MINDSET BELIFS AND ATTENTIONAL BIAS 3 Shyness Mindset Beliefs and Attentional Bias : An Experimental Study Implicit Self Theories

Social behavior depends one's perceived level of shyness and the degree to which one believes that level of shyness is fixed versus malleable. Shy entity theorists maintain a fixed mindset and believe that shyness is a trait about themselves that cannot be altered. Shy incremental theorists hold a growth mindset and believe that behavior can change with experience (Beer, 2002). Past studies have shown that interventions can alter mindset beliefs and doing so affects behavior and performance (Aronson, Fried, & Good, 2002). Persons with a fixed shyness mindset have a tendency to view situations that provoke anxiety as threatening (Pergamin-Hight, Naim, Bakermans-Kranenburg, Ijzendoorn, & Bar-Haim, 2014). Reappraising the negative arousal that accompanies anxiety as something positive should then reduce threat vigilance, and decrease the likelihood that anxious individuals will perceive future situations as threatening (Brooks, 2014). Shyness related anxiety frequently results in increased attention toward threatening stimuli. This phenomenon is known as attentional bias. The dot probe paradigm has demonstrated attentional bias in anxious individuals (Asmundson & Stein, 1994). If an intervention is successful in altering shyness mindset beliefs, attentional bias should also be lessened. The current study seeks to use latency scores from an emotional pictures dot probe paradigm to assess for a reduction in attentional bias after administration of a shyness mindset intervention in socially anxious college students. No significant differences were found in latency scores between the control and experimental conditions. SHYNESS MINDSET BELIFS AND ATTENTIONAL BIAS 3 Shyness Mindset Beliefs and Attentional Bias: An Experimental Study Implicit Self Theories Many individuals may believe that a person’s behavior is a result of stable personality traits such as intelligence or shyness, however, behavior may have more to do with the individual’s mindset. Dweck (2006) found evidence to suggest that implicit self-theories (i.e mindsets) are a strong indicator of behavior in performance related situations. Personality traits may be viewed as fixed or malleable. Entity theorists, those who hold a fixed mindset, believe that their character traits are fixed and cannot be changed in any way. Incremental theorists, those who hold a growth mindset, believe their character traits can be altered and change with time and expreiences (Yeager & Dweck, 2012). Each mindset leads to a distinct approach towards performance outcomes and achievement. Entity theorists will focus on academic performance because they believe their performance is an accurate indicator of their intelligence, and incremental theorists attend to learning and aim to achieve self-improvement. Beer (2002) transferred the concept of implicit self-theories to the domain of shyness. Shyness can be defined as “an affective-behavioral syndrome characterized by social anxiety and interpersonal inhibition that results from the prospect or presence of interpersonal evaluation” (Leary, 1986, p. 30). Shy entity theorists believe that their shyness is a trait that they cannot change, and shy incremental theorists believe that their shyness is malleable (Beer, 2002). Shy individuals that report the same perceived levels of shyness will respond differently to an identical social situation depending on their mindset. Those with a fixed shyness mindset display more avoidant behaviors, and those with a growth shyness mindset tend to view a challenging social situation as a learning opportunity despite experiencing negative emotions (Beer, 2002). SHYNESS MINDSET BELIFS AND ATTENTIONAL BIAS 4 Beer (2002) hypothesized that the two contrasting shyness mindsets would be predictors of shy people’s social goals. She expected incremental theorists to view situations related to their shyness as an opportunity to overcome shyness, rather than avoid these situations to avoid failure. Participants completed an avoidant social strategies scale in which they rated eight items on a five point scale ranging from “disagree strongly” to “agree strongly” based on strategies used in social interactions (i.e “Smile so I look interested by don’t have to talk much”). The findings implicated that shy entity theorists utilized more avoidant social strategies, while shy incremental theorists used social interactions as a chance to decrease their shyness. Accordingly, mindsets are a better determinate of behavior, rather than personality traits. Valentiner, Mounts, Duirk, and Gier-Lonsway (2011) found evidence that shyness mindset theory can be applied to better understand shy individuals during their transitions into college. Their study found evidence to suggest that college freshmen who arrived at college with a fixed shyness mindset maintained their levels of performance anxiety, and those who arrived with an incremental shyness mindset saw a decrease in performance anxiety during the first year of college. These findings suggest that using social interactions as an opportunity for growth eventually leads to decreased anxiety.