Shyness and emotion‐processing skills in preschoolers: a 6‐month longitudinal study

Abstract

The present study utilized a short-term longitudinal research design to examine the hypothesis that shyness in preschoolers is differentially related to different aspects of emotion processing. Using teacher reports of shyness and performance measures of emotion processing, including (1) facial emotion recognition, (2) non-facial emotion recognition, and (3) emotional perspectivetaking, we examined 337 Head Start attendees twice at a 24-week interval. Results revealed significant concurrent and longitudinal relationships between shyness and facial emotion recognition, and either minimal or non-existent relationships between shyness and the other aspects of emotion processing. Correlational analyses of concurrent assessments revealed that shyness predicted poorer facial emotion recognition scores for negative emotions (sad, angry, and afraid), but not a positive emotion (happy). Analyses of change over time, on the other hand, revealed that shyness predicted change in facial emotion recognition scores for all four measured emotions. Facial emotion recognition scores did not predict changes in shyness. Results are discussed with respect to expanding the scope of research on shyness and emotion processing to include timedependent studies that allow for the specification of developmental processes.

Shyness and face scanning in children

“…By this logic, they perform well on discriminating facial identity (a static characteristic) but would miss dynamic cues such as changing emotional expressions (Wieser et al, 2009). Shy children are known to show deficits in classification of emotional facial expression (Battaglia et al, 2004;Melfsen & Florin, 2002;Stirling, Eley, & Clark, 2006;Strand, Cerna, & Downs, 2008) and in accurately identifying emotional facial expressions (Simonian, Beidel, Turner, Berkes, & Long, 2001).…”

“…People who are shy are characterized as averting eye contact during social interactions as a means of coping with their social anxiety (Pilkonis, 1977). Perhaps such avoidance of eye contact explains why shy children show deficits in classification of emotional facial expression (Battaglia et al, 2004;Melfsen & Florin, 2002;Stirling et al, 2006;Strand et al, 2008), in accurately identifying emotional facial expressions (Simonian et al, 2001), and in sensitivity to one cue to face recognition-detecting differences among faces in the spacing among facial features (Brunet et al, in press) as noted above. Given that people who are shy apparently can, and do, look at the eyes, this ability to make eye contact could then be perhaps further trained so that people who are shy can learn to maintain eye contact perhaps preventing the manifestation of a cascade of secondary negative events associated with social deficits and the phenomenon of shyness.…”

Differentiating High-Functioning Autism and Social Phobia

“…Similarly to individuals with HFA (e.g., Hobson 1986;Kuusikko et al 2009;Lindner and Rosen 2006;Tantam et al 1989), socially anxious children have difficulty recognizing facial expressions of emotion (Battaglia et al 2003;Simonian et al 2001;Strand et al 2008). However, studies of socially anxious adults have found mixed results, with evidence of a bias in recognition of facial expression, rather than a clear deficit.…”

How Is This Child Feeling? Preschool-Aged Children's Ability to Recognize Emotion in Faces and Body Poses

“…For example, some studies have found relationships in which emotion knowledge skills predicted aggression or disruptive behavior (e.g., Denham et al, 2002; Schultz et al, 2004) and some have not (e.g., Miller et al, 2006). Other studies have reported relationships between emotion knowledge and social skills or adaptation (e.g., Izard et al, 2001; Schultz et al, 2001) and others have not (e.g., Strand, Cerna, & Downs, 2008). …”