If we go a bit farther back, we find that the terms introvert and extrovert (originally spelled extravert) were popularized by Carl Jung in the early 20th century. Unfortunately, their meanings got confused between then and now,
and we started thinking that everyone belongs to one camp or the other.
But actually, Carl’s point was that these are the very extremes of a
scale. Which means that most of us fall somewhere in the middle.
There is no such thing as a pure introvert or extrovert. Such a person would be in the lunatic asylum. –Carl G. Jung
So really, if we looked at how most of us operated, we
would never be on either spectrum of the scale. It’d be much more likely
that we are somewhere in the middle like this:
There are a few theories about the differences between introverts and extroverts, and some recent research has even shown that our genetic makeup has a lot to do with which tendencies are strongest in each of us. And unlike my theory about how outgoing or shy we are, introversion and extroversion actually relate to where we get our energy from.
Or in other words, how we recharge our brains.
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Introverts
(or those of us with introverted tendencies) tend to recharge by
spending time alone. They lose energy from being around people for long
periods of time, particularly large crowds.
Extroverts,
on the other hand, gain energy from other people. Extroverts actually
find their energy is sapped when they spend too much time alone. They
recharge by being social.
In the ’60s, psychologist Hans Eysenck proposed that the difference between introverts and extroverts was that they simply had different levels of arousal–meaning the extent to which our minds and bodies are alert and responsive to stimulation.
Hans’s theory was that extroverts have a lower basic rate of arousal.
This means that extroverts need to work harder to arouse their minds
and bodies to the same ‘normal’ state that introverts might reach quite
easily. This leads extroverts (or extroverted people, though they might
not be quite on the extreme end of the scale) to seek novelty and
adventure, and to crave the company of others.
For introverts, this kind of stimulation can be overwhelming, since their rate of arousal is much higher,
so they are stimulated easily. Time alone, one-on-one conversations and
predictable situations are more likely to be pleasant for introverts
who are more sensitive to external stimulation.
This becomes especially interesting if we look at any other of the most common elements of body language and how introverts and extroverts might perceive behaviors differently.
On the same note, while exercising makes you happier in general, for an introvert to do a group sport, this might not lead to happiness in the same way it does for an extrovert.
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