Extraversion and introversion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  (Redirected from Introvert)
Jump to: navigation, search
"Introversion" redirects here. For the video game developer, see Introversion Software.

The trait of extroversion-introversion is a central dimension of human personality. Extroverts (also spelled extraverts[1]) tend to be sociable, assertive, and interested in seeking out excitement. Introverts, in contrast, tend to be more reserved, less outgoing, but are typically marked by a richer inner world and a stimulating imagination.[2] Extroversion and introversion are generally understood as a single continuum. Thus, to be high on one is necessarily to be low on the other. While extreme introverts and extroverts are a psychological reality,[3][4] the majority of people fluctuate between the two poles throughout their lives.

The terms introversion and extroversion were first popularized by Carl Jung.[5] Virtually all comprehensive models of personality include these concepts. Examples include Jung's Analytical psychology, Eysenck's three-factor model, Cattell's 16 personality factors, the Big Five personality traits, the Four Temperaments, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and Socionics.

It is asserted that Americans live in an "extroverted society"[6] that rewards extrovert behavior and rejects introversion. "American culture values extroverted qualities more, and people often feel like they've been given the 'short end of the stick' after receiving their results on extroversion/introversion tests."[7] European and especially Asian culture tends to be more introverted.

Contents

[edit] Varieties

[edit] Extroversion

Extroversion is "the act, state, or habit of being predominantly concerned with and obtaining gratification from what is outside the self".[8] Extroverts tend to enjoy human interactions and to be enthusiastic, talkative and assertive. They take pleasure in activities that involve large social gatherings, such as parties, community activities, public demonstrations, and business or political groups. Politics, teaching, sales, managing, and brokering are fields that favor extroversion. An extroverted person is likely to enjoy time spent with people and find less reward in time spent alone. They tend to be energized when around other people, and they are more prone to boredom when they are by themselves.

[edit] Introversion

Introversion is "the state of or tendency toward being wholly or predominantly concerned with and interested in one's own mental life".[8] Introverts tend to be more reserved and less assertive in social situations. They often take pleasure in solitary activities such as reading, writing, drawing, playing musical instruments or using computers. The archetypal artist, writer, sculptor, composer, and inventor are all highly introverted. An introvert is likely to enjoy time spent alone and find less reward in time spent with large groups of people, though they tend to enjoy interactions with close friends. They prefer to concentrate on a single activity at a time and like to observe situations before they participate.[9] Introverts are easily overwhelmed by too much stimulation from social gatherings and engagement. The introvert tends to think thoroughly before verbalising their thoughts.[10]

Introversion is generally not the same as shyness. Introverts choose solitary over social activities by preference, whereas shy people avoid social encounters out of fear.[11]

[edit] Ambiversion

Although many people view introversion-extroversion as a dichotomy, most contemporary trait theories (e.g. the Big Five) measure levels of extroversion-introversion as part of a single, continuous dimension of personality, with some scores near one end, and others near the half-way mark.[12] Ambiversion is a term used to describe people who fall more or less directly in the middle and exhibit tendencies of both groups.[8][13] An ambivert is normally comfortable with groups and enjoys social interaction, but also relishes time alone and away from the crowd.

[edit] Measurement

Extroversion-introversion is normally measured by self-report. A questionnaire might ask if the test-taker agrees or disagrees with statements such as I am the life of the party or I think before I talk.

Imagine a questionnaire consisting of ten "agree or disagree" statements. For the first five questions, agreement indicates a tendency towards extroversion, while for the last five questions, agreement indicates introversion. Five people take this questionnaire and answer as follows:

John Maria Timothy Sarah David
I am the life of the party. Agree Agree Agree Disagree Disagree
I enjoy being the center of attention. Agree Disagree Agree Disagree Disagree
I am skilled in handling social situations. Agree Agree Agree Disagree Disagree
I like to be where the action is. Agree Agree Disagree Agree Disagree
I make new friends easily. Agree Agree Disagree Agree Disagree
I am quiet around strangers. Disagree Disagree Agree Disagree Agree
I don't like to draw attention to myself. Disagree Agree Agree Agree Agree
I don't like to party on the weekends. Disagree Disagree Agree Agree Agree
I like to work independently. Disagree Agree Disagree Agree Agree
I often enjoy spending time by myself. Disagree Disagree Disagree Agree Agree
Score 100% Extrovert 70% Extrovert 50% Extrovert
50% Introvert
(Ambivert)		 70% Introvert 100% Introvert

In this example, John and Maria are extroverted, Sarah and David are introverted, and Timothy is ambiverted.

