Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1981, Vol. 41, No.2, 330-339 Copyright 1981 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0022-3514/81 14102-0330$00.75 Shyness and Sociability Jonathan M. Cheek and Arnold H. Buss University of Texas at Austin Two studies investigated the relationship between shyness (tension and inhibition when with others) and sociability (preference for being with others rather than being alone). A factor analysis of shyness and sociability items revealed two distinct factors indicating that shyness and sociability are distinct personality dispositions. Self-reported shyness showed only a moderate negative correlation with self-reported sociability (r = -.30). Furthermore, the measures of shyness and sociability had different patterns of correlations with other personality scales. On the basis of these findings, we concluded that shyness is not just low sociability. Next, four groups of subjects were selected: shy-sociable, shy-unsociable, unshy- sociable, and unshy-unsociable. Pairs of these subjects, matched for both traits, interacted for 5 minutes. Shy-sociable subjects tended to talk less, avert their gaze more, and engage in more self-manipulation than did the other three groups. In studying social behavior, we evidently need to know not only whether subjects are shy but also whether they are sociable. Some people, often called introverts, are typically reserved during social contacts with strangers or casual acquaintances. Are they reticent because they prefer their own com- pany to that of others or because they feel awkward and tense when with others? Per- haps these two causes amount to the same thing-shyness might be nothing more than low sociability. Are the personality disposi- tions of shyness and sociability so inter- twined that to be high on one means to be low on the other? The answer is Yes, by definition, if shyness is defined as nothing more than a tendency to avoid people, for this is the reverse of sociability. If shyness This paper is based on the first author's master's the- sis; the second author was the major adviser for the thesis. We thank Stephen Briggs, Robert Helmreich, John Johnson, and Bill Underwood for their helpful comments on earlier versions of the paper. David Drum and Richard Klein of the Counseling Center of the University of Texas generously provided the videotape equipment and the rooms used in Study 2. We would like to thank Walter Halpenny, Judy Hen- ning, Tim Herfel, and Inez Yarburough for their assis- tance in conducting the experiment. Margie Eisenkraft, Robyn Rothman, Jeff Uzick, and Michelle Chouteau performed ably as raters of the videotapes. Requests for reprints should be sent to Jonathan Cheek, who is now at the Department of Psychology, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass. 02181, or to Arnold Buss, 432 Mezes Hall, Department of Psychology, Uni- versity of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712. 330 and sociability are defined independently, however, their relationship becomes an em- pirical question. We define sociability as a tendency to af- filiate with others and to prefer being with others to remaining alone; this is a standard definition, accepted by virtually all psychol- ogists. We define shyness in terms of one's reaction to being with strangers or casual acquaintances: tension, concern, feelings of awkwardness and discomfort, and both gaze aversion and inhibition of normally expected social behavior (Buss, 1980). Although this definition would also be accepted by most psychologists, it is more specific and circum- scribed than that of others-Zimbardo ( 1977), for instance. In brief, sociability is a preference for af- filiation or need to be with people, and shy- ness is the discomfort and inhibition that may occur in the presence of others. Having defined shyness and sociability indepen- dently, we can now inquire about their re- lationship; this was the purpose of the first study. Study 1 Method Shyness. Although there are several different mea- sures of social anxiety (see Buss, 1980, for details), not