Temperament and the etiology of social phobia

The purpose of this chapter is to review the role of temperament in the etiology of social phobia. A number of very similar temperamental types or constructs of relevance to the development of social phobia have been described in the literature. Some of the terms used include “inhibition,” “sociability,” “negative emotionality,” “approach,” “withdrawal,” and “shyness.” Although each may have slightly different properties and features, and some of these terms overlap more than others, for the purpose of this review I focus on the similarities between these temperamental constructs.