Self-report questionnaires have obvious limitations in that people may misrepresent themselves either intentionally or through lack of self-knowledge. It is also common to use peer report or observation.

Another approach is to present test-takers with various sets of adjectives (for example: thoughtful, talkative, energetic, independent) and ask which describes them most and least. Psychological measures of this trait may break it down into subfactors including warmth, affiliation, positive affect, excitement seeking, and assertiveness/dominance seeking.

[edit] Causes

[edit] Jungian theory

According to Carl Jung, introversion and extroversion refer to the direction of psychic energy. If a person’s psychic energy usually flows outwards then he or she is an extrovert, while if the energy usually flows inwards, the person is an introvert.[14] Extroverts feel an increase of perceived energy when interacting with a large group of people, but a decrease of energy when left alone. Conversely, introverts feel an increase of energy when alone, but a decrease of energy when surrounded by a large group of people.

Most modern psychologists consider theories of psychic energy to be obsolete. First, it is difficult to operationalize mental "energy" in ways that can be scientifically measured and tested. Second, more detailed explanations of extroversion and the brain have replaced Jung's rather speculative theories.[15] Nevertheless, the concept is still in popular usage in the general sense of "feeling energized" in particular situations. Jung’s primary legacy in this area may be the popularizing of the terms introvert and extrovert to refer to a particular dimension of personality.

[edit] Eysenck's theory

Hans Eysenck described extroversion-introversion as the degree to which a person is outgoing and interactive with other people. These behavioral differences are presumed to be the result of underlying differences in brain physiology.[16] Extroverts seek excitement and social activity in an effort to heighten their arousal level, whereas introverts tend to avoid social situations in an effort to keep such arousal to a minimum. Eysenck designated extroversion as one of three major traits in his P-E-N model of personality, which also includes psychoticism and neuroticism.

Eysenck originally suggested that extroversion was a combination of two major tendencies, impulsiveness and sociability. He later added several other more specific traits, namely liveliness, activity level, and excitability. These traits are further linked in his personality hierarchy to even more specific habitual responses, such as partying on the weekend.

Eysenck compared this trait to the four temperaments of ancient medicine, with choleric and sanguine temperaments equating to extroversion, and melancholic and phlegmatic temperaments equating to introversion.[17]

Twin studies find that extroversion/introversion has a genetic component.

[edit] Biological factors

The relative importance of nature versus environment in determining the level of extroversion is controversial and the focus of many studies. Twin studies find a genetic component of 39% to 58%. In terms of the environmental component, the shared family environment appears to be far less important than individual environmental factors that are not shared between siblings.[18]

Eysenck proposed that extroversion was caused by variability in cortical arousal. He hypothesized that introverts are characterized by higher levels of activity than extroverts and so are chronically more cortically aroused than extroverts. The fact that extroverts require more external stimulation than introverts has been interpreted as evidence for this hypothesis. Other evidence of the "stimulation" hypothesis is that introverts salivate more than extroverts in response to a drop of lemon juice.[19]

Extroversion has been linked to higher sensitivity of the mesolimbic dopamine system to potentially rewarding stimuli.[20] This in part explains the high levels of positive affect found in extroverts, since they will more intensely feel the excitement of a potential reward. One consequence of this is that extroverts can more easily learn the contingencies for positive reinforcement, since the reward itself is experienced as greater.

One study found that introverts have more blood flow in the frontal lobes of their brain and the anterior or frontal thalamus, which are areas dealing with internal processing, such as planning and problem solving. Extroverts have more blood flow in the anterior cingulate gyrus, temporal lobes, and posterior thalamus, which are involved in sensory and emotional experience.[21] This study and other research indicates that introversion-extroversion is related to individual differences in brain function.

