The Influence of Shyness on Loneliness in a New Situation

Abstract

Subjects completed a trait-measure of shyness and a state-measure of loneliness at the start of a new semester (Time 1), and repeated the loneliness measure at the end of the semester (Time 2). Shy students had significantly higher loneliness scores than unshy students at Time 1. Both groups showed a decline in loneliness over the length of the semester, presumably due to habituation, but the shy students were still significantly lonelier than the unshy students at the end of the semester. These findings indicate that both social situations (such as the novel circumstances of a new semester) and personality dispositions (such as shyness) contribute to the amount of loneliness that an individual may experience.

Shyness, Social Anxiety, and Social Phobia

“…Shy individuals and observers alike usually describe shy behaviors as reticent, quiet, awkward, or overactive (Cheek & Briggs, 1982;Zimbardo, 1982). Shy college students are less visible and less assertive in the workplace, and are less likely to use career-planning resources (Cheek & Busch, 1981). They display less verbal fluency and fewer leadership skills.…”

Mobile voice communication and loneliness: Cell phone use and the social skills deficit hypothesis

“…Studies have found that loneliness is positively associated with shyness (Cheek and Busch, 1981), communication apprehension (Zakahi and Duran, 1985), and social anxiety (Segrin and Kinney, 1995). Many studies further provided evidence indicating that skill deficits precede loneliness.…”

Shyness and online social networking services

“…Furthermore, Cheek and Buss (1981) demonstrated that shyness and sociability are orthogonal, suggesting that being shy does not necessarily equate to desiring less social contact. Finally, compared to the less shy, shy individuals report being lonelier (Cheek & Busch, 1981;Neto, 1992) and less socially satisfied (Jones & Carpenter, 1986), indicating unmet social desires.…”