Psychology Today asks the question of
whether extroverts or introverts are happier. So, which are you? Extroverts are
those folk who crave a lot of social interaction, social butterflies who like a fast paced life with quick decisions
are needed. Good examples are President Obama and Oprah Winfrey. Extroverts get
their energy by being with other people. Extroverts comprise about 50 to 74 per
cent of the population. Introverts on the other hand (16 to 50% of the
population) like alone time to ponder. Scientists, writers and artists are
typical introverts though public personality can be introverts such as David
Letterman and Barbara Walters.
It turns out our brains are just wired a
bit differently. Introverts front brain parts are more active while extroverts
back brain parts are more active. Extroverts need more dopamine to feel good in
contrast to introverts.
A basic misconception of introverts is they
are shy. Not true. I am barely an extrovert but have a lot of introvert in me
and even though I lived a very public life, I need a good deal of alone time to
keep me balanced.
Introverts and extroverts need each other
and make good teams. For example extrovert Steve Jobs and introvert Steve
Wozniak of Apple fame.
So who’s happier? We don’t know but tests
show a slight edge for extroverts. Our culture seems to prefer extroverts so
there may be a cultural bias built into these tests. Eastern cultures tend to
extol the introverts and treasure the contemplatives.
If you don’t know which you are take this
test.
Hadn't given it much thought since I retired about ten years back. But, we seem to be in one of those times that favors the extrovert .
ReplyDeleteI have always been an introvert, learning more
from books than group discussions, tiring easily
from social interaction, etc. So, a career beginning with army officer, scientist, manager
was a bit of a struggle..heck, dealing with all the extroverts out there seemed like a waste of time. So...early on...I married one! The odd couple...we still don't quite understand each other, but after 48 years...we are progessing.
Our three grown children, thanks to the vagaries
of genetics, seem to fall in between.
Wife has actually been reading an interesting book about this. The roles introverts play in a society vs extroverts over the ages. Our society, of course, is pretty much built around extroverts, and often actively discourages introversion. You're supposed to get out there, network and press the flesh etc! But you don't see young people going much into 'deep thought' fields like science as much.
ReplyDeleteI once served the general council of a Presbytery (the group bishop of that denomination). Later, a friend who was serving on the council gave the Meyers Brigs test to all the committee members and asked if I would do the worship services for their retreat. The results of the test were that everyone of the members of the council were introverts, with the exception of himself. As he presented the information I preached on corresponding biblical texts which tended to weird out the participants. The point is that at most meetings, they mostly sat a looked at each other being hesitant to take the lead in discussion. My sermons were on how we needed the components on each personality the Meyers Briggs mentions in order to have well balanced and productive work done in the church.
ReplyDeleteI also use the same method with the Session (board) of churches I served for the same purposes. It was most effective in getting people to appreciate each others skills.