Study: Number of 'shy' has grown

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Nov 18, 2001 by Matt Moline Capital-Journal

By Matt Moline

Special to The Capital-Journal

MANHATTAN --- In the movies, actor Mike Myers usually plays characters who are aggressive skirt-chasers or mad scientists plotting world takeovers.

But in real life, Myers suffers from the psychology of shyness, and the actor acknowledges having difficulty granting interviews, says shyness expert Dr. Bernardo Carducci.

Carducci, who lectured on the topic last week at Kansas State University, is the director of the Shyness Research Institute, headquartered at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, Ind.

According to Carducci, Myers isn't alone. As many as 45 percent of Americans can be classified as shy people --- individuals who frequently live out painfully isolated lives.

"One of the things we try to do is let shy people know they are not alone," Carducci said. "If you are shy, you're in some pretty good company --- you're with the rich, the famous, the powerful, and in a sense, the weird."

Besides Myers, other self-acknowledged celebrities who endure shyness include Prince Albert of Monaco, "Weird Al" Yankovic, David Letterman and Sigourney Weaver.

"The problem is, shy people don't think that anybody else is shy," Carducci said. "At a party, they don't think that other person they see standing all by themselves is shy. Instead, shy people suffer in silence. We say, 'look to your left, look to your right, and chances are, one of those individuals is shy.' "

Although Carducci has been studying the human shyness phenomenon for 25 years, a December 1995 article he wrote for Psychology Today magazine brought forth a flood of responses of shy people from across the nation.

The article included a 10-question survey for individuals to answer and return to Carducci's office in Indiana, plus blank space for respondents to relate personal experiences on shyness --- a feature of the survey added almost as an afterthought, Carducci said.

"Two days after this thing came out, I got three letters in the mail, and I was astounded," Carducci said.

By the end of the month, the trickle of responses had turned into an avalanche.

"I had over 1,000 letters in the mail, and what was amazing was what these people wrote in those spaces," Carducci said. "These people wrote hand-written letters, 5-, 10-, 12-, 15-pages long, telling us about their shyness. And literally every one of those letters said, 'Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to talk about it.' "

Based on the 1995 survey, and subsequent research, Carducci found that the largest number --- 40 percent --- of shy people attribute their shyness to family dynamics or patterns.

"Examples people give are, 'my parents moved, my parents were over- protective, my parents didn't have social skills,' " Carducci said. "This was the most common cause of self-perceived shyness."

Based on Carducci's research, 58 percent of shy people report having difficulty in starting casual interpersonal relationships, including meeting people, starting conversations with strangers.

A native of Southern California, Carducci received a doctoral degree in psychology from KSU in 1974.