Valerie is interviewing for a job she really wants. however, valerie also suffers from a high level of social anxiety. during the thirty-minute interview, the interviewer twice pauses for several seconds before commenting on what valerie has said. based on research findings, how would we expect valerie to respond to the silence?

The answer is  She interprets the silence as a sign the interview is not going well.
In this situation, valerie overlooked the fact that silence is also a good indicator for someone who is currently in deep thought.
This doesn't necessarily means that the interviewer is thinking negatively about valerie because he might be considering the options on whether valerie's placement would be a good fit for the company.