vamah
Senior Member
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- Washington , DC area
I was in an Open University summer school.
I have to say though, that I really do not think that extraversion/introversion are reliable constructs.
Eysenck related extraversion to the level of arousal in the brain-stem, suggesting extraversion was related to low arousal, so that stimulation is required to arouse it...
(I think he was geting psychopathy mixed up with it)
But the theory was that extraverts are more interested in their surroundings than in themselves, while introverts were not interested in their surroundings but only in their own selves and thoughts.
Then there is the public percetion of it, which is that extraverts are generally, somebody big and bouncy and full of life, while introverts are quiet and shy.
I'm extravert because I'm timid and shy and want to entertain people, so that they will like me and not attack me.
I agree that a lot of people think "introverted" means "shy" which is not accurate. My understanding has always been that it means whether a person is energized or drained by interactions with other people. This idea that introverts are self-centered while extroverts are more aware of other people has always gotten me mad. When I was applying for jobs a few years back, I noticed that every job description specified an "outgoing" person. Can you imagine an office with nothing but extroverts? Nothing would ever get done because they would never stop talking.