Measuring shyness: analysis of the Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale

A sample of 741 university students completed the Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness scale. Item analysis showed that the scale has sound psychometric properties. There was no gender difference in total shyness scores although there were differences on two of the 14 items. A series of confirmatory factor analyses tested the fit of several models of the factor structure of the scale and showed that a two-factor model taking into account differences in the direction of item wording provided a satisfactory and parsimonious fit to the data. The implications of the factor structure for understanding the nature of trait shyness are discussed.