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Shyness has generally been investigated as a negative and unpleasant emotional state, strongly related to social anxiety and loneliness. However, recent evidence has suggested that shyness may have a positive and socially adaptive form. We examined whether the positive expression of shyness differs from the negative expression of shyness during toddlerhood, and whether a negative relation to anxiety exists. Participants were 30-month-old children (N = 102; 56 girls) who were asked to mimic animal sounds with a novel person (performance) and then to watch their performance (self-watching). Their expression of pleasure (positive reactions) and distress (negative reactions), as well as their positive and negative expressions of shyness, were coded. Children�s temperamental level of shyness, sociability, and anxiety were measured with parent-reported questionnaires. Toddlers produced more positive and negative displays of shyness in the performance task than in the self-watching task. Children�s positive expression of shyness was associated with lower parent-reported anxiety and higher sociability. Negative reactions, but not negative shyness, were related to children�s higher anxiety levels and lower sociability. Multiple linear regression analyses confirmed a negative predictive role of the positive expression of shyness on anxiety. These results suggest that the positive expression of shyness can regulate early anxiety symptoms and already serves a social function in interpersonal interactions in early childhood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)
