Shyness and Cognitions: An Examination of Turkish University Students

Abstract

The authors aimed to examine the relation between shyness and dysfunctional relationship beliefs and to extend findings of previous studies to understand the role of fear of negative evaluation and self-esteem in shyness. Participants were 415 Turkish undergraduate students at Middle East Technical University. The participants completed Turkish versions of the J. M. Cheek and A. H. Buss (1981) Shyness Scale, the Interpersonal Cognitive Distortions Scale (Z. Hamamci & S. Büyükoztürk, 2004) the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (M. R. Leary, 1983), and the M. Rosenberg (1965) Self-Esteem Scale. Bivariate correlations showed that shyness had a significant positive correlation with unrealistic relationship expectations and interpersonal rejection. Fear of negative evaluation and self-esteem also had significant relations to shyness. A stepwise regression analysis indicated that fear of negative evaluation, self-esteem, and interpersonal rejection were significant predictors of shyness, and self-esteem was the best predictor. These results provided evidence of the role of distorted relationship beliefs, approval concerns, and self-evaluations in shyness for Turkish university students. The authors discuss the findings in terms of relevant literature and cultural issues.

Associations among shyness, interpersonal relationships, and loneliness in college freshmen: A longitudinal cross‐lagged analysis

“…Although the negative associations between shyness and interpersonal relationships have been reported by several other authors (e.g., Bruch et al ., ; Koydemir & Demir, ), to our knowledge, the present study is the first to investigate the bidirectional associations between shyness and interpersonal relationships longitudinally. The results indicated that increased shyness negatively predicted later interpersonal relationships.…”

Is Class Appreciation Just a Click Away?: Using Student Response System Technology to Enhance Shy Students' Introductory American Government Experience

“…V. Clark and Arkowitz 1975;Maddux and Stanley 1986). Further, shyer students tend to experience higher levels of social anxiety, social inhibition, and fear of judgment leading them to harbor greater fears of negative evaluation and interpersonal rejection (Koydemir and Demir 2008). It is perhaps not surprising then that shyness has been associated with lower academic performance (Dominguez et al 2010;Fantuzzo et al 2007).…”

Investigating the Relationship between Self-Handicapping Tendencies, Self-Esteem and Cognitive Distortions

“…In the related literature, there has been no research examining the relationship between cognitive distortions and self-handicapping. However, there have been several studies examining the relationship between self-esteem and cognitive distortions (e.g., Daly & Burton, 1983;Hamarta & Demirbaş, 2009;Koydemir & Demir, 2008;Mclennan, 1987;Nasir et al, 2011;Nielsen et al, 1996). The studies mention that when self-esteem is high, cognitive distortion is low, and vice versa.…”

“…An individual with these thoughts makes humiliating definitions about themselves and their self-esteem; they perceive themselves as incomplete, worthless, or problematic (Hiçdurmaz & Öz, 2011). In related literature, it has been mentioned that the more cognitive distortions are used, the lower selfesteem becomes (Daly & Burton, 1983;Hamarta & Demirbaş, 2009;Koydemir & Demir, 2008;Mclennan, 1987;Nasir et al, 2011;Nielsen et al, 1996). According to Briere (2000), there are five types of cognitive distortions: self-criticism (low self-esteem), self-blame (a tendency for blaming oneself about negative events that are beyond one's control), helplessness (a general sense of helplessness concerning unwanted events in one's life), hopelessness (a belief that one's future is inescapably hopeless), and preoccupation with danger (an overestimation of the amount of danger and adversity in the world).…”