ILL GO IF YOU WILL - DO SHY PERSONS UTILIZE SOCIAL SURROGATES

The Social Surrogate hypothesis argues that high-shy persons utilize p ersons in their social network to engage in or facilitate anxiety-prov oking social interactions. High-shy persons should report efforts to r ecruit persons to accompany them into social situations (Recruiting be haviors), report the Surrogate as engaging in the majority of the inte ractions (Utilization behaviors), and report a reduction of their anxi ety and an increase in their participation in social situations (Perfo rmance Increase). In Study 1, questions were generated to assess these behaviors and were given to two samples along with measures of shynes s, sociability and self-esteem. In Study 2, participants were given de scriptions of 14 situations and 10 behaviors and reported their likeli hood of engaging in Recruitment and Utilization behaviors. The two stu dies indicate that high-shy persons actively cope with their anxiety b y recruiting persons in their social network, that this helps the pers ons to enter situations they would otherwise avoid, and that the Surro gate sometimes engages in social interactions in the place of the high -shy person.