A Longitudinal Perspective on the Association between Cognition and Temperamental Shyness

Moderate, yet relatively consistent, associations between cognitive performance and shyness have been reported throughout the child and adult literatures. The current study assessed longitudinal associations between cognition (i.e., executive functioning) and parent-report temperamental shyness from infancy to early childhood and used temporal order to explore directionality of the relations. Two hundred eleven children contributed data at multiple ages (5-months, 10-months, 2-years, 3-years, and 4-years). The results indicated a complex pattern of association between cognition and shyness in early development and provided tentative support for both cognitive ability and temperament as causal agents at different developmental time points.