2-106 - Shyness in the Classroom Context: A Closer Examination Across Cultures

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Shyness refers to wariness and anxiety in the face of socially novel situations and perceived social evaluation (Rubin & Coplan, 2004). Adjusting to new people (e.g., peers and teachers), couple with demand verbal participation in the school setting may exacerbate shy children’s feelings of social fear and self-consciousness, and thus impair their development (Coplan & Arbeau, 2008). Further, the characteristics of cultural context and schooling system across cultures may impact the adjustment of shy children in the school. Thus, in this symposium, we aim to examine the adjustment of shy children in the school across four countries by taking the cultural context into account. Specifically, Study 1 will examine Chinese kindergarten teachers’ beliefs towards shyness. Study 2 will investigate the potential role of classroom quality in the socially anxious children’s approaches to learning in the United States. Study 3 will examine the underlying processes and conditions that contribute the school adjustment and performance of shy children in Turkey. Finally, Study 4 will investigate the role of socially anxious children’s peer relationships in their behavioral school engagement, including task orientation, assertive social skills, acting-out behaviors. Together, the findings from these papers shed light on the adjustment of shy children in the school setting across different Eastern and Western cultural contexts.

Sub Unit

• Social Relationships

Chairs

• Sevgi Bayram Ozdemir, Örebro University

• Kristen Archbell, Carleton University

Individual Presentations

• What do Chinese Kindergarten Teachers Think about Shy Children? - Presenting Author: Kristen Archbell, Carleton University; Yan Li, Shanghai Normal University; Robert J. Coplan, Carleton University

• Anxious withdrawal behavior and approach to learning: an examination of preschool experiences in low income children - Presenting Author: Irina Kalutskaya, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Eric S Buhs, University of Nebraska, Lincoln

• Processes and Conditions Underlying the Link between Shyness and School Adjustment among Turkish Children - Presenting Author: Sevgi Bayram Ozdemir, Örebro University; Charissa Siew Lyng Cheah, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Robert J. Coplan, Carleton University

• Shyness and Behavioral School Engagement in India: The Moderating Role of Peer Acceptance - Presenting Author: Andrea Markovic, State University of New York, Buffalo; Julie C Bowker, University at Buffalo, SUNY; Shanmukh V. Kamble, Department of Psychology, Karnatak University, India