Development and validation of a Shyness Scale

Abstract

Human beings are social animals that need to interact with one another in order to meet most of their needs. The implication is that people will need to have appropriate social skills in order to compete effectively. Yet there are some people who find it difficult to interact with others. These people are often labeled shy. Recent investigations suggest that shyness could be debilitating and could have negative consequences. To this end, there is need to develop a psychometrically sound instrument to measure shyness in non-Western population for proper a management. This study is therefore aimed at developing and providing a construct validity of a short screening measure of shyness using Nigerian samples. Data were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Outcomes provided two-factorial structure (social ineptness and social competence) for the Shyness Scale. Results further showed a satisfactory alpha coefficient for the two factors. Future studies may assess the convergent and the divergent validity of the scale and adapt it to other non-Western cultures.