What is an extrovert and how to cope with it

Dividing people into extroverts and introverts began about 100 years ago. We tell you who an extrovert is, what are its disadvantages and advantages, and how such a person can succeed in a career

What is an extrovert

An extrovert is a sociable, expressive person with an active social position. His experiences and interests are directed to the outside world. Extroverts meet most of their needs through interaction with people. So they replenish energy, receive information and rest.

Extraversion is one of the main parameters of personality. This is evidenced by the five-factor model of personality – the “Big Five”. According to this theory, personality consists of five main dimensions: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotionality, openness. Each of them has two poles. For example, extraversion is the opposite of introversion. Some people may lean towards one particular extreme, but most fall somewhere in between. In modern psychology, experts don’t divide people into extroverts and introverts. According to research, each of us has traits of both personality types.

The history of the concept

The division of people into introverts and extroverts, as well as the terms “extroversion” and “introversion”, was first proposed by the German scientist Carl Jung in the 1920s. According to Jung, extraversion is a behavioral type, and an extrovert person concentrates his interests on society. Introversion, on the other hand, is characterized by a focus on one’s own thoughts and feelings.

As early as 1923, Jung recognized the existence of a third type, ambiversion, but did not include it in his typology of intro-extroversion. Carl Jung typed people in the direction of their life energy – libido. So, for extroverts, attention and pleasure is directed to objects, and for introverts, personal experience and subjective experiences are of paramount importance.

Jung’s research was subsequently developed by the German-British psychologist Hans Eysenck. He developed his own three-factor theory of personality, in which he singled out three main personality dimensions. One of them is “introversion-extroversion”. Eysenck argued that a person directs energy inward or outward – on other people, which determines the type of personality.

It is generally accepted that there are more extroverts in the world than introverts, but there are no exact statistics. Psychologists suggest that extroverts are more often “in sight”, hence the conclusion that there are more of them. But adapted introverts can easily behave like extroverts.

Barry Smith, director of the University of Maryland’s Human Psychophysiology Laboratory, says that 68% of the world’s population are ambiverts. Such people combine the traits of extraversion and introversion.

Signs of an extrovert

American psychologists distinguish such signs of extraversion as:

  • the need to communicate regularly;
  • love for public speaking;
  • the habit of speaking without thinking;
  • feeling uncomfortable in silence;
  • love for noisy companies;
  • pronounced leadership qualities;
  • the desire to please everyone;
  • the desire to always be in the spotlight;
  • pleasure from working in a team;
  • the ability to talk about your feelings;
  • a wide range of communication.

In 2015, American experts described two types of extroverts:

Agentive extroverts – persistent, purposeful, stubborn people. They care about career and personal success.

  • At work. They occupy leadership positions. They take on maximum responsibility, but do not always rationally distribute forces. Such people are able to quickly navigate and make decisions, but rarely think through steps ahead. It lacks patience and perseverance.
  • Alone with myself. It is difficult for agentive extroverts to sit still, as their nature requires constant dynamics, new emotions and victories. It is important for such people to feel that something is happening around them.
  • In the circle of close people. They openly share their emotions and experiences.
  • With outsiders. Grab attention with self-confidence. Becoming the leader of a group of strangers is a challenge for such people. An extrovert does not get tired of constantly being with someone, on the contrary, for him it is a comfortable environment.

Affiliative extroverts or “social butterflies”. For these people, communication is the most important thing. Affiliative extroverts easily establish contact with people, they tend to have many friends and acquaintances. Among the main values ​​for this type of people are warm relationships.

  • At work. Team players. The best option for them is if the work is related to communication: many meetings and calls, business trips; duties include organizing tasks and supervising team members. For affiliative extroverts, the microclimate in the team is especially important.
  • Alone with myself. They feel discomfort. In this they are similar to agentive extroverts – they restore energy through communication with people.
  • In the circle of close people. They try to build trusting relationships. Do not be afraid to talk about feelings and experiences. This is influenced by their main priority – high-quality communication.
  • With outsiders. They quickly find a common language due to openness and sociability.

Pros and cons of extraversion

Extraversion helps in building a career, but it also has a negative impact on everyday life and communication with people. This was found out by American researchers during a survey in 2012. They compiled a general list of the pros and cons of extraversion.

Pros

  • Persistence. The ability to achieve what you want even in difficult circumstances.
  • Self confidence. This quality helps to start a conversation with strangers or people of higher status.
  • Flexible thinking. Quickly navigate and adapt to new circumstances – the routine of an extrovert. Without this, a person of this type can get bored.
  • Ability to make quick decisions. But this advantage has a downside – the decision will be rash. A typical extrovert does not like to think about something for a long time, weigh the pros and cons and find the most suitable option. He just knows how to make decisions quickly.
  • Openness.
  • Ability to communicate.
  • Potential for quality public speaking.
  • The ability to switch quickly.
  • The ability to catch on the fly.

Cons

  • Obsession. Excessive persistence can turn into a significant disadvantage.
  • Selfishness turning into narcissism. An extrovert always wants to be the center of attention. He is interested in leading the process and eventually receiving praise. This can grow into hypertrophied vanity.
  • Restlessness.
  • Failure to plan.
  • Tendency to not get things done. The reverse side of the ability to quickly switch from one task to another.
  • Forgetfulness.
  • Scattered attention.
  • Tendency to quickly change interests and priorities.

The difference between an extrovert and an introvert

An introvert is a person who tends to accumulate energy within himself. He chooses solitude and creation, concentrates on his own interests and intentions. Communication is not a priority for an introvert.

