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In humans, shyness is the feeling of apprehension or lack of confidence experienced in regard to social association with others, e. Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus The word feeling has several possible definitions The word was first used in the English language to describe the physical sensation of Touch either through experience g. being in proximity to, approaching and being approached by others. In zoology, shy generally means "tends to avoid human beings"; See crypsis. Zoology (from Greek ζῷον, zoon, "animal" + λόγος, " Logos " "knowledge" is the branch of In Ecology, crypsis is the ability of an organism to avoid observation Shyness in animals manifests with ostensibly similar behavioral traits, but differs wholly from humans in cognition and motivation.

Contents

Triggers, traits and misperception

Shyness is most likely to occur during unfamiliar situations, though in severe cases it may hinder an individual in his or her most familiar situations and relationships as well. Shy individuals avoid the objects of their apprehension in order to avoid feeling uncomfortable and inept, thus the situations remain unfamiliar and the shyness perpetuates itself. Shyness may fade with time (a child who is shy toward strangers, for instance, may eventually lose this trait when older and more socially adept), or may be an integrated, life-long character trait, often by adolescence and young adulthood (but most likely around the age of 13). CHILD syndrome (or congenital hemidysplasia with ichthyosiform erythroderma and limb defects) is a genetic disorder

Humans experience shyness to different degrees and in different areas. For example, an actor may be loud and bold on stage, but shy in an interview. In addition, shyness may manifest when one is in the company of certain people and completely disappear when with others—one may be outgoing with friends and family, but experience love-shyness toward potential partners, even if strangers are generally not an obstacle. Love shyness is a phrase created by Psychologist Brian G Gilmartin to describe a specific type of severe chronic Shyness.

The condition of true shyness may simply involve the discomfort of difficulty in knowing what to say in social situations, or may include crippling physical manifestations of uneasiness. Definition In the absence of agreement about its meaning the term "social" is used in many different senses referring among other things to attitudes Shyness usually involves a combination of both symptoms, and may be quite devastating for the sufferer, in many cases leading them to feel that they are boring, or exhibit bizarre behaviour in an attempt to create interest, alienating them further.

Instinctive behavioural traits in social situations such as smiling, easily producing suitable conversational topics, assuming a relaxed posture and making good eye contact, which come spontaneously for the average person, may not be second nature for a shy person, requiring struggle or being completely unattainable. This article is about the facial expression For the typographical symbol see Smiley. Banter redirects here for the Radio 4 panel show see Banter (radio show A conversation is Communication by two or more people or by one's self Eye contact is an event in which two people look at each other's Eyes at the same time

Complications

The term shyness may be implemented as a lay blanket-term for a family of related and partially overlapping afflictions, including timidity (apprehension in meeting new people), bashfulness and diffidence (lack of assertiveness), apprehension and anticipation (general fear of potential interaction), or intimidation (relating to the object of fear rather than one's low confidence). In Humans shyness (also called diffidence) is a Social psychology term used to describe the Feeling of apprehension lack of confidence [1]

It must also be noted that apparent shyness, as perceived by others, may simply be the manifestation of reservation or introversion, character traits which cause an individual to voluntarily avoid excessive social contact or be terse in communication, but are not motivated or accompanied by discomfort, apprehension, or lack of confidence. The trait of Extraversion-Introversion is a central dimension of human personality.

Rather, according to Bernardo J. Carducci, director of the Shyness Research Institute, introverts choose to avoid social situations because they derive no reward from them, or may find surplus sensory input overwhelming. Conversely, shy people fear such situations and feel that they must avoid them. [2]

Shy people tend to perceive their own shyness as a negative trait, and many people are uneasy with shyness in others, especially in cultures which value individuality and taking charge. As commonly used, individual refers to a Person or to any specific object in a collection This generally poor reception of shyness may be misinterpreted by the suffering individual as aversion related to his or her personality, rather than simply to his or her shyness. Both conditions can lead to a compounding of a shy individual's low self-confidence.

In American culture, which tends to value outspokenness and confidence, a shy individual could be perceived as weak. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the To an unsympathetic observer, a shy individual may be mistaken as arrogant or aloof, frustrating the sufferer. In more forgiving arenas, shy people may be perceived to be thoughtful, good listeners and are more likely to think before they speak. Furthermore, boldness, the opposite of shyness, may cause its own problems, such as impertinence or inappropriate behavior. Boldness is an opposite of being shy. A bold person may be willing to risk Shame or rejection in social situations and willing to bend rules of Etiquette

Origins

The initial causes of shyness vary. Scientists have located some genetic data that supports the hypothesis that shyness is at least partially genetic. However, there is also evidence that the environment in which a person is raised can affect their shyness. This includes child abuse, particularly emotional abuse such as ridicule. Child abuse is the physical, psychological or sexual maltreatment of children Psychological abuse or emotional abuse is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another to behavior that is psychologically harmful Shyness can originate after a person has experienced a physical anxiety reaction; at other times, shyness seems to develop first and then later causes physical symptoms of anxiety. Anxiety is a physiological and psychological state characterized by Cognitive, Somatic, Emotional and Behavioral components

