About 40 percent of Americans think of themselves as shy, while only 20 percent say they have never suffered from shyness at some point in their lives. Shyness occurs when a person"s apprehensions are so great that they (1)_____ his making an expected or desired social response. (2)_____ of shyness can be as minor as (3)_____ to make eye contact when speaking to someone, (4)_____ as major as avoiding conversations whenever possible. "Shy people tend to be too (5)_____ with themselves, "said Jonathan Cheek, a psychologist, who is one of those at the forefront of current research on the topic". (6)_____, for a smooth conversation, you need to pay attention to the other person"s cues (7)_____ he is saying and doing. But the shy person is full of (8)_____ about how he seems to the other person, and so he often (9)_____ cues he should pick up. The result is an awkward lag in the conversation. Shy people need to stop focusing on (10)_____ and switch their attention to the other person". (11)_____,shy people by and large have (12)_____ social abilities than they think they do. (13)_____ Dr. Cheek videotaped shy people talking to (14)_____,and then had raters(评估者) evaluate how socially skilled the people were, he found that, in the (15)_____ of other people, the shy group had few (16)_____ problems. But when he asked the shy people themselves (17)_____ they had done, they were unanimous in saying that they had been social flops(失败). "Shy people are their own (18)_____ critics, "Dr. Cheek said. (19)_____, he added, shy people feel they are being judged more (20)_____ than they actually are, and overestimate how obvious their social anxiety is to others.