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“Rubin and Coplan provide a rich literary buffet of current research in developmental aspects of shyness and related issues. Most of the contributors are recognize experts in their fields....The Development of Shyness and Social Withdrawal will be of interest to a wide audience, including developmental psychologists, social psychologists, psychotherapists, psychopathologists, and professionals in special education.”

—PsycCRITIQUES


“This volume answers many questions about shyness....The writing is uniformly clear throughout, which is admirable, given the multiple authors. This book will be valuable to many different audiences, from the more casual reader in need of a one-stop review, to the researcher seeking inspiration, to the clinician seeking guidance. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.”

—Choice


“An excellent and needed summary of the evidence on the multifaceted concept of shyness. This volume will be of great value to investigators probing this domain, as well as to psychologists and psychiatrists who treat children. The book shows how shyness, social withdrawal, and social anxiety are distinct phenomena with distinct etiological pathways, even though the differences among them are often overlooked.”

—Jerome Kagan, PhD, Daniel and Amy Starch Research Professor of Psychology Emeritus, Harvard University


“This is the definitive reference on shyness and social withdrawal, and a service to the field. Contributors have written accessible, up-to-date reviews on diverse aspects of the topic and also grapple with thorny theoretical issues. Even experienced scholars in the area will learn much of value from reading this volume. At the same time, the book is appropriate and accessible for practitioners and for graduate students interested in peer interactions, shyness and social withdrawal, and social anxiety and avoidance.”

—Nancy Eisenberg, PhD, Regents' Professor of Psychology, Arizona State University


“This coherent volume provides an up-to-date review of a major aspect of socioemotional development. The editors begin with a masterly overview of conceptual approaches and relevant constructs. Chapters from highly regarded experts range from biological moderators of withdrawal to contextual influences and clinical implications. This book is a 'must' for anyone interested in understanding the many faces of shyness.”

—Joan Stevenson-Hinde, PhD, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

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Table of Contents

I. INTRODUCTION

1. Social Withdrawal and Shyness in Childhood: History, Theories, Definitions, and Assessments, Robert J. Coplan and Kenneth H. Rubin

II. Constructs and Conceptual Approaches

2. Understanding Shyness: Four Questions and Four Decades of Research, Louis A. Schmidt and Arnold H. Buss

3. Shyness and the Development of Embarrassment and the Self-Conscious Emotions, W. Ray Crozier

4. Unsociability and the Preference for Solitude in Childhood, Robert J. Coplan and Murray Weeks

5. Biological Moderators of Infant Temperament and Its Relation to Social Withdrawal, Nathan A. Fox and Bethany C. Reeb-Sutherland

III. Personal and Interpersonal Processes

6. Shyness, Parenting, and Parent–Child Relationships, Paul D. Hastings, Jacob N. Nuselovici, Kenneth H. Rubin, and Charissa S. L. Cheah

7. Social Withdrawal in Childhood and Adolescence: Peer Relationships and Social Competence, Kenneth H. Rubin, Julie Bowker, and Heidi Gazelle

8. Long-Term Development of Shyness: Looking Forward and Looking Backward, Jens B. Asendorpf

IV. Contexts

9. Language Performance, Academic Performance, and Signs of Shyness: A Comprehensive Review, Mary Ann Evans

10. Shyness–Inhibition in Childhood and Adolescence: A Cross-Cultural Perspective, Xinyin Chen

11. Electronic Communication: Escape Mechanism or Relationship-Building Tool for Shy, Withdrawn Children and Adolescents?, Barry H. Schneider and Yair Amichai-Hamburger

12. “Once Upon a Time There Were a Blushful Hippo and a Meek Mouse”: A Content Analysis of Shy Characters in Young Children’s Storybooks, Robert J. Coplan, Kathleen Hughes, and Hilary Claire Rowsell

V. Clinical Research, Practice, and Treatment

13. Temperament and the Etiology of Social Phobia, Ronald M. Rapee

14. Treating Social Anxiety in Youth, Matthew P. Mychailyszyn, Jeremy S. Cohen, Julie M. Edmunds, Sarah A. Crawley, and Philip C. Kendall

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About the Editors

Kenneth H. Rubin, PhD, is Professor of Human Development and Director of the Center for Children, Relationships, and Culture at the University of Maryland. His research interests include children’s peer and family relationships and their social and emotional development. Dr. Rubin is the recipient of a Killam Research Fellowship (Canada Council) and an Ontario Mental Health Senior Research Fellowship, is past president of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development, and has published 11 books and over 240 peer-reviewed chapters and articles. He is a Fellow of the Canadian and American Psychological Associations and the Association for Psychological Science.

• Author's website
• All titles by Kenneth H. Rubin

Robert J. Coplan, PhD, is a developmental psychologist and Professor of Psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. His research interests concern the overlap between children’s social-emotional functioning and developmental psychopathology, with a primary focus on the development of shyness and social anxiety in childhood. Dr. Coplan is Editor of the journal Social Development and the author of the forthcoming books What Teachers Need to Know about Shyness and Social Development in Childhood and Adolescence: A Contemporary Reader.

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Contributors

Yair Amichai-Hamburger, PhD, Sammy Ofer School of Communications, Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel

Jens B. Asendorpf, PhD, Department of Psychology, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany

Julie Bowker, PhD, Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York

Arnold H. Buss, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas

Charissa S. L. Cheah, PhD, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland

Xinyin Chen, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada

Jeremy S. Cohen, MA, Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Robert J. Coplan, PhD, Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Sarah A. Crawley, MA, Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

W. Ray Crozier, PhD, School of Social Work and Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom

Julie M. Edmunds, MA, Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Mary Ann Evans, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Nathan A. Fox, PhD, Department of Human Development, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

Heidi Gazelle, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina

Paul D. Hastings, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California at Davis, Davis, California

Kathleen Hughes, PhD, Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Philip C. Kendall, PhD, Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Matthew P. Mychailyszyn, MA, Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Jacob N. Nuselovici, PhD, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Ronald M. Rapee, PhD, Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

Bethany C. Reeb-Sutherland, PhD, Department of Human Development, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

Hilary Claire Rowsell, BA, Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Kenneth H. Rubin, PhD, Center for Children, Relationships, and Culture, and Department of Human Development, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

Louis A. Schmidt, PhD, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Barry H. Schneider, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada

Murray Weeks, MA, Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

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Audience

Developmental, clinical, and school psychologists; graduate students in these fields.

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Course Use

May serve as a supplemental text in graduate-level courses.