Human Growth and Development / Unit 6 HGD 0797 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
The Approach–Avoidance Model
The idea
Rubin and colleagues' approach–avoidance model sorts withdrawal by two motives. Low approach and low avoidance is introversion: unsociable but content alone. Low approach and high avoidance is avoidance, often after rejection or victimisation. High approach and high avoidance is shyness: wanting to join but fearing judgement. High approach and low avoidance is the ordinary sociable child.
In practice
Four children at a party: one happily reading alone, one hiding after being teased, one hovering near the group, one in the middle of it.
Where people slip
The model separates children who look alike from outside. The unsociable child reading alone needs nothing fixed; the shy child wants to join and fears judgement; the avoidant child may be reacting to how others have treated them. Shyness has biological correlates, such as a faster resting heart rate and higher cortisol, and a threat bias, reading neutral faces as angry. In cultures that value group goals, extreme shyness may carry less risk.
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