Extraversion and introversion

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The trait of extraversion–introversion is a central dimension of

human personality theories. The terms introversion and extraversion were first
popularized by Carl Jung,[1] although both the popular understanding and
psychological usage differ from his original intent. Extraversion tends to be
manifested in outgoing, talkative, energetic behavior, whereas introversion is
manifested in more reserved, quiet, shy behavior.[2] Virtually all comprehensive
models of personality include these concepts in various forms. Examples include
the Big Five model, Jung's analytical psychology, Hans Eysenck's three-factor
model, Raymond Cattell's 16 personality factors, the Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory, and the Myers Briggs Type Indicator.
Extraversion and introversion are typically viewed as a single continuum. Thus, to
be high on one it is necessary to be low on the other. Carl Jung and the authors of
the Myers–Briggs provide a different perspective and suggest that everyone has
both an extraverted side and an introverted side, with one being more dominant
than the other. Rather than focusing on interpersonal behavior, however, Jung
defined introversion as an "attitude-type characterised by orientation in life through
subjective psychic contents" (focus on one's inner psychic activity); and
extraversion as "an attitude type characterised by concentration of interest on the
external object", (the outside world).[3]
In any case, people fluctuate in their behavior all the time, and even extreme introverts and extraverts
do not always act according to their type.
Contents
[hide]

1 Varieties
o 1.1 Extraversion

o 1.2 Introversion

o 1.3 Ambiversion

2 Measurement

o 2.1 Eysenck's theory

o 2.2 Biological factors

3 Behavior

4 Implications

5 Regional variation

6 Extraversion, introversion, and

happiness

o 6.1 Possible reasons

 6.1.1 Instrumental view

o 6.2 Temperamental view

7 See also

8 References

9 External links
[edit]Varieties
[edit]Extraversion
Extraversion is "the act, state, or habit of being predominantly concerned with and
obtaining gratification from what is outside the self".[4] Extraverts tend to enjoy
human interactions and to be enthusiastic, talkative, assertive, and gregarious. 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 extraversion.
An extraverted 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".[4] Some popular writers
have characterized introverts as people whose energy tends to expand through
reflection and dwindle during interaction.[5] This is similar to Jung's view, although
he focused on psychic energy rather than physical energy. Few modern conceptions
make this distinction.
The common modern perception is that introverts tend to be more reserved and less
outspoken in groups. They often take pleasure in solitary activities such as reading,
writing, using computers, hiking and fishing.
The archetypal artist, writer, sculptor, engineer, 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 he or she may enjoy
interactions with close friends. Trust is usually an issue of significance: a virtue of
utmost importance to an introvert is choosing a worthy companion. They prefer to
concentrate on a single activity at a time and like to observe situations before they
participate, especially observed in developing children and adolescents.[6] They are
more analytical before speaking.[7] Introverts are easily overwhelmed by too much
stimulation from social gatherings and engagement, introversion having even
been defined by some in terms of a preference for a quiet, more minimally
stimulating environment.[8]
Introversion is not seen as being identical to shy or to being a social outcast.
Introverts prefer solitary activities over social ones, whereas shy people (who may
be extroverts at heart) avoid social encounters out of fear.[9]
[edit]Ambiversion
Although many people view being introverted or extroverted as a question with
only two possible answers, most contemporary trait theories measure levels of
extraversion-introversion as part of a single, continuous dimension of personality,
with some scores near one end, and others near the half-way mark.[10] Ambiversion
is falling more or less directly in the middle.[4][11] An ambivert is moderately
comfortable with groups and social interaction, but also can enjoy time alone,
away from a crowd.
[edit]Measurement
Extent of extraversion and introversion is most commonly assessed through self-
report measures, although peer-reports and third-party observation can also be
used. Self-report measures are either lexical [2] or based on statements.[12] Which
measure of either type is used is determined by an assessment of psychometric
properties and the time and space constraints of the research being undertaken.
Lexical measures use individual adjectives that reflect extravert and introvert
traits, such as outgoing, talkative, reserved and quiet. Words representing
introversion are reverse coded to create composite measures of
extraversion/introversion running on a continuum. Goldberg (1992)[13] developed a
20-word measure as part of his 100-word Big Five markers. Saucier (1994)
[14]
developed a briefer 8-word measure as part of his 40-word mini-markers.
However, the psychometric properties of Saucier’s original mini-markers have
been found suboptimal with samples outside of North America.[2] As a result, a
systematically revised measure was developed to have superior psychometric
properties, the International English Mini-Markers.[2] The International English
Mini-Markers has good internal consistency reliabilities and other validity for
assessing extraversion/introversion and other five factor personality dimensions,
both within and, especially, without American populations. Internal consistency
reliability of the Extraversion measure for native English-speakers is reported as .
92, that for non-native English-speakers is .85.
Statement measures tend to comprise more words, and hence consume more
research instrument space, than lexical measures. Respondents are asked the extent
to which they, for example, Talk to a lot of different people at parties or Often feel
uncomfortable around others.[12] While some statement-based measures of
extraversion/introversion have similarly acceptable psychometric properties in
North American populations to lexical measures, their generally emic development
makes them less suited to use in other populations.[15] For example, statements
asking about talkativeness in parties are hard to answer meaningfully by those who
do not attend parties, as Americans are assumed to do. Moreover, the sometimes
colloquial North American language of statements makes them less suited to use
outside America. For instance, statements like Keep in the background and Know
how to captivate people are sometimes hard for non-native English-speakers to
understand except in a literal sense.
[edit]Eysenck's theory
Hans Eysenck described extraversion-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 extraversion as one of three major
traits in his P-E-N model of personality, which also
includes psychoticism and neuroticism.
Eysenck originally suggested that extraversion 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 extraversion, and melancholic and
phlegmatic temperaments equating to introversion.[17]

