Shyness, self-presentation, adonization, and influence tactics in close relationships

Abstract

Empirical research reveals the difficulties that shy people must face as part of their social functioning and attaches a pejorative connotation to shyness in the process of establishing and maintaining interpersonal relations. The purpose of the study was to investigate certain aspects of social functioning of shy people: the preferred self-presentation styles, readiness to adopt adonization and influence tactics in intimate relationships. participants and procedure The study was performed on a group of 234 participants (113 females and 121 males), aged 18 to 35 years (M = 24.29). The following questionnaires were used: the Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale, the Self-Presentation Questionnaire, the Questionnaire for Measuring the Attitude toward Adonization, and the Influence in Close Relationships between Women and Men Questionnaire. results The study found that shy people use self-promotion less frequently than non-shy persons and they tend to adopt self-depreciation more often compared to non-shy individuals. Further, a high level of shyness implies a less pronounced tendency to use adonization but a greater readiness to employ hard social influence tactics in close relationships: Threats and violence, Silent treatment and sulking and Complaining and arguing. conclusions Correlations between shyness, self-presentation styles, adonization and influence tactics in close relationships emphasize the role of this disposition in generating social behaviors. Shyness has a negative impact on an individual's social functioning and relations with other people. The negative consequences of shyness are particularly conspicuous in the behavior of men.

Impact of Shyness on Self-Esteem: The Mediating Effect of Self-Presentation

“…Other authors [ 45 , 81 ] showed that shy people tend to employ a protective self-presentational style since they prefer to avoid social disapproval rather than to achieve others’ approval. Mandal and Wierzchoń [ 82 ] revealed that shy individuals are inclined to adopt self-deprecation more often than their less shy counterparts. Simultaneously, non-shy people use self-promotion more frequently than their shy peers.…”

Shyness and self-esteem in women. The role of likeability, personal power, lovability, and self-worth conditioned by others’ approval

“…meaSureS Shyness. Shyness was assessed using the Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale (RCBS; Hopko et al, 2005;Polish version: Kwiatkowska et al, 2016;Mandal & Wierzchoń, 2019). The RCBS consists of 13 statements (e.g.…”

“…Shy persons have a tendency for negative affect and nonconstructive ways of coping with one's own emotionality (Eisenberg et al, 1995). Shyness correlates with defensive styles of self-presentation (Bober et al, 2022;Mandal & Wierzchoń, 2019;Schlenker & Leary, 1982), low influence skills (Ericsson, 2018), and Internet addiction (Li et al, 2023), and implies lower relationship satisfaction (Baker & McNulty, 2010;Rowsell & Coplan, 2013).…”