Colin De Young, a psychologist at the University of Minnesota, described the differences in the brains of extroverts and introverts. He found that extroverts have a more active dopamine reward system, so they need constant stimulation from the outside. That activity that brings pleasure to the extrovert and helps to satisfy the needs, the introvert irritates, and sometimes depresses. Differences in the work of the reward system lead to the fact that introverts are the least prone to sociability and an active lifestyle. But they have a more “quiet” neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, that works faster. He is responsible for all human movements. Acetylcholine brings the brain out of a state of rest when it is necessary to act, and vice versa, inhibits the transmission of impulses when it is time to concentrate.

Other American researchers use the concept – “adventurism gene”. Extroverts are distinguished by the desire to get new experiences. For an introvert, on the contrary, interaction with people, activity, quickly turns into overexcitation and fatigue. Therefore, unlike extroverts, they are less prone to sociability and an active lifestyle.

To determine what type of personality you have, take the test from the TED platform (or this one – in Russian, but you will have to answer more than 200 questions). And with the help of the Myers-Briggs indicator, you can more specifically determine your personality type and strengths.

Can you change your personality type?

Susan Cain in Introverts. How to use the features of your character “writes:” Introversion and extraversion are formed in the first months of life or even during pregnancy. By the age of four months, a baby can most likely be assigned to one of two groups. Genetics play a significant role in determining personality, but people can become more or less extroverted.

To develop extroversion, researchers offer to participate in interest clubs or engage in favorite hobbies in a group. So it will be possible to expand the circle of communication and interests, make new acquaintances and improve communication skills with each lesson.

To reduce extraversion scientists recommend practicing meditation to give yourself the opportunity to focus on your own thoughts and feelings. It pays to spend more time alone. Walk in nature, read, cook and eat alone, reflect. The bridge from extrovert to introvert is journaling. Writing allows you to better understand your own feelings.

How to raise an extrovert child?

Psychotherapist and communication coach Ivan Pritulyak notes that extroverted teenagers are prone to aggressive behavior and disregard for social norms. This is accompanied by complex and strong emotions of the child. The expert recommends talking to children about how they feel and why they may behave aggressively. Every day a child experiences a full range of feelings. For the development of a healthy psyche, this entire spectrum must be recognized and experienced.

“It is highly likely that introvert parents will raise an extrovert child. In this case, parents should try to maintain their peace of mind and not move away from the child, ”says Pritulyak.

Introverts are good listeners. It is important for extroverts to discuss what is in their hearts, to experience emotions. “An introverted parent is able to build a trusting and close relationship with an extroverted child by listening. The child will say everything himself, ”adds Pritulyak. He should be able to communicate when and with whom he wants – ask a stranger about something on the bus or say hello to neighbors. Such communication can confuse an introverted parent, but it is enough to ensure that communication does not threaten or harm the child. It is also important to provide extroverted children with regular physical activity. Such a child needs to expend energy, and not accumulate it in himself.

Where is the best place to work as an extrovert?

It is important for an extrovert to find a place where the steps of the hierarchy will be clearly defined in order to methodically rise to a leadership position. According to Russian psychological studies of pedagogy, our social role depends, among other things, on the type of personality. The need for frequent communication directs the extrovert to work in areas where it is necessary to contact people.

Professions for extroverts:

  • HR specialist. For the typical extrovert, this is the perfect job. For a recruiting manager, every working day consists of communicating with dozens of job seekers.
  • Journalist. The applicant must be, first of all, sociable. Extroverts have good potential for building social connections.
  • Teacher. Being the center of attention is the most comfortable state for an extrovert. This is one of the tasks of the teacher – to keep the attention of students. And each lesson is a small public performance.
  • Tour guide. He should become an interlocutor for a dozen tourists. In addition to the fact that you need to establish a dialogue with the group, the guide should be the center of attention throughout the tour, giving information about the sights. It’s also a kind of public speaking.
  • Sales manager. Its main task is to interest a potential buyer. This is not only the art of communication, but also the ability to convince.
  • Event leader. Such work can leave psychological trauma if a person is not ready for a long public speaking. In addition, the presenter must constantly stir up the interest of the audience and keep its attention on himself.

Read about whether it is possible to find a job and build a career according to your temperament and personality type.

Is an extrovert a bad leader?

The leader must be sociable, self-confident, energetic and active. However, scientists from Harvard, Stanford and the University of Chicago found the opposite. Their research shows that introverts perform best in leadership positions because they:

  • they think over their words and decisions, which does not allow them to take rash actions;
  • are good at listening. An extrovert often ignores opinion from the outside and makes a personal intuitive decision, because he is not able to concentrate and carefully think about anything. Due to the developed critical thinking and the habit of “digging deep” introverts have a good understanding of people, their actions and motives;
  • more effectively than extroverts, they manage the process in times of crisis. Introverts do not sow panic, but approach problems rationally. This is good for the team.

The introvert’s management style is called “servant leadership”. Such a leader empowers employees, increases their areas of responsibility, boldly delegates and provides opportunities for growth. For an accurate understanding of the leadership style of extroverts and introverts, the researchers suggest comparing Barack Obama and Donald Trump – how they behave and how they act as the President of the United States. So, Obama is known for his thoughtfulness and accurate statements. He was often criticized for being arrogant and aloof. Such traits are characteristic of introverts. The American media talked about one of Obama’s habits: after meetings and receptions in the evening, he closed himself in his office at the White House and sorted out papers alone.

The opposite political figure is Donald Trump. Expressive and sharp in performances, he plays with intonations and keeps the audience in suspense throughout his speech. American psychologists note that among Trump’s prepared provocations was impromptu, a form of public speaking characteristic of an extrovert, which is born due to the strong expressiveness of the individual. Of the typical signs of an extrovert, Trump is characterized by perseverance, stubbornness and impulsiveness.

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