August 20, 2007 1:00 PM
- Text
What Triggers School Shooters?
- Adele's Grammy Comeback After Vocal Cord Surgery
- Treating Sleep Apnea in Kids Improves Behavior, Quality of Life
- Chemo May Not Harm Unborn Baby
- C-Sections Not Always Best for Small Babies
- CDC: Doctors Increasingly Prescribe Exercise
- Osteoporosis Medication Linked to Unusual Thigh Fractures
- More from WebMD »
Harris, left, and Klebold, carrying a TEC-9 semi-automatic pistol, are pictured in the cafeteria at Columbine High School during their April 20, 1999, shooting rampage. Both gunmen killed themselves later in the school library. This still image is from a video tape released by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department.
(AP)
(WebMD)
Teens who have gone on shooting rampages at high schools in the past decade share a common personality characteristic, according to a new study.
These school shooters suffer from "cynical shyness," says Bernardo J. Carducci, PhD, a researcher in the study and a professor of psychology and director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany.
While shyness and violence don't seem to go together, they can when someone is cynically shy, Carducci says.
"Cynical shyness is a new term," he says. "This is a variation of shyness. Probably less than 2 percent of shy people are this way."
Like other shy people, these cynically shy people reach out to others, wanting friendship, but lack social skills, Carducci tells WebMD. They often get rejected by their peers, feel hurt, and eventually become cynical and want to retaliate against those who reject them.
Carducci presented the study at the American Psychological Association's 115th annual convention in San Francisco.
The Shyness-Violence Link
Carducci began to think about the concept of "cynical shyness" more than a decade ago, when he did a survey asking people about their shyness.
"One of the letters we got sort of jumped out," he tells WebMD. "It was from a person who said his shyness not only held him back but talked about how other people thought they were better than he was, about how smart he really was, and how stupid they really were. There was a vitriolic tone, and I thought, 'This guy is really cynical.'"
The process, Carducci tells WebMD, goes like this: "Shy people truly want to be social, but they can't. When they do try to reach out, they often feel rejected. If people start to reject you, you begin to move away from these people. You disengage and then you start to get angry."
Sometimes those feelings against others go further, he says. "Once you start moving away, that is when you start to berate them. In a sense you become a cult of one."
Study Details
Carducci and his university co-researcher, Kristin Terry Nethery, evaluated the personality of the eight school shooters who were involved in seven shootings, including Columbine High School in 1999. They looked for indicators of cynical shyness, such as lack of empathy, low tolerance for frustration, angry outbursts, social rejection from peers, bad family relations, and access to weapons.
Using information from magazine, newspaper, and online reports of the shootings that included descriptions and information about the shooters, as well as information from an FBI report, Carducci and Nethery evaluated 30 characteristics that pointed to a person being cynically shy. The shooters were all male and ranged in age from 14 to 18. Seven were white and one was Native American.
"All eight had the characteristic features of cynical shyness," he says.
Other Shyness Experts Weigh In
The new concept of cynical shyness and violence makes sense, says Philip Zimbardo, PhD, a long-time shyness researcher and author of The Lucifer
Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil. "Cynical shyness makes sense in that a constant feeling of being rejected can lead to fantasies of retaliation," he says.
"The key in all of this," he says, "is that school shooters are relatively rare, given the high proportion of kids who are shy. Our research shows that 40 percent or more, almost 50 percent [of the population] is shy.
"Shy people spend a lot of time in their own head," Zimbardo tells WebMD. "In some cases, where there is real rejection, the shy person begins to develop fantasies of retaliation." In the case of the school shooters, he says, "it's not simply revenge against the bully, it's revenge that gets generalized to all people who in any way have slighted you."
But additional factors besides the shooter's personality come into ply, Zimbardo tells WebMD. "Beyond the personality of the shooters are the local class situation and the school and national system that enable such violence." The increased availability of weapons also plays a role, he says.
Another expert says even if shy teens get a bit angry over getting rejected, it may not be something to be alarmed over. "The vast majority of these shy kids...don't lash out in violence in a very extreme way," says Alex Mason, PhD, a research associate professor in the Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington in Seattle.
Mason calls the study interesting but has a caveat: Online news reports may not be comprehensive enough to gather information on a shooter's personality, he says.
What Parents, Teachers Can Do
Carducci suggests parents and teachers reach out to shy students. "What we are proposing is that what we need to do is find ways for these people to connect," Carducci says. "Counselors, teachers, and parents should help."
He tells parents of shy teens to let them get a job if they are old enough to work. "It's a semi-structured social situation," says Carducci. At a fast-food outlet, for instance, the worker has a script to follow when dealing with customers. "These co-workers can turn into friends."
By Kathleen Doheny
Reviewed by Louise Chang
©2007 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved
These school shooters suffer from "cynical shyness," says Bernardo J. Carducci, PhD, a researcher in the study and a professor of psychology and director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany.
While shyness and violence don't seem to go together, they can when someone is cynically shy, Carducci says.
