From K.G. Jung, Psychological Types, 1936
“Extroversion is characterized by an interest in an external object, responsiveness and readiness to perceive external events, a desire to influence and be influenced by events, a need to interact with the external world, the ability to endure turmoil and noise of any kind, and actually find pleasure in it, the ability to maintain a constant attention to the world around, making many friends and acquaintances without much, however, analysis and, ultimately, the presence of a feeling of great importance to be close to someone chosen, and, consequently, a strong tendency to demonstrate oneself. Accordingly, the life philosophy of an extrovert and his ethics carry, as a rule, a highly collectivist nature (beginning) with a strong tendency to altruism. His conscience largely depends on public opinion. Moral concerns arise mainly when «other people know». The religious beliefs of such a person are determined, so to speak, by a majority of votes.
The real subject, the extravert as a subjective being, is — as far as possible — immersed in darkness. He hides his subjective principle from himself under the cover of the unconscious. The reluctance to subject one’s own motives and impulses to critical reflection is very clear. He has no secrets, he cannot keep them for long, because he shares everything with others. If something that cannot be mentioned touches him, such a person will prefer to forget it. Everything that can dim the parade of optimism and positivism is avoided. Whatever he thinks, does, or intends to do, is delivered convincingly and warmly.
The mental life of a given personality type is played out, so to speak, outside of itself, in the environment. He lives in and through others — any reflection on himself makes him shudder. The dangers lurking there are best overcome by noise. If he has a «complex», he takes refuge in social whirl, turmoil and allows several times a day to be assured that everything is in order. In the event that he does not interfere too much in other people’s affairs, is not too assertive and not too superficial, he can be a pronounced useful member of any community.
Jung wrote about introverts:
Introversion, on the other hand, which is directed not at the object, but at the subject and not oriented at the object, is not so easy to observe. The introvert is not so accessible, he is, as it were, in constant retreat in front of the object, giving in to him. He keeps aloof from external events, without entering into relationship with them, and shows a distinct negative attitude towards society, as soon as he is among a fair number of people. In large companies, he feels lonely and lost. The thicker the crowd, the stronger its resistance grows. At least he is not «with her» and does not feel love for gatherings of enthusiasts. He can not be classified as a sociable person. What he does, he does in his own way, shielding himself from outside influences. Such a person tends to look awkward, awkward, often deliberately restrained, and it just so happens that because of some unceremonious manner, or because of his gloomy inaccessibility, or something done inappropriately, he unwittingly offends people. He reserves his best qualities for himself and generally does his best to keep silent about them. He easily becomes distrustful, self-willed, often suffers from the inferiority of his feelings and for this reason is also envious. His ability to comprehend the object is carried out not due to fear, but because the object seems to him negative, demanding attention, irresistible or even threatening. Therefore, he suspects everyone of “all mortal sins”, he is always afraid of being fooled, so he usually turns out to be very touchy and irritable. He surrounds himself with a barbed wire of embarrassment so tightly and impenetrably that in the end he himself prefers to do something rather than sit inside. He confronts the world with a carefully designed defensive system, composed of scrupulousness, pedantry, moderation and thrift, foresight, «high-lipped» correctness and honesty, painful conscientiousness, politeness and open distrust. There are few pink colors in his picture of the world, since he is supercritical and will find hair in any soup. Under normal circumstances, he is pessimistic and anxious because the world and human beings are not one iota kind and seek to crush him, so that he never feels accepted and favored by them. But he himself also does not accept this world, at least not completely, not completely, since at first everything must be comprehended and discussed by him according to his own critical standards. Ultimately, only those things are accepted from which, for various subjective reasons, he can derive his own benefit.
For him, any thoughts and thoughts about himself are a real pleasure. His own world is a safe harbor, a carefully guarded and fenced garden, closed to the public and hidden from prying eyes. The best is your own company. He feels at home in his world, and only he himself makes any changes in it. His best work is done with his own resources, on his own initiative and in his own way. If he succeeds after a long and exhausting struggle to master something alien to him, he is able to achieve excellent results. The crowd, the majority of views and opinions, public rumor, general enthusiasm will never convince him of anything, but rather make him hide even deeper in his shell.
His relationships with other people become warmer only in conditions of guaranteed security, when he can put aside his protective distrust. Since this happens to him infrequently, then, accordingly, the number of his friends and acquaintances is very limited. So the psychic life of this type is entirely played out within. And if difficulties and conflicts arise there, then all doors and windows are tightly closed. The introvert withdraws into himself along with his complexes, until he ends up in complete isolation.
Despite all these features, being an introvert is by no means a social loss. His retreat into himself does not represent a final renunciation of the world, but is a search for a solace in which solitude enables him to make his contribution to the life of the community. This personality type is the victim of numerous misunderstandings — not because of injustice, but because he himself causes them. Nor can he be free from accusations of taking secret pleasure in mystification, because such a misunderstanding brings him a certain satisfaction, since it confirms his pessimistic point of view. From all this it is not difficult to understand why he is accused of coldness, pride, stubbornness, selfishness, self-satisfaction and vanity, capriciousness, and why he is constantly exhorted that devotion to the public interest, sociability, imperturbable refinement and selfless trust in powerful authority are true virtues and testify to a healthy and energetic life.
The introvert quite understands and recognizes the existence of the above-mentioned virtues and admits that somewhere, perhaps — just not in the circle of his acquaintances — there are beautiful spiritual people who enjoy the undiluted possession of these ideal qualities. But self-criticism and awareness of his own motives quite quickly lead him out of the delusion regarding his ability to such virtues, and the incredulous sharp look, sharpened by anxiety, allows him to constantly discover donkey ears sticking out from under the lion’s mane in his associates and fellow citizens. Both the world and people are for him troublemakers and a source of danger, without providing him with an appropriate standard by which he could eventually navigate. The only thing that is undeniably true for him is his subjective world, which — as sometimes, in moments of social hallucinations it seems to him — is objective.