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The Effects of Gender and Shyness on the Degree of Self Consciousness

Melissa Houghton

Indiana University Southeast

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Abstract

Self-consciousness can negatively interfere with one’s life. The current study examined

the effects of shyness level and gender on the degree of self-consciousness. Research has shown

that individuals who experience high shyness levels also experience high self-consciousness.

Gender has also shown to be an influence for shyness and self-consciousness. It was

hypothesized that the higher the shyness level, the greater the self-consciousness, males would

experience more self-consciousness than females, and that there would be a strong interaction

between gender and shyness level with males experiencing more self-consciousness than

females. 94 participants were involved in the study with 74 being female and 20 being male. The

first hypothesis was supported with the second and third hypotheses not being supported. The

discussion section provides further details.

Word count: 124

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The Effects of Gender and Shyness on the Degree of Self Consciousness

Numerous studies have focused on what causes shyness and self-consciousness and how

to obtain better coping mechanisms for people who experience frequent occurrences of these

emotional states of being. Past studies show various theories that define shyness and focus on

whether experience and knowledge can alter shyness or if it’s a permanent trait. Incremental

theorists believe that shyness can change through education and experience whereas entity

theorists believe that shyness is a fixed trait that cannot be changed, (Beer, 2002). Regardless of

the point of view held, several studies have indicated the importance of researching shyness and

self-consciousness.

When a person experiences self-consciousness, it could interrupt their daily routine from

how it stops the individual from living in the present moment and keeps the individual from

reaching their full potential. Fenigstein (1979) did a study that highlights these effects and found

that participants with high levels of self-consciousness were more aware of how they were

perceived by others, were more sensitive and reacted more negatively to rejection then those in

the low self-conscious group. Being preoccupied with oneself was shown to intensify the self-

evaluation and when participants were more aware of themselves during social interaction, it

increased self-evaluation from others.

Other ways that self-consciousness interferes with daily life is the tendency to feel guilty.

Feher and Stamps (1979) found that participants that were shy were more likely to have

increased feelings of guilt. Participants who held both the shyness and guilt trait were found to

be high on anxiety, low in hostility, and low in self-esteem. Shy women were also found to have

strong reservations about their sexual feelings as well as their morality of their past, present and

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future behavior; the reservations held could be linked to self-consciousness from the experience

of withholding attitudes of moral conduct and sexual behavior.

Self-consciousness also negatively affects relationship quality. Rowsell and Coplan’s

(2013) reported that shyness is related to poor relationship quality and positively related to

insecure attachment. Individuals who hold the insecure attachment belief have difficulty with

holding a sense of security and being emotionally intimate whereas those who hold the secure-

attachment belief have less difficulty with being intimate and secure in a relationship. Thus,

individuals who hold the insecure attachment belief are more likely to experience some form of

self-consciousness from the anxiety that is experienced when attempting to open up whereas

those who are securely-attached are less likely to be self-conscious and have a better quality

relationship.

Self-consciousness not only interferes with quality of relationships but also the quality of

performance in academics. Coplan, Gavinski-Molina, Lagacé-Séguin, and Wichmann (2001)

found that children who display reticent behavior on a frequent basis scored lower on academic

achievement and tended to perform poorly during academic assessment. Studies have also shown

that gender plays a role in shyness and self-consciousness. Coplan, Gavinski-Molina, Lagacé-

Séguin, and Wichmann (2001) have found that solitary passive behavior in boys led to negative

adjustment to the environment whereas solitary passive behavior in girls led to positive

adjustment.

Additional research that reports the influence of gender is Phillips and Bruch’s (1988)

research on shyness and dysfunction in career development in undergraduates. Findings indicate

that assertive expression is problematic for shy men compared to non-shy men; shy men

perceived assertive interview behaviors as less appropriate and with all other groups including

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women, shy men had the lowest expectation that various assertive responses would be helpful in

creating a positive impression on an employer.

Other studies that support how gender is influenced by shyness and self-consciousness is

Czeschlik and Nürk’s (1995) study which indicated that American undergraduate and newlywed

males were shyer then their female counterparts whereas German males were slightly shyer than

females but also significantly less sociable. This evidence shows that across cultures that gender

plays a role in shyness and self-consciousness.

