Recently, the contrast of introversion and extroversion has become quite known amongst people, particularly on social media.
We’ve become acquainted with the notions of a person being physiologically wired to be psychologically different.
The way we understand our relationships with each other, has been fundamentally altered since we started to learn more about our psychology.
We’re now more understanding and tolerant of each others’ eccentricities.
If a friend were to say they’re not coming to a gathering or a party, in many cases we’ve come to expect that, seeing as we know them as introverts.
The more psychology becomes mainstream, the more we hear about someone being an introvert or extrovert.
The thing, there is more or less a stigma around being an introvert.
There is a tendency to notice them easily because most of us choose to be more social even when we can’t. This tendency renders us more culpable of forcing ourselves to go out.
This phenomenon leads us to think that we’re one of two things, extroverts or introverts. The latter being seen as the minority. This is not accurate.
In fact, the psychologist Hans Eysenck suggested that the number of out and out extroverts and introverts is more or less the same; both at the extremities of a spectrum, with most people somewhere in the middle.
So in an effort to educate ourselves on introversion, let’s find out who are the introverts in your life, and whether you might one yourself.
Are you an introvert?
Let’s begin by noting that, it’s not incredibly simple to actually decide what constitutes as introversion, thus it’s not simple deciding who’s an introvert.
There are several comprehensive models of personality theories that explain the different concepts of personalities. These are:
- The Big 5 modelJung’s Analytical Psychology modelHans Eysenck’s Three-Factor modelRaymond Cattell’s 16 Personality Factors modelMinnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory model Myers—Briggs Type Indicator model (MBTI)
To make it simpler, there are five famous and mostly clear indicators of a person being an indicator. Here they are
- Being around people is a drain
One of the most clear examples is how a person views socialising.
An extrovert sees it as a way to gain energy, while an introvert finds it draining.
That doesn’t mean that introverts are automatically antisocial or have anything against people. They simply need more energy to deal with people, as opposed to extroverts.
2. Solitude is heaven
Being alone with a book, or taking a morning stroll in the park, is possibly your best way of spending time and recharging and feeling energised.
3. Small group of close friends
Seeing as hanging out with people can be a burden, it only makes sense that you would choose to surround yourself with a limited number of close friends. This lets you manage the friendships without getting too overwhelmed by a larger group of friends.
4. You’ve been called the quiet one multiple times
Again, the key word is energy. To engage in conversations and allow people to talk to you demands quite a lot of energy from you. This doesn’t mean you’re shy, it simply means you like to save your energy as much as possible.
There’s still more to cover on this interesting topic, to find out more about whether you’re an introvert and not, and to learn about the common misconceptions, tune in next time for the second part of this article.
Until next time, take care.