protective or a risk factor.

Shyness is a personality trait that is stable across time and situations in some individuals. While childhood shyness is a risk factor for later mental health and emotional problems, not all shy children grow up to have these problems. This thesis examined subtypes of shyness identified based on the temporal stability of shyness and based on levels of sociability and their corresponding outcomes, as well as the roles of social and biological contextual factors. Chapters 2-4 comprise the empirical studies. In Chapter 2, I report three shyness trajectories from middle childhood to adulthood (ages 8 to 30-35). Relative to a low-stable non-shy trajectory, children with an increasing, but not a decreasing, shy trajectory were at higher risk for clinically significant social anxiety, depression, and substance use, and were hypervigilant to angry faces in adulthood. Chapters 3 and 4 then report electrocortical correlates and mechanisms during the processing of non-social auditory novelty and social exclusion across children, adolescents, and adults with varying levels of shyness and sociability. Chapter 3 established that shyness, but not sociability, was related to the P300 ERP in processing non-social auditory stimuli in both 10-year-old children and adults, in support of the notion that shyness and sociability are independent personality dimensions. Findings on subtypes of shyness also showed that children characterized by conflicted shyness (with high levels of both shyness and sociability) reported higher neuroticism, but this relation was mediated by increased P300 amplitudes to processing background stimuli. Finally, Chapter 4 reports that individuals characterized by conflicted shyness who exhibited high theta EEG spectral power to social exclusion were most fearful of negative evaluation, irrespective of age. Also, conflicted shy adolescents who showed high theta spectral power to social exclusion were most likely to engage in substance-use. These findings highlight that there is much heterogeneity in shyness, and that shyness is not directly related to adverse mental health outcomes. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Shyness is a personality trait that is stable across time and situations in some individuals. Past research suggests that shy children exhibit more internalizing problems, including anxiety and depression, compared to their non-shy counterparts. However, the development of shyness has not been studied beyond adolescence, and the biological and social factors that contribute to adverse developmental pathways and outcomes related to shyness are not well understood. The goal of this thesis was to understand the mental health outcomes of shy individuals by examining different subtypes of shy individuals. To this end, this thesis first demonstrated how shyness unfolds across the first four decades of life to shape adult mental health outcomes in a cohort of individuals. Second, this thesis examined how neural responses to threatening social and non-social contexts related to the socioemotional outcomes across children, adolescents and adults with varying levels of shyness.

Intergenerational transmission of shyness, or the social process through which shy characteristics or behavioral patterns demonstrated by parents are passed on to their children, has received recent empirical attention and has suggested a positive relationship between levels of shyness in parents and children. One factor that may relate to this relationship is the attitudes parents hold toward having a shy child. The present study sought to illuminate several questions surrounding parental attitudes toward shyness and the presence of withdrawn, inhibited behavior in children. It was hypothesized that: a) parental attitudes toward shyness and shyness in parents would interact to influence inhibited behavior in children; and b) childrearing practices would serve as a mediator in the anticipated relationship between parental attitudes toward shyness and inhibited behavior in children. Results indicated a significant positive relationship between parental attitudes toward shyness and withdrawn, inhibited behavior in children, as well as a series of significant relationships between parental attitudes toward shyness and specific parenting strategies. No significant moderational or mediational effects were found, however. / Master of Science