Twin studies find that extraversion/introversion has a geneticcomponent.

[edit]Biological factors
The relative importance of nature versus environment in determining the level of
extraversion 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 extraversion was caused by variability in cortical arousal.
He hypothesized that introverts are characterized by higher levels of activity than
extraverts and so are chronically more cortically aroused than extraverts. The fact
that extraverts 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 extraverts in response to a drop of
lemon juice.[19]
Extraversion 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 extraverts, since they will more intensely feel the
excitement of a potential reward. One consequence of this is that extraverts 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. Extraverts 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-extraversion is related to individual differences
in brain function.
Extraversion has also been linked to physiological factors such as respiration,
through its association with surgency.[22]
[edit]Behavior
Extraverts and introverts have a variety of behavioral differences. According to one
study, extraverts tend to wear more decorative clothing, whereas introverts prefer
practical, comfortable clothes.[23] Extraverts are likely to prefer more upbeat,
conventional, and energetic music than introverts.[24] Personality also influences
how people arrange their work areas. In general, extraverts 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]
Humans are complex and unique, and because introversion-extraversion varies
along a continuum, individuals may have a mixture of both orientations. A person
who acts introverted in one scenario may act extraverted in another, and people can
learn to act "against type" in certain situations. Jung's theory states that when
someone's primary function is extraverted, his secondary function is always
introverted (and vice versa).[1]
[edit]Implications
Acknowledging that introversion and extraversion are normal variants of behavior
can help in self-acceptance and understanding of others. For example, an extravert
can accept her introverted partner's need for space, while an introvert can
acknowledge his extraverted partner's need for social interaction.
Researchers have found a correlation between extraversion and happiness. That is,
more extraverted people tend to report higher levels of happiness than introverts.[26]
[27]
Other research has shown that being instructed to act in an extraverted manner
leads to increases in positive affect, even for people who are trait-level introverts.
[28]

