related concepts (Buss, 1980; Leary, 1983b), most researchers today appear
to use the terms social anxiety andshyness synonymously. Concepts like dat-
ing anxiety and stage fright are often regarded as specific examples of the
larger concept of social anxiety. Moreover, scales designed to measure social
anxiety, shyness, and related constructs are highly correlated with one an-
other (Anderson & Harvey, 1988). Consequently, I will use the terms social
anxiety andshyness interchangeably here.
It also is important to recognize that social anxiety is not the same as in-
troversion. Whereas introverts often choose to be by themselves, the vast ma-
jority of socially anxious people do not like their shyness. Nearly two thirds
of the socially anxious people in one study identified their shyness as “a real
problem, ”and one quarter of the shy participants said they would be willing
to seek professional help to overcome their social anxiety (Pilkonis, 1977a).
Characteristics of Socially Anxious People
People who suffer from social anxiety have a difficult time in many social situa-tions. Socially anxious people report feeling awkward and nervous when theyhave to talk to others, particularly when interacting with people they don ’t200 CHAPTER 8 The Trait Approach
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