Numerous studies have indicated that gender stereotypes may be a possible explanation

as to why gender is an influence of self-consciousness and shyness. Bruch (2002) found that

shyness and toughness added on to men’s difficulties in expressing emotions and in expressing

affection to other men. Shy men who follow a gender role of toughness were less likely to self-

disclose to others and have general difficulty in expressing emotions. Findings suggest that since

shyness involves thoughts arising from fear of negative evaluation and toughness involves acting

confident and strong, men would experience a greater degree of emotional inexpression.

Additional research from Coplan, Rose-Krasnor, Weeks, Kingsbury A., Kingsbury M,

and Bullock (2013) found that increased levels of shyness would be more problematic for shy

boys than for shy girls because of the gender norms in regards to dominance and assertiveness.

Results also show that unsociability was strongly linked to peer problems among boys than girls.

From this evidence, it suggests that gender stereotypes increases the degree of self-consciousness

already experienced from the expectations that children have to follow gender roles.

Other research that supports how gender stereotypes may add on to the influence of

gender on self-consciousness and shyness is the findings from Phillips and Bruch’s (1988) study

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which found a significant interaction between shyness and gender. The possible reasoning

behind this interaction is the effects of stereotypes for men; men are expected to be assertive

which could increase the self-consciousness and shyness that is already experienced.

Studies have also shown that shyness comes from internalized behavior. Xu, Farver, Yu,

and Zhang (2009) found that shyness towards strangers, anxious shyness and regulated shyness

were all related to internalized behavior and differences in heart rate. The internalized behavior

that is resulted from shyness could be related to self-consciousness from children being pre-

occupied with their own behavior during social interaction.

Additional research from Alm (2007) supported the link of shyness being caused by

internalization. Findings show that a higher degree of self-reported shyness was associated with

an increasing pattern to associate shyness as an internal rather than external cause. Symptoms of

internalized behavior such as preoccupation of negative thoughts are related to self-conscious

behavior which suggests a possible association between shyness and self-consciousness.

The present study looked at the gender differences and the effects of shyness upon self-

consciousness. Past research has shown that gender is influenced by shyness and self-

consciousness, (Phillip & Bruch, 1988). Multiple studies have also supported the link between

shyness and self-consciousness, (Xu, Farver, Yu, and Zhang, 2009). Research has also indicated

that gender and shyness affect self-consciousness, (Phillip & Bruch, 1988). In conclusion to

these findings, the hypotheses go as follows. The first hypothesis predicted that the higher the

shyness level, the greater the self-consciousness. The second hypothesis predicted that males

would experience more self-consciousness than females. Lastly, the third hypothesis predicted

that there would be a strong interaction between gender and shyness level on self-consciousness

with males experiencing a stronger relationship between gender and shyness level than females.

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Method

Participants

The current study used 94 participants with 20 males and 74 females. Convenience

sampling was used in our study. Participants were recruited through four psychology courses at

Indiana University Southeast, the psychology participant pool at Indiana University Southeast,

the University of Louisville campus, and through facebook. Participants were required to be 18

years old or older in order to participate. Participation was on a voluntary basis. Four courses

offered extra credit. Participants who took the survey through the psychology participant pool

received class credit. An alternative assignment was offered if participants did not wish to be in

the study.

Measures

Demographic data included the biological sex, age group and class ranking. Researchers

used the Revised Cheek and Buss Scale (RCBS) (Hopko, Stowell, Jones, Armento, & Cheek,

2005) and the Self-Consciousness Scale (SCS-R) (Scheier & Carver, 1985).

The Revised Cheek and Buss Scale (RCBS) measured shyness, anxiety and related

constructs. The survey had a total of 20 questions and was measured on a five point likert scale

which ranged from very uncharacteristic to very characteristic. Statements included, “I am shy

when meeting someone of the opposite sex” and “I feel painfully self-conscious when I am

around strangers.” Participants were scored into either low, medium, or high shyness level based

on their response. High scores in one category would indicate high shyness level.

