Are women who are shy reluctant to take risks? Behavioral and psychophysiological correlates

Behavior and heart rate were measured during a gambling task designed to in dex risk taking in a sample of undergraduate women, some of whom self-repor ted high and low shyness. We found that high shy subjects were significantl y more cautious in their gambling pick and exhibited a significantly greate r increase in heart rate during the task compared with their low shy counte rparts. We speculate that some women who are extremely shy may have a low t hreshold for arousal, reflected in increased autonomic activity, which may interfere with some decision-making processes. (C) 1999 Academic Press.