What is your perception of a shy person?

Question

Anyone reading this question: please send along some kind of answer that concerns your own perception of shy people in general. This information is needed for an essay that concerns stereotypes.

Answer 1

I think that often times people who are really shy may be perceived as loners, even anti-social, when in fact they may just lack the self-confidence to be comfortable in certain social settings. What's strange, is that a person who is introverted in some situations can become much more assertive in others. For example, I recall a few years ago coming across a statistic that said something like 40% of all clergy are actually introverts (this was of interest to me personally as I fall into that category). Most people probably think of ministers as very open and out-going... and many are, but a very significant number are not. Yet, even those who are naturally shy can open up when they are in their element. Maybe that's happened to you before; you tried drawing a shy person into a conversation and got minimalist answers until the topic came around to something they were comfortable with (i.e.; were knowledgable about). Then you wondered what happened because the wall flower just became very animated.

Answer 2

Stereotypes may be useful to humans sociologically, but are rarely accurate and fail to take any nuances of personality into account. Some shy people have an affect of aloofness or boredom, while others may appear to be (or actually are) quite frightened. My initial reaction to anyone new to me is to try to draw them into conversation and then ignore them if they don't respond, or seem to not want to engage (ie - give only Yes or No answers to open-ended questions). To push them further after that would seem to me to be quite rude.
At a later time I might ask them about my first impression of them and what might have caused them to behave that way.

Answer 3

I can give you an inverted answer to your question - that might help some...

I'm a very shy person. I have a serious self-confidence problem and I really hate meeting new people....I never know what to say and I'm horrible at making small talk...

The feedback that usually comes my way, most people think I'm stuck up....too good to talk to anyone. In reality its quite the opposite (not feeling good enough to talk to people) but that seems to be how I am perceived...

Answer 4

it depends on how their shyness comes off. some people come off as mean, some come off as just quiet and collected, and some simply come off as shy (you can tell right away they're just shy). I like to talk a lot so it doesn't bother me much when people are shy, other than once-in-a-while it can be frustrating, like if i'm talking to a girl, i don't know if she's just shy or if she doesn't like me. if i do like a girl though, and she turns out to be shy, it can make her even more attractive.

good? or too geared toward the opposite sex?

hope this helps, good luck with the essay! :)

Answer 5

Eliminate Social Anxiety Shyness : http://SocialAnxiety.uzaev.com/?zWvK

Answer 6

depends on wether its a girl or boy. if its a shy boy, i'd think he doesnt say much, isn't very popular, but a lovely person,yet quite silent. if its a shy girl, i'd think she would be sort of the same but quite small, you wouldnt het a 6ft girl being shy, she couldnt blend it, so shy girls are short, shy boys are varying heights, usually wear glasses. i like a shy guy, so that mite influence it a little