Extraversion and introversion
[8] In his later paper, Psychologische Typologie, he gives a more concise definition of the introverted type, writing:He holds aloof from external happenings, does not join in, has a distinct dislike of society as soon as he finds himself among too many people.
He is apt to appear awkward, often seeming inhibited, and it frequently happens that, by a certain brusqueness of manner, or by his glum unapproachability, or some kind of malapropism, he causes unwitting offence to people... For him self-communings are a pleasure.
Crowds, majority views, public opinion, popular enthusiasm never convince him of anything, but mere make him creep still deeper into his shell.
[8]In the 1950s, British psychologist Hans Eysenck theorized that the trait of introversion-extraversion could be explained in terms of Clark Hull's drive theory of motivation.
He later developed his own arousal theory to explain individual differences in the trait, suggesting that the brains of extraverts were chronically under-aroused, leading them to seek out stimulation from the environment.
[20] Cain describes how society is biased against introverts, and that, with people being taught from childhood that to be sociable is to be happy, introversion is now considered "somewhere between a disappointment and pathology".
[21] 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 halfway mark.
[32] Eysenck associated cortical inhibition and excitation with the ascending reticular activation system (ARAS), a pathway located in the brainstem.
[38] 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.
Extraverts have more blood flow in the anterior cingulate gyrus, temporal lobes, and posterior thalamus, which are involved in sensory and emotional experience.
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.
[45] Despite these differences, a meta-analysis of 15 experience sampling studies has suggested that there is a great deal of overlap in the way that extraverts and introverts behave.
[46] In these studies, participants used mobile devices to report how extraverted (e.g., bold, talkative, assertive, outgoing) they were acting at multiple times during their daily lives.
[50][51] 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.
[17] 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.
[74][76] An influential review article concluded that personality, specifically extraversion and emotional stability, was the best predictor of subjective well-being.
Similar results were found in a large longitudinal study by Diener, Sandvik, Pavot, and Fujita (1992),[81] which assessed 14,407 participants from 100 areas of continental United States.
[82] short version of the NEO's Extraversion scale, the authors reported that extraverts experienced greater well-being at two points in time, during which data were collected: first between 1971 and 1975, and later between 1981 and 1984.
[85] The instrumental view proposes that personality traits give rise to conditions and actions, which have affective consequences, and thus generate individual differences in emotionality.
[85][86] According to the instrumental view, one explanation for greater subjective well-being among extraverts could be that extraversion helps in the creation of life circumstances, which promote high 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.
Similar results were reported by Diener, Larsen, and Emmons (1984)[92] who found that extraverts seek social situations more often than introverts, especially when engaging in recreational activities.
[94] 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.
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.
[84][95] This model is based on the reinforcement 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.
[100] 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.
[101] Extraverts may also choose activities that facilitate happiness (e.g., recalling pleasant vs. unpleasant memories) more than introverts when anticipating difficult tasks.
One study classified school children into four categories based on their scores in assessments of extraversion and emotional stability (neuroticism).
Likewise, in later studies, researchers used assessment scales to test for categories such as self-esteem and life-goal orientation, which they had positively correlated with happiness.
[109] Several other researchers have also suggested that, at least in more individualistic cultures, having a coherent sense of one's personality (and acting in a way that conforms to that self-concept) is positively related to well-being.