Shyness differs from social anxiety, which is a broader, often depression-related psychological condition including the experience of fear, apprehension or worry regarding social situations and being evaluated by others to panic-inducing extents. Social Phobia Social anxiety is a term used to describe an experience of Anxiety ( Emotional discomfort Fear, apprehension or Worry Major depressive disorder, also known as major depression, unipolar depression, unipolar disorder, clinical depression, or simply depression For psychological condition see Panic attack Panic is a sudden Fear which dominates or replaces thinking and often affects groups of

Genetics and heredity

The genetics of shyness is a relatively small area of research that has been receiving an even smaller amount of attention, although papers on the biological bases of shyness date back at least to 1988. Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar)

Some research has indicated that shyness and aggression are related—through long and short forms of the gene DRD4, though considerably more research on this is needed. In Psychology and other social and Behavioral sciences aggression refers to behavior that is intended to cause harm History See also History of genetics The existence of genes was first suggested by Gregor Mendel (1822-1884 who in the 1860s studied inheritance Further, it has been suggested that shyness and social phobia (the distinction between the two is becoming ever more blurred) are related to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Social phobia (DSM-IV 30023 also known as social anxiety disorder (DSM-IV 300 Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD is a Chronic Anxiety disorder most commonly characterized by obsessive Distressing Intrusive thoughts

As with other studies of behavioral genetics, the study of shyness is complicated by the number of genes involved in, and the confusion in defining, the phenotype. Behavioural genetics is the field of Biology that studies the role of Genetics in Animal (including Human) Behaviour. A phenotype is any observable characteristic of an Organism, such as its morphology, Development, biochemical or physiological properties Naming the phenotype – and translation of terms between genetics and psychology — also causes problems. Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and In some research, "behavioral inhibition" is studied, in others anxiety or social inhibition is. One solution to this problem is to study the genetics of underlying traits, such as "anxious temperament. "

Several genetic links to shyness are current areas of research. One of the most promising is the serotonin transporter promoter region polymorphism (5-HTTLPR), the long form of which has been shown to be highly correlated with shyness in grade school children. Previous studies had shown a connection between this form of the gene and both obsessive-compulsive disorder and autism. Language development. The terminology Mouse models have also been used, to derive genes suitable for further study in humans; one such gene, the glutamic acid decarboxylase gene (which encodes an enzyme that functions in GABA synthesis), has so far been shown to have some association with behavioral inhibition. A model organism is a Species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological Phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made Glutamate decarboxylase (GAD is an Enzyme that catalyzes the decarboxylation of Glutamate to GABA and CO2 Enzymes are Biomolecules that catalyze ( ie increase the rates of Chemical reactions Almost all enzymes are Proteins Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA is the chief inhibitory Neurotransmitter in the Mammalian Central nervous system. Another gene, the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) exon III polymorphism, had been the subject of studies in both shyness and aggression, and is currently the subject of studies on the "novelty seeking" trait. A 1996 study of anxiety-related traits (shyness being one of these) remarked that, "Although twin studies have indicated that individual variation in measures of anxiety-related personality traits is 40-60% heritable, none of the relevant genes has yet been identified," and that "10 to 15 genes might be predicted to be involved" in the anxiety trait. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Progress has been made since then, especially in identifying other potential genes involved in personality traits, but there has been little progress made towards confirming these relationships. The long version of the 5-HTT gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) is now postulated to be correlated with shyness, but in the 1996 study, the short version was shown to be related to anxiety-based traits. This confusion and contradiction does not oppose the genetic basis of personality traits, but does emphasize the amount of research there is still to be done before the bases of even one or two of these characteristics can be identified.

Environmental factors

Excessive shyness, embarrassment, self consciousness and timidity, social-phobia and lack of self-confidence are also components of erethism, which is a symptom complex that appears in cases of mercury poisoning[1][2]. Erethism or erethism mercurialis is a symptom complex of mercury poisoning presenting with excessive Shyness, timidity and social phobia Mercury (ˈmɜrkjʊri also called quicksilver or hydrargyrum, is a Chemical element with the symbol Hg ( Latinized hydrargyrum

See also

References

  1. ^ WHO (1976) Environmental Health Criteria 1: Mercury, Geneva, World Health Organization, 131 pp.
  2. ^ WHO. Inorganic mercury. Environmental Health Criteria 118. World Health Organization, Geneva, 1991.

External links

Dictionary

shyness

-noun

  1. The quality of being shy.
  2. A condition that is often created by repeated social failure.
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