It’s not you, it’s your gender: Do shy children communicate differently based on the other person’s gender?

Shy children tend to use fewer vocalizations than those who are bold, especially with a new person. However, their behaviors may vary by the gender of who they are with. Previous research did not find a gender difference in how shy boys and girls interacted with their teachers (Doey et al., 2013), but the majority of the teachers were female; thus, there was no way to compare how boys and girls might interact with either a female or male. Additionally, teachers are familiar to children, and less is known about shy children’s vocalizations with strangers. Using a sample of 49 shy toddlers, (19 boys and 30 girls), this study examined if there are gender differences in the frequency and type of vocalizations made, and whether shy boys and girls vocalize differently with a male stimulus than with a female stimulus. Participants completed a series of episodes from the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Lab-TAB Toddler version). I will specifically assess the stranger approach (novel male examiner attempts to interact) and stranger working (novel female examiner enters the room) episodes. During these episodes, toddlers’ vocalizations were coded as positive/neutral or negative in affective tones. Data entry is ongoing. I hypothesize that the boy participants will use more positive/neutral vocalizations in stranger approach than in stranger working; and the girl participants will use more positive/neutral vocalizations in stranger working than in stranger approach. The verbal interactions that shy children have with new people are important to understand because they have implications for their communication skills