[edit] Behavior

Extroverts and introverts have a variety of behavioral differences. According to the Journal of Psychosomatic Research, extroverts are more prone to obesity: men in the most extrovert category were 1.73 times more likely to be obese than their most introvert counterparts, while extrovert women were 1.53 times as likely to be obese. [22] According to another study, extroverts tend to wear more decorative clothing, whereas introverts prefer practical, comfortable clothes.[23] Extroverts are likely to prefer more upbeat, conventional, and energetic music than introverts.[24] Personality also influences how people arrange their work areas. In general, extroverts decorate their offices more, keep their doors open, keep extra chairs nearby, and are more likely to put dishes of candy on their desks. These are attempts to invite co-workers and encourage interaction. Introverts, in contrast, decorate less and tend to arrange their workspace to discourage social interaction.[25]

Although extroverts and introverts have real personality and behavior differences, it is important to avoid pigeonholing or stereotyping by personality. Humans are complex and unique, and because extroversion varies along a continuum, they may have a mixture of both orientations. A person who acts introverted in one scenario may act extroverted in another, and people can learn to act “against type” in certain situations. Jung's theory states that when someone's primary function is extroverted, his secondary function is always introverted (and vice versa).[5]

[edit] Mental health

Acknowledging that introversion and extroversion are normal variants of behavior can help in self-acceptance and understanding of others. For example, an extrovert can accept her introverted partner’s need for space, while an introvert can acknowledge his extroverted partner’s need for social interaction.

Social psychologist David Myers found a correlation between extroversion and happiness; that is, more extroverted people reported higher levels of personal happiness.[26] It was suggested that such results reflect socio-cultural bias in the survey itself.[27][28] Other cultures, such as Japan or regions where Buddhism, Sufism etc. prevail, prize introversion.[10] Also, according to Carl Jung, introverts acknowledge more readily their psychological needs and problems, whereas extroverts tend to be oblivious to them because they focus more on the outer world.[5]

Extroversion is perceived as socially desirable in modern-day societies, but it is not always an advantage. For example, extroverted youths are more likely to engage in delinquent behavior.[29] Conversely, while introversion is perceived as less socially desirable, introversion is strongly associated with positive traits such as intelligence[30] and "giftedness."[31][32] For many years, researchers have found that introverts tend to be more successful in academic environments, which extroverts may find boring.[33]

Career counselors often use personality traits, along with other factors such as skill and interest, to advise their clients.[34] Some careers such as computer programming may be more satisfying for an introverted temperament, while other areas such as sales may be more agreeable to the extroverted type.

Although neither introversion nor extroversion is pathological, psychotherapists can take temperament into account when treating clients. Clients may respond better to different types of treatment depending on where they fall on the introversion/extroversion spectrum. Teachers can also consider temperament when dealing with their pupils, for example acknowledging that introverted children need more encouragement to speak in class while extroverted children may grow restless during long periods of quiet study.

[edit] Geography

Ambox globe content.svg
 The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page.

