Final answer:
Children who overcame shyness likely had parents who encouraged social interactions and fostered development, which aligns with behaviors found in higher-income families as per Annette Lareau's study. The Harlows' experiments on rhesus monkeys also support the significance of social comfort for psychological development.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question relates to how children who were shy as infants overcame their shyness. Research on child development emphasizes the role of parental interaction in a child's social development. Sociologist Annette Lareau's work suggests that parents from higher-income backgrounds tend to actively engage in their children's development, encouraging social interactions, creativity, and problem-solving. These parenting practices may contribute to a child's ability to overcome shyness by fostering social competence and self-confidence.
Furthermore, Harry and Margaret Harlow's work with rhesus monkeys shows the importance of social comfort over mere sustenance, indicating that social interaction is crucial for healthy psychological development. In the context of human children, this suggests that social encouragement by parents can help shy children develop the necessary social skills to overcome their shyness.
In considering the potential impacts of wealth and class on parenting styles, it can be argued that children from different socioeconomic backgrounds may have distinct experiences in overcoming shyness based on how they are socialized with respect to creativity, problem-solving, and confronting authority. Thus, the answer to the question would suggest that children who overcame their shyness likely had parental encouragement that fostered social interaction and confronted systems of authority when necessary, aligning with behaviors found more commonly in higher-income families.