Why do a lot of people mistake shyness for arrogance?
That happens... if you don't talk to others.. some may get the mistaken belief you do it because you feel superior.. I know you don't but to some people it looks that way .. also to guys.. I know that because i used to be like you when I was younger and it was sometimes mistaken for me not wanting to know the others.. but I was just shy.. so you have to be approachable in other ways if you are shy.. by smiling and by saying hello to all the people whom you encounter on a daily basis and by trying to join in a little bit and ask some questions... or if someone has a problem.. try to help out... be helpful and polite and they will see that you are not arrogant but shy...
How does shyness get misinterpreted as cocky/stuck up?
Some people just assume the worst about people. It's not that the personality traits are similar, but both a shy person and a stuck up person can be quiet in public or around certain groups of people. Don't worry what other people "might" be thinking - you can't read their minds, and so you're only guessing - and you could be just as guilty of being wrong those who guess that you're stuck-up.
Why do people misinterpret me because I don't talk as much?
Hey There! I used to and still in some cases react and think the same way you do. In highschool I was percieved as a b-atch because some people took my quiet ways of being snotty! It was not that, just shyness and fear to talk to people I didn't know. I don't know if this fear of mine will ever fully go away! I may still pretty shy at times but I do pratice by speaking to strangers more... about smal things like the wheather, something happening around us, a kind word... I will most likely never see these people again so use them as pratice, plus I'm friendly so I figure I may makes someones day by having a small nice conversation with them. I also found myself having to grow out of this habit because of my job. I had to put myself out there, because the more I did, the better I was at being productive at my job. I still have trouble meeting new people, I am still quiet arounfd strangers but it does get easier with practice. I think people may get the wrong idea about people who are quiet becuase they get the wrong idea of the person. They take that they aren't as open as not being friendly, as us not liking them and wanting to speak to them. That we don't think they are worth our time to speak too, which is not true...so try to change a little at a time. Obviuosly you do have things to say, because you have friends who like you and like talking to you... so pratice, and I'm sure it will become easier!
Why do many people think that quiet people are dangerous?
There’s an element of the unknown there.We quiet people are mysterious — and not always in a good way.Think of it like this — we’ll use school as an example — you know your classmates or schoolmates, generally, on some level. Maybe you don’t know them well, maybe you’ve never even had direct contact with them — but you’ve heard them talk, pitch in during class, etc. and watched them interact with other people.You receive subconscious cues from them that tip you off to their behavior based on these interactions. This is so, if you ever do have to interact with them, you have half an idea of how they might respond to certain things based on how you’ve seen them interact with and talk to others.Quiet people, we don’t really like to interact with people we don’t know. Ergo, you rarely see us interacting with or really talking to anyone else (more on that below) so your brain can’t pick up on the cues it would be getting based on watching our interactions with others. This creates a deep, instinctive wariness, because you literally don’t know anything about us, subconsciously or otherwise.This fear may in some cases be reinforced by the odd person you do see us with. Now, when I say “odd” I don’t just mean “occasional” — I mean weird. Us quiet people are notoriously labelled (not often falsely) as oddballs or outcasts, and to be fair that’s usually true. But it is not only this, but the fact we are good listeners who are sometimes less prejudiced than others towards the strange and misunderstood that sets up a pretty bad reputation.If you seen me, the lone, quiet kid, hanging out an having an apparent chat with the most well-known “creeper kid” in school, you would probably start making bad assumptions about me as a person. This effect is amplified by the fact your brain has nothing else up to that point to really base my behavior on. You don’t know I am understanding as a person. You don’t know I am being kind to this kid, who’s really just misunderstood. You don’t know any of that, so you’re left with not much option but to assume the worst of it.It’s human nature to fear the unknown. I myself do fear it. We all do. Quiet people are an unknown — so people often instinctively fear us.
Why do people dislike a quiet person?
TL:DR People dislike what they don’t understand.I have fallen in love 4 times. Each time with a quiet man. I find that quiet men compliment me. And each man has taught me things about quiet. About their quiet, about quiet in general, and about social perception of quiet, in men.I admit to having had issues with their quiet qualities in the beginning of all four relationships. "WHY are you sooooo quiet"? It was as if I wanted to pound the noise out of the man. But each remained his true quiet self.Imo, quiet in men is often misunderstood substance, just as noise in women is often misunderstood substance. I believe that it all starts in the home.Parenting can play a key role in how quiet or loud men allow themselves to be as adults. And this teaching isn’t always direct. But sometimes it is loud and clear. I believe that what our children see in the home can stick just as greatly as what they see in the media, in school, or in any other places they frequent. Perhaps even more strongly adhere.National Geographic’s January issue is interesting. It is an issue dedicated to gender and puts the spotlight on the voices of kids.By nine years of age, children have already formed clear ideas about gender identity and roles. The most impressive of the articles and pictures, for me, are of two boys in Africa. One is made to stand stoic and silent while his foreskin is sliced off in front of his village. Another is where several adult men beat a boy to teach him how to take it like a man, tears rolling down his cheeks.I was slow in seeing how different the female circumcision was, photographically that is. There is no one holding the boy for his circumcision, he is stood in the center of a tight group, forced into silence. The little girls, on the other hand, are pinned down by several women each, forced into deafening screams, while the ritual, the tradition, is performed.I was raised by a strong and very loud woman, but I had a stronger quiet man as a father who left an indelible imprint on me with his potent silence. And because I revered my pop, I suspect I am drawn to quiet men, and will always be.So, I understand the quiet in the quiet man. Or if I don’t always understand it, it feels familiar to me.Perhaps those that dislike quiet in men, or in general, just find noise more familiar. Noise might be what they understand more clearly.