Shyness - Different Cultural Views On Shyness

Different Cultural Views On Shyness

In cultures that value outspokenness and overt confidence, shyness can be perceived as weakness. To an unsympathetic observer, a shy individual may be mistaken as cold, distant, arrogant or aloof, which can be frustrating for the shy individual. However, in other cultures, shy people may be perceived as being thoughtful, intelligent, as being good listeners, and as being more likely to think before they speak. Furthermore, boldness, the opposite of shyness, may cause its own problems, such as impertinence or inappropriate behavior.

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. It should be noted that such analyses are conducted from a Western cultural perspective, and often do not consider shyness as having any potential utility in a social framework, either outside or within Western culture. 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. "Shyness is one of the emotions that may serve as behavioral regulators of social relationships in collectivistic cultures. For example, social shyness is evaluated more positively in a collectivistic society, but negatively evaluated in an individualistic society."

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." Using peer nomination questionnaire, students evaluated their fellow students using positive and negative playmate nominations. "Shyness-sensitivity was significantly and negatively correlated with measures of peer acceptance in the Canadian sample. Inconsistent with Western results, it was found that items describing shyness-sensitivity were separated from items assessing isolation in the factor structure for the Chinese sample. Shyness-sensitivity was positively associated with sociability-leadership and with peer acceptance in the Chinese sample." The researchers go on to say, "In conclusion, the results presented herein suggest that social competence is a highly complex phenomenon that may have similar or different meanings in different cultures."

Given that many people who self-report as being shy describe it as being a debilitating social impairment, it is certainly a valid pursuit to analyze shyness in the context of mental health. Broader research could contemplate any potential social value of shyness, both in non-Western cultures and Western culture, or at least provide more insight into its origins. Further, a historical analysis may reveal shyness to have once been a positive trait in past Western culture and now a lingering after-effect of past times, or a symptom of rapid change in the 20th Century, or a negative stigma that has always existed in some form. Expanding the parameters of data collection in this respect may serve to assist society in its approach to identifying and dealing with shy personalities in its midst, and harvesting any untapped talent not currently being realized.