What Do We Think of Shy Adults? Influence of One's Own Shyness and Sociability

Shyness is a ubiquitous personality characteristic present across historical time and cultures. Yet, little is known about perceptions of shy adults in Western society. We examined emerging adults' perceptions of shy and sociable women and whether one's own personality influenced their perceptions. Participants (N = 301, Mage = 19.07 years) were randomized to read a vignette describing either a prototypical shy woman or a prototypical sociable woman and rated their perceptions of the woman in the vignette on various qualities. Participants' shyness and sociability were self-reported. Regardless of the participants' own personality, the sociable woman was rated as ruder and as having a greater number of friends than the shy woman. There were no differences in perceptions of the woman's kindness or success at school, but shy individuals perceived the sociable woman as less successful at work. A similarity effect was found such that one's own shyness was positively associated with a preference for befriending the shy woman, and one's own sociability was positively associated with a preference for befriending the sociable woman. Results are discussed in the context of potential implications of personality perceptions and the role of individual differences in these perceptions.