This does not mean that introverts are unhappy. Extraverts simply report
experiencing more positive emotions, whereas introverts tend to be closer to
neutral. This may be due to the fact that extraversion is socially preferable in
Western culture and thus introverts feel less desirable. In addition to the research
on happiness, other studies have found that extraverts tend to report higher levels
of self-esteem than introverts.[29][30] Others suggest that such results reflect socio-
cultural bias in the survey itself.[7][31][dead link] Dr. David Meyers has claimed that
happiness is a matter of possessing three traits: self-esteem, optimism, and
extraversion. Meyers bases his conclusions on studies that report extraverts to be
happier; these findings have been questioned in light of the fact that the
"happiness" prompts given to the studies' subjects, such as "I like to be with
others" and "I'm fun to be with," only measure happiness among extraverts.[7] Also,
according to Carl Jung, introverts acknowledge more readily their psychological
needs and problems, whereas extraverts tend to be oblivious to them because they
focus more on the outer world.[1]
Extraversion is perceived as socially desirable in Western culture, but it is not
always an advantage. For example, extraverted youths are more likely to engage
in delinquentbehavior.[32] Conversely, while introversion is perceived as less
socially desirable, it is strongly associated with positive traits such as
intelligence[33] and "giftedness."[34][35] For many years, researchers have found that
introverts tend to be more successful in academic environments, which extraverts
may find boring.[36] Career counselors often use personality traits, along with other
factors such as skill and interest, to advise their clients.[37] 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 extraverted type.
Although neither introversion nor extraversion 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/extraversion 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
extraverted children may grow restless during long periods of quiet study.
[edit]Regional variation
The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily
with the U.S and do not represent a worldwide view of the
subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on
the talk page. (January 2012)
Some claim that Americans live in an "extraverted society"[38] that rewards
extravert behavior and rejects introversion.[39] This is because the US is currently a
culture of personality, whereas other cultures are cultures of character where
people are valued for their "inner selves and their moral rectitude".[40] Other
cultures, such as Central Europe, Japan or regions where Buddhism, Sufism etc.
prevail, prize introversion.[7] These cultural differences predict individuals'
happiness such that people who score higher in extraversion are happier, on
average, in particularly extroverted cultures and vice versa.[41]
Researchers have found that people who live on islands tend to be less extroverted
(more introverted) than those living on the mainland, and that people whose
ancestors had inhabited the island for twenty generations tend to be less
extroverted than more recent arrivals. Furthermore, people who emigrate from
islands to the mainland tend to be more extroverted than people that stay on
islands, and those that immigrate to islands.[42]
In the United States, 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 extraversion. 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, Oregon and Vermont. People who live in the
northwestern states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming are also relatively
introverted.[43]
[edit]Extraversion, introversion, and happiness
It has been suggested that Personality# Extraversion and
happiness be merged into this article or section.
(Discuss) Proposed since December 2012.
Extraverts are found to have higher levels of happiness and positive affect than
introverts.[44][45][46] An influential review article concluded that personality,
specifically extraversion and emotional stability, was the best predictor of
subjective well-being.[47] As examples, Argyle and Lu (1990)[48] found that the trait
of extraversion, as measured by Extraversion Scale of the Eysenck Personality
Questionnaire (EPQ), was positively and significantly correlated with happiness, as
measured by the Oxford Happiness Inventory. Using the same happiness and
extraversion scales, Hills and Argyle (2001)[49] found that happiness was again
significantly correlated with extraversion. Also, the study by Emmons
and Diener(1986)[50] showed that extraversion correlates positively and
significantly with positive affect but not with negative affect. Similar results were
found in a large longitudinal study byDiener, Sandvik, Pavot, and Fujita (1992),
[51]
which assessed 14,407 participants from 100 areas of continental United States.
Using the abbreviated General Well-Being Schedule, which tapped positive and
negative affects, and Costa and McCrae's (1986)[52] short version of the NE0's
Extraversion scale, the authors reported that extraverts experienced greaterwell-
being at two points in time, during which data were collected: first between 1971
and 1975, and later between 1981 and 1984. Furthermore, Larsen and Ketelaar
(1991)[53]showed that extraverts respond more to positive affect than to negative
affect, since they exhibit more positive-affect reactivity to the positive-affect
induction, yet they do not react more negatively to the negative-affect induction.[54]
[edit]Possible reasons
[edit]Instrumental view
The instrumental view proposes that personality traits give rise to conditions and
actions, which have affective consequences, and thus generate individual
differences in emotionality.[54][55]

 Personality trait as a cause of higher sociability

According to the instrumental view, one explanation for greater subjective well-
being among extraverts could be the fact that extraversion helps in the creation of
life circumstances, which promote high levels of positive affect. Specifically, the
personality trait of extraversion is seen as a facilitator of more social interactions,
[44][54][56]
since the low cortical arousal among extraverts results in them seeking
more social situations in order to increase their arousal.[57]

 The social participation theory

According to the social participation theory, more frequent participation in social

situations creates more frequent, and higher levels, of positive affect. Therefore, it
is believed that since extraverts are characterized as more sociable than introverts,
they also possess higher levels of positive affect brought on by social interactions.
[58][59][60]
Specifically, the results of Furnham and Brewin's study (1990)[46] suggest
that extraverts enjoy and participate more in social activities than introverts, and as
a result extraverts report higher level of happiness. Also, in the study of Argyle and
Lu (1990)[48] extraverts were found to be less likely to avoid participation in noisy
social activities, and to be more likely to participate in social activities such as:
party games, jokes, or going to the cinema. Similar results were reported
by Diener, Larsen, and Emmons (1984)[61] who found that extraverts seek social
situations more often than introverts, especially when engaging in recreational
activities.
However, a variety of findings contradict the claims of the social participation
theory. Firstly, it was found that extraverts were happier than introverts even when
alone. Specifically, extraverts tend to be happier regardless of whether they live
alone or with others, or whether they live in a vibrant city or quiet rural
environment.[45] Similarly, a study by Diener, Sandvik, Pavot, and Fujita (1992)
[51]
showed that although extraverts chose social jobs relatively more frequently
(51%) than nonsocial jobs compared to introverts (38%), they were happier than
introverts regardless of whether their occupations had social or nonsocial character.
Secondly, it was found that extraverts only sometimes reported greater amounts of
social activity than introverts,[61] but in general extraverts and introverts do not
differ in the quantity of their socialization.[45] Similar finding was reported by
Srivastava, Angelo, and Vallereux (2008),[62] who found that extraverts and
introverts both enjoy participating in social interactions, but extraverts participate
socially more. Thirdly, studies have shown that both extraverts and introverts
participate in social relations, but that the quality of this participation differs. The
more frequent social participation among extraverts could be explained by the fact
that extraverts know more people, but those people are not necessarily their close
friends, while introverts, when participating in social interactions, are more
selective and have only few close friends with whom they have special
relationships.[49]

