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Approach-avoidance conflict and shyness: A developmental investigation
Raha Hassan1, Kristie L Poole1, Ayelet Lahat2
1Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University.
Developmental Psychology
|June 24, 2021
Summary
Shyness is not caused by approach-avoidance conflict. Instead, high behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and low behavioral activation system (BAS) predict shyness development in adolescents and young adults.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Shyness is theorized to stem from an approach-avoidance motivational conflict.
- Shy individuals desire social engagement but experience high anxiety, hindering interaction.
- Empirical testing of this model in predicting shyness development is lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To empirically test the approach-avoidance conflict model of shyness.
- To examine the association between motivational tendencies and shyness development across different age groups.
- To investigate the role of the Behavioral Inhibition and Activation System (BIS/BAS) in shyness.
Main Methods:
- Two longitudinal studies were conducted.
- Study 1: N=1284 (childhood to adolescence). Study 2: N=83 (emerging to young adulthood).
- Carver and White's BIS/BAS scales and growth curve analyses were used.
Main Results:
- Findings contradicted the approach-avoidance conflict model.
- High BIS/low BAS, not high BIS/high BAS, was associated with higher shyness.
- This association was observed contemporaneously and across development in both studies.
Conclusions:
- The study challenges the traditional approach-avoidance conflict model of shyness.
- Individual differences in approach-avoidance motivations, specifically high BIS/low BAS, are linked to shyness.
- Further research is needed to understand the processes underlying this link in adolescent and young adult development.
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