Researchers have found that people living in the midwestern states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois score higher than the U.S. average on extroversion. Utah and the southeastern states of Florida and Georgia also score high on this personality trait. The most introverted states in the United States are Maryland, New Hampshire, Alaska, Washington, and Vermont. People who live in the northwestern states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming are also relatively introverted.[35]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ The spelling extrovert is common in general use (Merriam-Webster has extravert as a variant of extrovert), but extravert is more typical in psychology (Corsini's Encyclopedia of Psychology prefers extravert).
  2. ^ http://blindprivilege.com/extraversion-privilege/
  3. ^ http://www.infj.com/INFJ_Introversion.htm
  4. ^ http://www.questia.com/library/encyclopedia/extroversion_and_introversion.jsp
  5. ^ a b c Jung, C.J. (1921). Psychologischen Typen. Rascher Verlag, Zurich - translation H.G. Baynes, 1923.
  6. ^ http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evil-deeds/200811/the-therapeutic-power-sleep
  7. ^ http://www.socionics.us/theory/ext_int.shtml
  8. ^ a b c Merriam Webster Dictionary.
  9. ^ Introversion Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood & Adolescence. Gale Research, 1998.
  10. ^ a b Laney, Marti Olsen (2002). The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World. Workman Publishing. ISBN 0-7611-2369-5.
  11. ^ All About Shyness Meredith Whitten, Psych Central, 21 Aug 2001; Accessed 2007-08-02
  12. ^ The OCEAN of Personality Personality Synopsis, Chapter 4: Trait Theory. AllPsych Online. Last updated March 23, 2004
  13. ^ Cohen D. and Schmidt J.P. (1979) Ambiversion: characteristics of midrange responders on the Introversion-Extroversion continuum. California School of Professional Psychology, Berkeley, USA. Journal of Personality Assessment 1979 Oct;43(5):514-6
  14. ^ The Old Wise Man Time magazine article about Jung, Feb. 14, 1955
  15. ^ See Biological factors in extraversion and introversion.
  16. ^ Eysenck, H. J. (1967). The biological basis of personality. Springfield, IL: Thomas Publishing.
  17. ^ Eysenck, H. J. and Eysenck, S. G. B. (1965). The Eysenck Personality Inventory. British Journal of Educational Studies, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Nov., 1965), p. 140 doi:10.2307/3119050.
  18. ^ Auke Tellegen, David T Lykken, Thomas J. Bouchard, Jr., Kimberly J. Wilcox, Nancy L. Segal, Stephen Rich (1988). Personality Similarity in Twins Reared Apart and Together Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Vol. 54, no. 6. 1031-1039.
  19. ^ Lemon juice experiment Wired-up March 18, 2005, issue: 22. Note that this is an online demonstration of research published in peer reviewed journals.
  20. ^ Depue, R. A., & Collins, P. F. (1999). Neurobiology of the structure of personality: Dopamine, facilitation of incentive motivation, and extroversion. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 22, 491-517.
  21. ^ Johnson, D. L., Wiebe, J. S., Gold, S. M., Andreasen, N. C. (1999). Cerebral blood flow and personality: A positron emission tomography study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 252-257.
  22. ^ Tibbets, Graham. Fat people are extroverts, research shows
  23. ^ Sharma, R. S. (1980). Clothing behaviour, personality, and values: A correlational study. Psychological Studies, 25, 137-142.
  24. ^ Rentfrow, P. J., & Gosling, S. D. (2003). The do re mi's of everyday life: The structure and personality correlates of music preference. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 1236-1256.
  25. ^ Gosling, S. (2008). Snoop. New York: Basic Books.
  26. ^ Myers, David G (1992). The Secrets of Happiness Psychology Today.
  27. ^ Laney, Marti Olsen (2002). The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extravert World. Workman Publishing. ISBN 0-7611-2369-5.
  28. ^ http://blindprivilege.com/extraversion-privilege/
  29. ^ Ryckman, R. (2004). Theories of Personality. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
  30. ^ Furnham, A., L. Forde and T. Cotter (1998). Personality and intelligence. Personality and Individual Differences 24:2, 187-192.
  31. ^ Gallagher, S.A. (1990). Personality patterns of the gifted. Understanding our Gifted, 3, 11-3.
  32. ^ Hoehn, L. & Birely, M.K. (1988). Mental process preferences of gifted children. Illinois Council for the Gifted Journal, 7, 28-31.
  33. ^ Eysenck, H. J. (1971). Readings in Extraversion-Introversion. New York: Wiley.
  34. ^ Ateel, Saqib Ali (2005). Personality Career Tests.
  35. ^ Stephanie Simon (2008-09-23). "The United States of Mind. Researchers Identify Regional Personality Traits Across America". WSJ.com. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122211987961064719.html?mod=yhoofront.  Original research article: Peter J. Rentfrow, Samuel D. Gosling and Jeff Potter (2008). "A Theory of the Emergence, Persistence, and Expression of Geographic Variation in Psychological Characteristics". Perspectives on Psychological Science 3 (5): 339–369. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121394239/abstract. 
Psi2.svg Psychology portal

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraversion_and_introversion"