 The social attention theory

Yet another explanation of the high correlation between extraversion

and happiness comes from the study by Ashton, Lee, and Paunonen (2002).
[63]
They suggested that the core element of extraversion is a tendency to behave in
ways that attract, hold, and enjoy social attention, and not reward sensitivity. They
claimed that one of the fundamental qualities of social attention is its potential of
being rewarding. Therefore, if a person shows positive emotions of enthusiasm,
energy, and excitement, that person is seen favorably by others and he or she gains
others' attention. This favorable reaction from others likely encourages extraverts
to engage in further extraverted behavior.[63] Ashton, Lee, and Paunonen's (2002)
[63]
study showed that their measure of social attention, the Social Attention Scale,
was much more highly correlated with extraversion than were measures of reward
sensitivity.
[edit]Temperamental view
Temperamental view is based on the notion that there is a direct link between
people's personality traits and their sensitivity to positive and negative affects.[44][53]
[54]

 The affective reactivity model

The affective reactivity model states that the strength of a person's reactions to
affect-relevant events are caused by people's differences in affect.[53][64] This model
is based on thereinforcement sensitivity theory by Jeffrey Alan Gray, which states
that people with stronger behavioral activation system (BAS) are high in reward
responsiveness and are predisposed to the personality trait of extraversion, while
people with a stronger behavioral inhibition system (BIS) are lower in reward
responsiveness and are more predisposed to personality trait of neuroticism and
introversion.[65] Therefore, extraverts are seen as having
a temperamental predisposition to positive affect since positive mood induction has
a greater effect on them than on introverts, thus extraverts are more prone to react
to pleasant effects.[53][64][66][20][67] For example, Gable, Reis, and Elliot (2000).
[68]
found in two consecutive studies that people with more sensitive BIS reported
higher levels of average negative affect, while people with more
sensitive BAS reported higher levels of positive affect.
Also Zelenski and Larsen (1999)[54] found that people with more
sensitive BAS reported more positive emotions during the positive mood
induction, while people with more sensitive BIS reported more negative emotions
during the negative mood induction.

 The social reactivity theory

The social reactivity theory alleges that all humans, whether they like it or not, are
required to participate in social situations. Since extraverts prefer engaging in
social interactions more than introverts, they also derive more positive affect from
such situations than introverts do.[45][48][61] The support for this theory comes from
work of Brian R. Little, who popularized concept of "restorative niches". Little
claimed that life often requires people to participate in social situations, and since
acting social is out of character for introverts, it was shown to harm their well-
being. Therefore, one way to preserve introverts' well-being is for them to recharge
as often as possible in places where they can return to their true selves - places
Little calls "restorative niches".[69]
However, it was also found that extraverts did not respond stronger to social
situations than introverts, nor did they report bigger boosts of positive affect during
such interactions.[56][62]

 Affective regulation
Another possible explanation for more happiness among extraverts comes from the
fact that extraverts are able to better regulate their affective states. This means that
in ambiguous situations (situations where positive and negative moods are
introduced and mixed in similar proportions) extraverts show a slower decrease of
positive affect, and, as a result, they maintained a more positive affect balance than
introverts.[70] Extraverts may also choose activities that facilitate happiness (e.g.,
recalling pleasant vs. unpleasant memories) more than introverts when anticipating
difficult tasks.[71]

 The set-point model aka affect-level model

According to the set-point model, levels of positive and negative affects are more
or less fixed within each individual, hence, after a positive or negative event,
people's moods tend to go back to the pre-set level. According to the set-point
model, extraverts' experience more happiness because their pre-set level of positive
affect is set higher than the pre-set point of positive affect in introverts, therefore
extraverts require less positive reinforcement in order to feel happy.[67]

 Pleasure-arousal relation

A study by Kuppens (2008)[72] showed that extraverts and introverts engage in

different behaviors when feeling pleasant, which could be a potential explanation
for underestimating the frequency and intensity of happiness exhibited by
introverts. Specifically, Kuppens (2008)[72] found that arousal and pleasantness are
positively correlated for extraverts, which means that pleasant feelings are more
likely to be accompanied by high arousal for extraverts. On the other hand, arousal
and pleasantness are negativelycorrelated for introverts, resulting in introverts
exhibiting low arousal when feeling pleasant. In other words, if everything is going
well in an extravert's life, which is a source of pleasant feelings, extraverts see such
situation as an opportunity to engage in active behavior and goal pursuit, which
brings about an active, aroused pleasant state. Yet, when everything is going good
for introverts, they see it as an opportunity to let down their guard, resulting in
them feeling relaxed and content.[72]