This book examines the adaptive aspects of shyness. It addresses shyness as a ubiquitous phenomenon that reflects a preoccupation of the self in response to social interaction, resulting in social inhibition, social anxiety, and social withdrawal. The volume reviews the ways in which shyness has traditionally been conceptualized and describes the movement away from considering it as a disorder in need of treatment. In addition, it examines the often overlooked history and current evidence across evolution, animal species, and human culture, demonstrating the adaptive aspects of shyness from six perspectives: developmental, biological, social, cultural, comparative, and evolutionary.

Topics featured in this book include:

The study of behavioral inhibition and shyness across four academic generations.

The development of adaptive subtypes of shyness.

Shy children's adaptation to academic challenges.

Adaptiveness of introverts in the workplace.

The role of cultural norms and values in shaping shyness.

Perspectives of shyness as adaptive from Indigenous Peoples of North America.

The role that personality differences play on ecology and evolution.

Adaptive Shyness is a must-have resource for researchers and professors, clinicians and related professionals as well as graduate students in developmental psychology, pediatrics, and social work as well as related disciplines, including social/personality, evolutionary, biological, and clinical child psychology, anthropology, sociology, and cultural studies.