"Cynical shyness is a new term," he says. "This is a variation of shyness. Probably less than 2 percent of shy people are this way."
Like other shy people, these cynically shy people reach out to others, wanting friendship, but lack social skills, Carducci tells WebMD. They often get rejected by their peers, feel hurt, and eventually become cynical and want to retaliate against those who reject them.
Carducci presented the study at the American Psychological Association's 115th annual convention in San Francisco.
The Shyness-Violence Link
Carducci began to think about the concept of "cynical shyness" more than a decade ago, when he did a survey asking people about their shyness.
"One of the letters we got sort of jumped out," he tells WebMD. "It was from a person who said his shyness not only held him back but talked about how other people thought they were better than he was, about how smart he really was, and how stupid they really were. There was a vitriolic tone, and I thought, 'This guy is really cynical.'"
The process, Carducci tells WebMD, goes like this: "Shy people truly want to be social, but they can't. When they do try to reach out, they often feel rejected. If people start to reject you, you begin to move away from these people. You disengage and then you start to get angry."
Sometimes those feelings against others go further, he says. "Once you start moving away, that is when you start to berate them. In a sense you become a cult of one."
Study Details
Carducci and his university co-researcher, Kristin Terry Nethery, evaluated the personality of the eight school shooters who were involved in seven shootings, including Columbine High School in 1999. They looked for indicators of cynical shyness, such as lack of empathy, low tolerance for frustration, angry outbursts, social rejection from peers, bad family relations, and access to weapons.
Using information from magazine, newspaper, and online reports of the shootings that included descriptions and information about the shooters, as well as information from an FBI report, Carducci and Nethery evaluated 30 characteristics that pointed to a person being cynically shy. The shooters were all male and ranged in age from 14 to 18. Seven were white and one was Native American.
"All eight had the characteristic features of cynical shyness," he says.
Other Shyness Experts Weigh In
The new concept of cynical shyness and violence makes sense, says Philip Zimbardo, PhD, a long-time shyness researcher and author of The Lucifer
Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil. "Cynical shyness makes sense in that a constant feeling of being rejected can lead to fantasies of retaliation," he says.
"The key in all of this," he says, "is that school shooters are relatively rare, given the high proportion of kids who are shy. Our research shows that 40 percent or more, almost 50 percent [of the population] is shy.
"Shy people spend a lot of time in their own head," Zimbardo tells WebMD. "In some cases, where there is real rejection, the shy person begins to develop fantasies of retaliation." In the case of the school shooters, he says, "it's not simply revenge against the bully, it's revenge that gets generalized to all people who in any way have slighted you."
But additional factors besides the shooter's personality come into ply, Zimbardo tells WebMD. "Beyond the personality of the shooters are the local class situation and the school and national system that enable such violence." The increased availability of weapons also plays a role, he says.
Another expert says even if shy teens get a bit angry over getting rejected, it may not be something to be alarmed over. "The vast majority of these shy kids...don't lash out in violence in a very extreme way," says Alex Mason, PhD, a research associate professor in the Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington in Seattle.
Mason calls the study interesting but has a caveat: Online news reports may not be comprehensive enough to gather information on a shooter's personality, he says.
What Parents, Teachers Can Do
Carducci suggests parents and teachers reach out to shy students. "What we are proposing is that what we need to do is find ways for these people to connect," Carducci says. "Counselors, teachers, and parents should help."
He tells parents of shy teens to let them get a job if they are old enough to work. "It's a semi-structured social situation," says Carducci. At a fast-food outlet, for instance, the worker has a script to follow when dealing with customers. "These co-workers can turn into friends."
By Kathleen Doheny
Reviewed by Louise Chang
©2007 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved
Popular Now in Health
- Cancer drug reverses Alzheimer's in mice: Study
- Norovirus outbreak hits Rider University in N.J
- Marijuana-smoking motorists twice as likely to crash
- Electric shocks to brain may boost memory: Study
- America's pets also have an obesity epidemic
- Measles patient at Super Bowl prompts health alert
- America's sodium problem: Not from salty snacks?
- Chinese mom gives birth to 15-pound baby
- Caffeine inhalers - the next club drug?
- Skin cancer self-exam: What to look for (PHOTOS)
- 4.5 million Americans over 50 have artificial knees
- Things You Didn't Know About Your Penis
- PICTURES: 15 Shocking Sexual Fetishes
- Let's Move! campaign turns 2 today: Is it working?
- Drinking soda raises risk for asthma, COPD: Study
- Christina Hendricks: Too Big for Hollywood?
- John Dye Dies: What Killed "Angel" Star?
Latest CBS News Headlines
on Facebook Most Discussed Stories
on CBS News
- Hotel marketed to gay travelers to open in NYC
- Huge art work honoring Havel on display in Prague
- Europe's cold close zoo outside Paris
- Hopefuls strut their conservative stuff at CPAC
on Facebook Most Discussed Stories
on CBS News