The Self-consciousness scale (SCS-R) measured levels of self-consciousness which had a

total of 22 questions on a four point likert scale ranging from very uncharacteristic to very

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characteristic. Statements included, “It takes me time to get over shyness in new situations” and

“I get embarrassed very easily.” When all items are completed, scores will be totaled together for

an overall self-consciousness score, (Scheier & Carver, 1985). Self-consciousness level is

dependent on the score received, (Scheier & Carver, 1985).

Procedure

Researchers asked professors permission to share surveys with their class. For two of the

upper level psychology courses, researchers sent the invite and survey link to professors to share

on Oncourse. For facebook and the psychology participant pool, researchers copied and pasted

the invite and survey link to participants. For the introductory psychology course and upper level

psychology course, researchers visited and distributed surveys as follows. Researchers utilized

protocol script to inform participants about the study. Students in the classes were given the

option to volunteer or opt out of the study beforehand. Professors offered extra credit for

participation; if students did not want to participate, they were offered an alternative assignment

to gain the extra credit points. Students were told that surveys would remain anonymous and to

not put their name on the survey in order to protect their identity. After informing the students,

they began the survey which took approximately 10 minutes to complete. The completed surveys

were placed in a manila envelope and the students were thanked for their participation in the

study. Researchers then collected and analyzed data using SPSS to determine whether the

hypotheses were supported. For students at the University of Louisville, researchers distributed

surveys in the exact same manner as they did for the introductory and upper level psychology

courses except students were in the outside environment and were not in a classroom setting.

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Results

A 2 x 3 ANOVA was tested to measure the effects of gender and shyness level on the

degree of self-consciousness. Table 1 and table 2 illustrates the overall descriptive statistics for

the current study. The first hypothesis predicted that the greater the shyness level would result in

greater self-consciousness. Shyness level was shown to have a significant difference on self-

consciousness, F (2, 88) = 32.414, p < .01.

A tukey post-hoc test was done to see where the significant difference came from. High

shyness level (M=68.55, SD=1.69) was shown to be greater than medium and low shyness.

Medium shyness (M=60.48, SD=1.47) was shown be greater than low shyness level (M=51.00,

SD=1.41). This shows that as shyness level increases, so does the degree of self-consciousness,

as can be seen in Table 3.

The second hypothesis predicted that men will experience a greater degree of self-

consciousness than women. There was no significant difference, F (1, 88) = 0.949, p>.05. Table

4 illustrates how the second hypothesis was not supported.

The third hypothesis predicted that there would be a strong interaction between gender

and shyness level on self-consciousness with males experiencing a higher degree of self-

consciousness than females. There was no significant interaction, F (2, 88) =0.082, p>.05.

Discussion

As past research found, when shyness level increased, so did the degree of self-

consciousness. Since the first hypothesis was supported, it shows that there was a link between

shyness and self-consciousness. A possible reason behind this finding is that both shyness and

self-consciousness have similar constructs, such as social anxiety which would explain why both

increase at the same time (Colonnesi, Napoleone, & Bögels, 2014).

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Additional research shows that the external stimuli is a possible reason behind shyness

level and self-consciousness increasing at the same time. Xu, Farver, Yu, and Zhang (2009)

found that internalized behavior was found for shyness towards strangers group and anxious

shyness group. Results states that if an individual is in an unfamiliar environment then it would

provoke shyness; this suggests that it would also in turn provoke self-consciousness.

Other research shows that the self-belief that an individual holds influences shyness level and

the degree of self-consciousness experienced, (Beer, 2002). Individuals who held the entity

theory viewed social situations as punishment and to be best avoided whereas individuals who

held the incremental theory seen social situations as opportunities to learn and improve. Thus

results showed that shy incremental theorists were less nervous, shy and perceived as more

socially competent than their shy entity counterparts. This suggests that the self-beliefs that an

individual hold shape their social environment. This also suggests that the increase in both

shyness and self-consciousness experienced could come from the belief an individual holds.

For the second hypothesis, males did not experience more self-consciousness than

females in this study. For the third hypothesis, there was no significant interaction between

gender and shyness level on self-consciousness and males did not experience a higher degree of

self-consciousness than females. Further details as to why the second and third hypotheses were

not supported is provided later on.

An increase in male participation could have changed the results for hypotheses two and

three. The 20 males that participated in the study produced similar scores compared to the 74

females that participated which suggests that if there were more male participation, the average

score for males could have been higher.

