Quote Originally Posted by Economist View Post
Shyness with strangers is definitely neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for being an INFj/EII, though the specific way you talk about it sounds rather Se polr, possibly specifically EII. You talk about it like you're thrown off balance when a stranger initiates with you, so you need to recollect yourself before you can think clearly again. I do relate to this. When a stranger unexpectedly initiates a convo with me, I respond based on what is the safest/most casual possible response, but later I might realize they were trying to flirt with me and if they were handsome, I'd kick myself for not responding optimally.

I don't relate to overall stranger shyness though. I've initiated loads of convos w strangers, and I'm also OK with strangers initiating w me, as long as it's not unexpected (e.g., at a party is fine, but I'll get confused if it's at a grocery store).

Not sure how other types experience shyness, would be interesting to hear. Lots of types can be shy, even some extraverted people can be shy, but I'd guess the shyness happens in different ways and for different reasons.
Hello Economist!! )

Yes I totally relate to your experiences with strangers too. There was once whereby a cute but shy guy in school whom I liked, kept on messaging me on Facebook. At first I was clueless as to why he did that, since his aloof attitude to me in school was a stark contrast to how he behaved online. Many years later, after his close friend who also approached me a lot back then, told me he had a crush on me then, did I realize it was the same for this cute guy I liked. I then realized that if guys approach you for no apparent reasons but just to make friendly small talk with you, then it could mean that they like you :/


And indeed, it's more like the expectations that you have to know first before being able to feel safe in interacting with strangers... If not, there is always an urge to escape till you've realized their intentions for approaching you (: