Social phobia and social anxiety as components of shyness

The purpose of this study was to investigate the conceptual nature of shyness by examining its relationship with social phobia and social anxiety in a non-clinical sample. The participants in the present study were 132 introductory psychology students who completed the Cheek-Buss Shyness Scale (CBSS), Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN), and Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). Internal correlational analyses (all p's <.05) indicated that the SPIN total scores correlated with 18 of 20 items of the CBSS. Of the 20 items of the CBSS, 17 correlated significantly with the fear-anxiety subscales of the LSAS while 13 correlated significantly with the LSAS avoidance subscale. A discussion of the treatment implications of the present results and suggestions for future research to examine the cognitive dimension of shyness, social phobia, and social anxiety is also presented. (Contains 1 table and 16 references.) (Author/JDM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document