Is society's bias towards extraversion holding it back?

Hmm, going by that behavior, and judging from my own, I would estimate that Ramidel might well have some of the same issues that I do.

That is, if he is not just trying to seem tough.

Same with shyness or lack of social skills: they are a problem, but they do not seem the same as introversion to me. I am an introvert, at least for some definition of introvert, but I do not see myself as particularly shy. And my social skills are not incredibly advanced, but I get by.

It seems apparent that we are using fairly different notions of "introvert" and "extrovert". What are your definitions, more or less? Mine would be something along the line of "an introvert is someone who tends to spend more time alone than average, if allowed, and an extrovert is someone who does the opposite".

edited 31st Jan '12 10:47:15 AM by Carciofus

They aren't introverted, but it leads to introverted behavior

edited 31st Jan '12 1:43:32 PM by HiddenFacedMatt

Being outgoing doesn't mean you're conforming, and being social is still beneficial; the number one way to get ahead nowadays is making friends with the right people.

Just a reminder - this thread is about extroversion and introversion, not Asperger's Disorder. Having Asperger's is not the same thing as being an introvert, and not all those with Asperger's are introverts. Furthermore, Asperger's has nothing to do with empathy as it's usually defined, only 'social empathy.' Now let's all leave that behind and continue to discuss the actual topic.

Seriously, any more mention of Asperger's is going to get thumped for derailment.

edited 31st Jan '12 3:43:06 PM by Katrika

Meh, I would actually say I'm an introverted guy overall. I spend most of my time by myself reading books, playing games, or working out. When I'm actually being social I'm an outspoken extrovert, but it's incredibly easy for me to just get burnt out on human contact to the point of where I just go find a place to curl up and be alone.

Well, remember, one of the things about introverts listed in one of those articles is that they generally dislike small talk, but once you get them talking about something they're interested in they won't shut up.

Oh, I love smalltalk. It's just that I choose when I want to talk, and go nuts. Most of the time I choose to be alone with my thoughts.

I'm just tired of seeing people on the internet drinking the hack personality categorization Kool-Aid, as if there's an actual 2 or 4 or 6 or 9 or 16 or whatever real, concrete baskets that you can sort people into — even though there isn't a shred of actual scientific evidence that this is anything more than drawing arbitrary lines in the sand. Jung practically admits that's what he was doing, up to a justification of "4 is a pretty symbolic number and I like it":

It's not that introversion doesn't exist as a concept- it may even be possible to quantify it, and put a finger on someone who would be an "introvert" by any reasonable measure- but people get so caught up in personality types as concrete categories, the "this is a part of my identity now dammit" thing, ala Hogwarts houses. You hear "Oh I'm a type N" left and right, and there's an INTP forum on the internet somewhere, and I bet that emotionally we are not very far off from having an Enneatype 5 secret handshake and an introvert national anthem*

edited 1st Feb '12 10:11:15 AM by TripleElation

It's because people like to label themselves. Nothing new or scandalous there. People will always abuse descriptions by turning them into labels/identities. Doesn't mean we shouldn't use descriptions, especially when they do help some people gain additional insight into why they think and do what they do (surprisingly difficult at times)!

I find socializing in real life boring. The internet on the other hand is more interesting.

(I'm mostly talking about forums with people that share my interests, not places like Facebook)

^ Why is that? Just curious, because in my experiences real life can offer much more diversity than communities you pick, which most likely have people of similar interests.

I just find having casual conversations with people tiring and boring.

Thread Hop.

Highly doubtful. You don't need to be an introvert to be good at things that advance society—as nebulous and ultimately pointless a qualifier that is anyhow, since tons of things advance society, not just what I presume they're implying, i.e. science, math, etc.

you will note, flyboy, that they didn't say "Could introverts make the world not suck?" they said "Is the Bias towards Extroverts holding it back"

I thought I fell solidly into the introvert camp, but these definitions make me unsure. I really enjoy social interaction when it goes well, but I tend to avoid it since it rarely does go well. If I had a choice, I'd be a sociable person with many good friends. I think I'd just call myself a really shy, socially awkward person and leave it at that.

Being a shy person does make my life a lot more difficult. I guess I would prefer to live in less individual-oriented society, but oh well.

I'm certain that I fit squarely into the introverted side, though I am not always comfortable with it. I become extremely shy and self-conscious around other people, to the point I rather stay in my apartment than engage with anyone outside.

On the other hand, trying to talk to other people (even nice ones) drains my energy reserves and leaves me impatient and wanting to end the rest of the conversation as quickly as possible. I am always looking inwardly, which explains my extreme self-consciousness and susceptibility to philosophical issues. To make up for my lack of social face-to-face communication, I engage in my own conversations by myself, laughing at my own jokes and exhibiting the emotions of those conversations to the public (which obviously weirds people out - imagine them seeing a girl walking around the same location over and over in circles, talking to herself, and laughing for no reason). I do wish I had someone to talk to from time to time beyond my immediate family but I am simply too introverted to talk (or want to talk) to anyone on a regular basis.

Are you me? I totally agree.

And my answer is no, that's not the problem with society, and if anyone honestly thinks so over all the other myriad and far more important problems, I invite them to take introductory college-level sociology and get back to me.

it doesn't have to be "THE" problem to warrant investigation. other things clearly take precedence, but it could be interesting and useful nonetheless.

Mm. I think I misunderstood the question.

If the question is, is this the problem, then no, that's stupid and absurd.

If the question is, is this a problem, then who the fuck knows? Go do 20-year-long in-depth sociological study and start researching the historical trends of the past hundred years or so and get back to us, because anything less is pure speculation.

Well, to use a focused example, from the articles I posted in the OP, extraverts are more likely to be promoted to leadership positions, but introverts are more likely to get better results while in a leaderhip position because they encourage others to come up with ideas (the time article also links to the study it cites)

Edit: reading the study, one thing becomes clear. With proactive followers, an introverted leader is better, with not...proactive followers an extraverted leader is better. Fascinating

edited 4th Feb '12 11:40:46 PM by Acebrock