A modest proposal to link shyness and modesty: Investigating the relation within the framework of Big Five personality traits

Shyness and modesty are similar constructs, but to date no study has investigated their relationship empirically, hence the goal of this study was to examine this relationship and how shyness and modesty are related to the Big Five model of personality. We administered a set of self-report measures of shyness, modesty and Big Five personality traits to 727 adults in Poland. The results conformed to our expectations, revealing that shyness and modesty are positively correlated traits. Moreover, in regard to Big Five personality traits, both of them were negatively related to extraversion and positively to neuroticism, but only modesty was positively related to agreeableness. Our findings are discussed in light of previous research and theory.

害羞与谦逊虽属同类结构，然而迄今为止，尚无研究对其关系进行实证调查。因此，本研究旨在探讨二者之间的关系，以及害羞与谦逊如何与人格的五大模型相联系。本研究对波兰的727位成年人施以一系列关于害羞、谦逊以及五大人格特质的自我报告测量。研究结果符合我们的预期，揭示了害羞与谦逊为正相关特质。此外，在五大人格特质方面，二者均与外向性呈负相关，与神经质呈正相关，但仅谦逊与宜人性呈正相关。本研究成果在参考先前研究和理论的基础上进行讨论。