Adaptive Shyness: A Developmental Perspective

One common perception is that shyness is an inherently problematic trait that lays the developmental foundation of psychosocial maladjustment. However, not all shy individuals are alike, nor are all shy individuals at risk for poor developmental outcomes. In the current chapter, we discuss heterogeneous subtypes of shyness. We place a particular emphasis on the adaptive subtype of positive shyness, which is characterized by the expression of …