To determine whether shyness-eliciting situations identified by college students would generalize to a mote diverse sample, data were gathered from 187 shy females (14 to 58 yr. of age) who responded to a popular magazine's article about shyness. Coding of responses about shyness situations gave a set of categories highly congruent with previous research involving students. Engaging in conversations and encountering strangers or unfamiliar surroundings seem particularly problematic situations for shy people.
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