Attributions of shyness-resembling behaviors by shy and non-shy individuals

Shy and non-shy individuals' attributions of shyness-resembling behaviors in scenarios involving either themselves or other, hypothetical, people were studied through the use of a questionnaire. The participants were Swedish high-school students who rated the extent to which a number of such behaviors could be explained by four different causes, two internal (shyness and lack of interest) and two external (other persons and situational circumstances) causes. The results showed that shy participants attributed their own shyness-resembling behaviors to internal causes to a higher degree than did non-shy participants. Furthermore, non-shy participants attributed their own behaviors to external rather than internal causes, whereas shy participants judged internal and external causes to be about equally good explanations of their own behaviors. Both shy and non-shy participants attributed other people's behaviors to internal rather than external causes. The differences between shy and non-shy participants were discussed in terms of differences in focus of attention, meaning that shy individuals seem to be much more self-focused than non-shy ones. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.