Understanding Shyness: A Psychological Perspective

Author: (English) Crozier
Translator: Wang Bing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: Raymond Crozier is one of the most important researchers in the field of shyness. In this book, he uses theories and evidence from several psychological perspectives—child development, personality theory, social psychology, and clinical psychology—to review the current understanding of shyness. He connects research on the experience of shyness with some of the major theories in psychology, explaining this complex pattern of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Clinicians have long recognized that social relationship problems are linked to many mental illnesses, such as depression, but current research in psychiatry and clinical psychology is beginning to view the tendency to experience these issues as a disease in itself. A significant amount of attention has been devoted to finding appropriate intervention methods to help those with social phobia overcome their problems. The goal of this book is to consolidate and evaluate research on shyness that has been conducted within a psychological framework. Many years ago, it would have been unlikely to write this book, but now, interest in shyness and related topics has increased. This indicates that understanding shyness is not simple. Psychologists have used many branches of psychology in their search for explanations of shyness: research on child development, behavioral genetics, the search for basic human temperaments and personality traits, the analysis of social encounters, the physiology of anxiety and blushing, and psychological interventions, all to help shy individuals overcome severe social anxiety. Shyness and social anxiety have generated increasing interest among psychologists. Developmental psychologists ask: What makes people shy? Are genetic early experiences within families predisposing individuals to shyness? Personality theorists inquire: Is shyness a fundamental personality trait, and how does it differ from introversion or anxiety? Social psychologists examine the similarities and differences between shyness and embarrassment, focusing on the perplexing phenomenon of blushing: Why do you blush in situations that are quite unremarkable? Are shyness and embarrassment different forms of anxiety or different emotions? How can neuroticism be understood? How is social anxiety clinically treated?