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Is It Better to Be an Introvert or an Extravert?
by Susan Dunn, MA Clinical Psychology, The EQ Coach When I was asked to write about the difference between "introvert" and "Schizoid Personality Disorder (PSD)," I resisted. Too loaded. What led this person to assume they were the same thing? Why isn't there a DSM term we might mistake for the exaggerated extravert? It seems to have become a contest of which is better - extravert or introvert - and there's a bias in the scientific literature that irks me. This is not what Carl Jung had in mind, the man who introduced the concepts to the field of psychology. It's not surprising introverts are getting a bad press, since (1) there are more than twice as many extraverts; (2) extraverts are more likely, by definition, to toot their own horns; and (3) extraverts may be in charge of the language. How so? Think of all the years (as if they're gone) that a person was referred to as "he," when males were in charge of the language. There's prejudice in both directions. Extraverts may think introverts are "weird loners with no social skills" but introverts may consider extraverts "superficial glad-handers who use people". I propose this is neither a good way, nor the correct way to look at what are essentially two different but equally legitimate personality styles. I'm particularly concerned about the subtle, and not so subtle, bias against introverts in the professional literature. Schizoid Personality Disorder (defined here - http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis/p20-pe02.html , is a disorder, while introversion is a personality type. It could be the "flaming" introvert, but where is the comparable disorder related to extraversion? Not fair, I cry. I find it difficult to be with the flaming introvert - I might disturb them, but equally difficult to be with the flaming extravert - I might be disturbed. One might argue there are similarities in the extreme - "flaming" extraverts also lack close relationships, they use people for sex (i.e., tension relief), they must keep busy because they're enjoying it so little, and they're indifferent and cold while doing what they consider to be relating. BIAS IN THE LITERATURE In "Cross-Cultural Evidence for the Fundamental Features of Extraversion," Richard E. Lucas, Ph.D., et al, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 79, No. 3., researchers concluded that "sensitivity to rewards" was what distinguished extraverts from introverts rather than "higher sociability". In other words, extraverts find social situations more rewarding than introverts, "not because they are more sociable, but because they are more sensitive to the rewards inherent in most social situations." This is either too obvious, or pointless, and I'm not sure which. "Both extraverts and introverts benefit from social interaction," said the authors. "However, extraverted participants did not spend any more time in social situations than introverted participants but reported more pleasant affect even when alone, both indicating that some additional factor had to be accounting for their greater reported happiness." They conclude the factor is extraverts are attracted by the rewards of warmth, affection and close emotional bonds. Occam's Razor would suggest a cleaner explanation: extraverts' propensity to self-report "happiness," i.e., a need to appear happy. If you're non-reflective I think you have more need to "appear" than to "be." I'd also like a definition of a "social situation". If extraverts are reporting greater happiness at a Chamber Mixer, for instance, then I don't agree it's "warmth, affection and close emotional bonds" they're after. It's a self-report instrument, and we know, for instance, people who are low in Emotional Intelligence also, be definition, don't know they are. Nancy Fenn, TheIntrovertzCoach ( http://www.theintrovertzcoach.com ), says, "What concerns me most as an advocate for introverts is that the definitions of mental health, like many other things in our society, are controlled by the 70% majority who are extraverts. One wonders how people who have so little ability for self-reflection can understand the rich inner world of the introvert." Or, I might add, of happiness, or their own perception of it. Here's another example. The APA put out a news release on an article "An fMRI Study of Personality Influences on Brain Reactivity to Emotional Stimuli," Turhan Canli, Ph.D., et al, Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol. 115. The abstract says "extraverts show more brain reactivity to positive images than introverts." They continue: "This study ... suggests that depending whether a person is extraverted or neurotic, his or her brain will amplify different experiences over others." WAIT A MINUTE! WHERE DID THIS 'NEUROTIC' COME FROM? I thought we were comparing extraverts and introverts. It is all the more insidious because it isn't labeled; they just subtly switch over to "neurotic" leaving the undiscerning reader to conclude that's the opposite of extravert. Later on it says: "A personality measure was also used to help the researchers determine the participants' level of extraversion - the tendency to be optimistic and sociable - and their level of neuroticism - the tendency to be anxious, worried and socially insecure." Isn't this apples and oranges again? Suddenly we are not comparing extraverts and introverts, we are comparing extraverts and neurotic people. This is not the neutrality of science we expect. It's biased. It could also have been written - "a personality measure was used to help the researchers determine the participants' level of introversion - their ability to react appropriately and thoughtfully to stimuli - and their level of hyperactivity - the tendency to over-react indiscriminately to stimuli. But it's not over yet. They add: "These results show that individual differences in brain reactivity to emotional stimuli are associated with specific personality traits, which also supports earlier MRI studies of extraverted and depressed people." You simply cannot mix terms that way. You compare extraverted people with introverted people, and you compare depressed people with people who aren't depressed. Depression is a diagnosis, and both introverts and extraverts suffer from it. VALUING DIVERSITY The terms "extraversion" and "introversion" were introduced into psychology by Carl Jung, to identify opposite psychological types. One was not valued more than the other, or considered healthier; in fact Dr. Jung felt most people had tendencies in both directions, although one direction usually predominates. His definition was "the extravert is characteristically the active person who is most content when surrounded by people; carried to the neurotic extreme such behavior appears to constitute an irrational flight into society, where the extravert's feelings are acted out. The introvert, on the other hand, is normally a contemplative individual who enjoys solitude and the inner life of ideas and the imagination. Severe introversion is characteristic of autism and some forms of schizophrenia." Each one is a legitimate personality style, and the extreme of neither is desirable. If we (or society, or psychologists) valued the ability to enjoy solitude more than the need to be surrounded by people, then introversion would be healthy, and extraversion would be neurotic. There are many labels we use to differentiate people and we hope the reason is to further understanding, not discrimination. As with almost any other differentiation you can think of, the extremes aren't good because they indicate rigidity. In this world, we need some extraversion traits as well as some introversion traits, regardless of which is our natural bent, while at the same time we need to understand and accept those who are different from ourselves. If you hate a trait in others, you're despising a part of yourself. ©Susan Dunn, MA Clinical Psychology, The EQ Coach, http://www.susandunn.cc . Individual and team coaching in Emotional Intelligence, distance learning courses, The innovative EQ Learning LabT and The EQ eBook Library - http://www.webstrategies.cc/ebookklibrary.html . Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for FREE eZine. Learn more about your strengths and how to use them. For Introvert resources go here: www.theintrovertzcoach.com.
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