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Participants may also be experiencing the social desirability effect in regards to

traditional gender roles. Shy and self-conscious participants may not reveal their true feelings

because they want to seem more socially desirable. Research that supports this reasoning comes

from Santee and Maslach (1982) study which found that self-consciousness was positively linked

to conformity objecting to a solution and conformity. Santee and Maslach (1982) research

suggest that individuals who are self-conscious may want to conform in full agreement to avoid

the self-consciousness experience whereas those who are not self-conscious have less difficulty

with objecting to a different point of view. Another possible reason as to why the second and

third hypotheses were not supported come from Findlay and Coplan (2008) which found that

being involved in recreational sports lessen the degree of shyness experienced and strengthened

inner support group; non-involved participants were more likely to be shy than involved-

participants. This suggests that male participants may have a strong inner-circle from being

involved in recreational activities so they would be less likely to experience shyness in the first

place.

Other possible reasons as to why the second and third hypotheses were not supported is

that shy and self-conscious participants would be less likely to participate in studies where

attention would be drawn to them.

In the future, it would be good to consider investigating the relationship between shy and

non-shy males and whether shy and non-shy males experience maladjustment behavior. It is

suggested to have an equal number of participants in each group to avoid a gap in the sample.

Future researchers may want to perform a correlational study to see the relationship between shy

and non-shy males; since the current study did not receive significant findings for males, it

would be purposeful to focus solely on males to increase the knowledge and understanding of

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shyness in males. Shyness level would be the independent variable with level one being shy and

level two being non-shy. Maladjustment behaviors would be the dependent variable.

Overall, the current study helped to add knowledge regarding the relationship between

shyness and self-consciousness. It also helped further understanding the gender differences in

self-consciousness, even if there were not any significant differences found in the study and can

help further develop coping mechanisms for dealing with severe cases of shyness and self-

consciousness.

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References

Alm, C. (2007). The role of shyness and self-focused attention for attribution of reactions in

social situations to internal and external causes. Scandinavian Journal Of

Psychology, 48(6), 519-527.

Beer, J.S. (2002). Implicit self-theories of shyness. Journal of Personality and Social

Psychology, 83(4), 1009 – 1024.

Bruch, M. A. (2002). Shyness and toughness: Unique and moderated relations with men's

emotional inexpression. Journal Of Counseling Psychology, 49(1), 28-34. 

Coplan, R. J., Gavinski-Molina, M. H., Lagacé-Séguin, D. G., & Wichmann, C. (2001). When

girls versus boys play alone: Nonsocial play and adjustment in

kindergarten. Developmental Psychology, 37(4), 464-474.

Coplan, R. J., Rose-Krasnor, L., Weeks, M., Kingsbury, A., Kingsbury, M., & Bullock, A.

(2013). Alone is a crowd: Social motivations, social withdrawal, and socioemotional

functioning in later childhood. Developmental Psychology, 49(5), 861-875. 

Czeschlik, T., & Nürk, H. (1995). Shyness and sociability: Factor structure in a German

sample. European Journal Of Psychological Assessment, 11(2), 122-127.

Fehr, L. A., & Stamps, L. E. (1979). Guilt and Shyness: A Profile of Social Discomfort. Journal

Of Personality Assessment, 43(5), 481.

Fenigstein, A. (1979). Self-consciousness, self-attention, and social interaction. Journal Of

Personality And Social Psychology, 37(1), 75-86.

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Findlay, L. C., & Coplan, R. J. (2008). Come out and play: Shyness in childhood and the benefits

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Table 1. Descriptive Statistics          

Variable N Mean Minimum Maximum S.D. Range

Shyness 94 54.85 23 98 16.71 75

Self-Consciousness 94 60.26 38 88 9.99 50

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Table 2. Maximum and minimum possible values for scales

Scale Possible Minimum Possible Maximum

Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale 20 100

Self-Consciousness Scale 22 88

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Table 3. Shyness Level Means upon Self Consciousness

Shyness Level Mean Value N S.D.

Low 51.00 32 1.41

Medium 60.48 33 1.47

High 68.55 29 1.69

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Table 4. F-value and significance of gender effects on self-consciousnessDegree of Freedom

F-ValueSignificance

1.949.333