Many lectures and discussions we have had in this class have caused me to reflect on my decisions and experiences. One of the lectures that had this affect on me was our discussion about introverts versus extroverts. Following the lecture I remember my professor asking us to raise our hands if we considered ourselves to be an introvert and to my surprise many people that I would have categorized as extroverted considered themselves to be introverted. This made me wonder what characteristics would categorize someone as an introvert and what exactly it means to be an extroverted introvert? Would I, myself, be considered an introvert or an extrovert?
Joseph Castro from gizmodo.com attributes the characteristics of introverts as being quiet, reflective, and focused on the inner (mental) world. In this article introverts are mentioned as beings who shy away from high energy environments as it may cause them to feel overwhelmed. In addition, psychologytoday.com suggests that introverts maintain nine behavioral signs including: they enjoy having time to themselves, their best thinking occurs when they are alone, they lead best when others are self starters, they tend to be the last to raise their hand, they get asked for their opinion quite frequently, they often wear headphones in public, they prefer not to engage with people who seem angry or upset, they receive more calls and texts than they make, and they don’t typically initiate small talk with people they do not know well.
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fellow classmate of mine, Brandon, made a very good point in one of his blog posts which was that extroversion and introversion are not necessarily direct opposites. This is where the idea of an extroverted introvert comes from, also known as an ambivert. An ambivert is a mixture of the extrovert and the introvert maintaining characteristics such as they make friends easily, can talk for hours, but sometimes getting them out of the house can be impossible. According to unisoultheory.com, more than half of the world’s population is ambiverted. After sifting through all of the research I feel that I can now confidently describe myself as an ambivert due to my love for having my personal time but also my ability to be extremely social in the right environment.
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Brutus, Wilkine, About Wilkine BrutusWilkine Brutus Is the Editor-in-chief of The Vanguard Element, a Website Featuring Social Commentary, Thought-provoking Content, and Short Films. He Is a Haitian-American Poet Working on a Cross-genre Book Exploring the Human Condition, Richard P. Zemsky, and John McElhenney.”Shut Up Introverts: Ambiverts Deserve Attention, Too! -.” The Good Men Project. N.p., 21 Sept. 2013. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.
Text Sources:
Bennington-Castro, Joseph. “The Science of What Makes an Introvert and an Extrovert.”Io9. Io9.gizmodo.com, 10 Sept. 2013. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.
Lee, Brandon. “COMM 292: Blog 3 – 4 Types of Introversion? | Brandon Lee’s Blog.”Brandon Lees Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.
Reisch, Robyn, and About Robyn ReischRobyn Reisch Is a Penn State Graduate Who Lives in Colorado with Her Husband, Son, and Two Dogs. When She Is Not Writing, She Can Be Found Embracing the Shake at Pure Barre and Embracing Other Mommies at Her MOPS Group. “Extroverted Introverts: 10 Things to Know.” UST. N.p., 22 Mar. 2017. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.
“Nine Signs You’re Really an Introvert.” Psychology Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.
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