The Contribution of Self‐Efficacy Beliefs to Dispositional Shyness: On Social‐Cognitive Systems and the Development of Personality Dispositions

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
This longitudinal research explored the impact of self‐efficacy beliefs on self‐reported tendencies to experience shyness in interpersonal encounters among a population of adolescents studied over a two‐year period. Self‐efficacy measures, taken at the initial measurement period, included indices of perceived self‐efficacy for forming and maintaining social relationships, dealing effectively with parents, managing negative emotions, and expressing positive emotions towards others. Levels of self‐reported shyness as well as emotional stability were assessed also at time 1, with shyness measured again at the follow‐up assessment two years later. Structural equation modeling indicated that two of the four self‐efficacy measures uniquely contributed to levels of shyness reported at time 1, and that perceptions of social self‐efficacy uniquely contributed to shyness at time 2 even when considering the effects of time 1 shyness levels. Emotional stability did not uniquely contributed to time 2 shyness after considering the relation between shyness at the first and second measurement points. The broad implications of social‐cognitive analyses for the study of personality development are discussed.

This publication has 54 references indexed in Scilit: