On the bifurcation of temperamental shyness: Development, adaptation, and neoteny

Co‐occurrence of and cross‐informant agreement on shyness, unsociability, and social avoidance during early adolescence

“…Asendorpf’s () theory conjures an image of a 2‐by‐2 matrix, but we must recognize that withdrawn children and adolescents do not always fit neatly into one cell (Figure ). It is important to note that Asendorpf's model was developed in the context of early childhood, rather than adolescence, when influences on withdrawal may be less complex (Schmidt & Poole, ). That said, subtypes also are associated in younger samples (Coplan et al, ).…”

“…In addition, the preference for solitude increases, whereas negative attitudes toward aloneness decrease, across adolescence (Coplan, Ooi, & Baldwin, ; Danneel, Maes, Vanhalst, Bijttebier, & Goossens, ). Furthermore, withdrawal is expected to be affected more by peers during adolescence relative to childhood (Schmidt & Poole, ). These shifts may affect the development or implications of withdrawal.…”

Frontal brain maturation and the stability of children’s shyness

“…Accordingly, developmental immaturity is thought to have allowed humans the time to develop social cognitive skills (e.g., Bjorklund, ). We argue that some aspects of shyness (i.e., approach‐avoidance conflict) may thus reflect a neotenous phenotype resulting from delayed brain maturation (Schmidt & Poole, ). Interestingly, there is empirical evidence for neoteny in the human brain (Somel et al, ), particularly the prefrontal cortex (Petanjek et al, ).…”

“…Moreover, a relatively lower frontal EEG ADR at this age might reflect relatively less maturation of frontal brain areas involved in the regulation of the emotions of fear and interest. We hypothesize that relatively less overall frontal brain maturation at this age may contribute to emotion dysregulation in social situations, perhaps linked to the approach‐avoidance conflict which characterizes the phenomenon of shyness (e.g., Asendorpf, ; Coplan et al, ; Schmidt & Poole, ). Indeed, reduced and delayed frontal brain maturation has been implicated in a number of behavioral and emotional problems in childhood (see, e.g., Bauer & Hesselbrock, ; Passler et al, ; Zilbovicius et al, ), including shyness (Schmidt & Poole, ).…”

“…Children's shyness is characterized by caution and anxiety in social situations (Coplan Prakash, O'Neil, & Armer, ). One hypothesis underlying shyness is that it is maintained by an inability to regulate competing emotions of fear and interest in social situations (Schmidt & Poole, ), resulting in an approach‐avoidance conflict (Asendorpf, ; Coplan et al, ; see also Schmidt & Buss, ; Schmidt & Miskovic, , for reviews). The ability to regulate emotions such as fear and interest is known to be dependent on the development of the frontal cortex (Fox, ; Posner & Rothbart, ; Schore, ).…”