INTROVERSION: AN APPROACH
Our culture made a virtue of living only as extroverts. We discouraged the inner journey, the quest for a center. So we lost our center and have to find it again.— Anaïs Nin
Introversion and extroversion are among the most researched subjects in personality psychology. Both types can be found in ancient poetry, philosophy, and even in the Bible. And yet too many people seem to have never heard about them and are not aware of how much this affects all our lives. Especially in Western culture, we are given to understand that extroversion is the ideal personality. Though Eastern culture may not celebrate this ideal to the same extent, it seems that recently things are changing there too, and society is slowly coming to give more value to extroverted personalities. However, studies show that at least one-third to one-half of the population is introverted—though the numbers may vary depending on the country and culture—and it’s about time to raise awareness for the differences and suffering the idealization brings, especially to introverts.
Many introverts hide, often behind a mask of extroversion, so you may be surprised to know who identifies as introvert. This may actually be easier for some introverts than others, because not all introverts are the same. On the introvertextrovert spectrum, some are more on the introvert side, while others come close to the extrovert part of the continuum. Some people can even “switch” between the two; they are called “ambiverts.”
The main characteristics that define introversion are:
1. Energy source. Introverts are energized by solitude. It is the inner world of their ideas and feelings that refuels them. Generally, this is done in private or with only one or two close friends present. Some people take the need for solitude as antisocial behavior. They do not understand that being with other people drains introverts, even if they enjoy the event and know and like the people there. Without a chance to refill their energy, introverts are physically exhausted. Contrary to this, extroverts get their energy from outside. It is with external stimuli that they recharge, and too much time in solitude leaves them feeling drained. Additionally, it is necessary to distinguish between energy source and energy level. Introverts may start with a high energy level in a conversation—sometimes even a higher level than an extrovert. However, energy is lost over time, like a battery. Many introverts have learned to preserve energy by moving and talking slower than extroverts, which is sometimes taken as disinterest in the conversation.
2. Internal processing. We are continuously exposed to a multitude of stimuli—images, sounds, conversations, and so on—that require processing, or deciding on important information to keep and unimportant data to discard. It is like a filtering system, which works differently for extroverts and introverts. While extrovert filters are more flexible and porous and let pass most things without getting clogged, introvert filters are finer and more rigid. They allow only small amounts of stimuli to pass and get clogged up faster. This filtering process is done preferably while removed from other stimuli, because it is done internally, in the mind. You may have heard the phrase “extroverts speak in order to think, whereas introverts think in order to speak.” This thinking process can also happen while speaking, thus creating pauses when introverts look for the right words—and these pauses can drive extroverts crazy, because they are not aware or don’t understand the process. Sometimes, they may even start to speak, trying to finish the sentence. This interruption, however, is difficult for most introverts, because it disrupts the train of thought, and as a result, they may decide to stay quiet. Once the introvert filter is clogged, the person often goes silent for inner processing. Usually you don’t notice it from the outward appearance, but introvert minds are constantly active. If this processing is impeded, the result can be disastrous, especially for the introvert.
3. Depth over breadth. This preference applies to various aspects of life. Often, introverts have fewer yet deeper relationships than extroverts. Group socializing and small talk are rather tiring and less fulfilling for introverts. They prefer one-on-one interactions, which allow for deeper connections. Likewise, introverts usually have fewer interests but crave to explore them in all their complexities. That’s why many great scientists, artists, and others like them are introverts. This passion for depth extends also to the inward, a longing for understanding oneself. Introverts are more often than not aware of the motivations, feelings, and assumptions their decisions are based on.
In spite of the idea many extroverts have that introverts should learn to overcome their “feebleness” and be more like extroverts, there’s more and more evidence that this is a question of “hardware”—their brains working differently. They have different chemical balances and react differently to the different neurotransmitters (substances that transmit nerve impulses). One of them is dopamine, which is produced when people are active and in motion. It produces an “act and react” response. Extroverts require much of this neurotransmitter in order to feel good. Introverts need lesser doses, and if there’s too much dopamine in their brains, they easily feel anxious or “over aroused.” Introverts need more of another neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, which produces a “rest and repose” posture. It results in introverts processing more and reacting slower, thus allowing more for perceiving connections and subtleties that extroverts may be unaware of. Also, that’s why many extroverts perceive introverts as less expressive with their bodies, and thus, less passionate.
In addition, introverts have busier, more active brains. Studies show that some infants already tend to be “high-reactive”—more sensitive to external stimuli like noise and light—and they usually turn out to be introverts later in life. Recent research shows that most introverts are “highly sensitive,” meaning that they are very sensitive, or reactive, to external stimuli—that is, everything that can be perceived through the senses. This is connected to the brain functions and the procession of stimuli. Highly sensitive people are often highly empathic and tend to have strong consciences. Unfortunately, especially in Western culture, this sensitivity is considered rather a stigma and undesirable.
When signs of introversion, including sensitivity, are seen in children, the parents and/or other custodians believe them to be weakness and try to teach the children to “overcome” this problem. However, as introversion is an innate trait of personality, it is not a disease that can be cured or a weakness that can be overcome. It defines who we are and “influences our choice of friends and mates, and how we make conversation, resolve differences, and show love. It affects the careers we choose and whether or not we succeed at them.”1
Can you imagine what it does to a child if he or she is constantly told that something is wrong with him or her? Do you know how damaging it is to a child to grow up thinking he or she is one big mistake? Why is it that introverts are being told to “stretch” themselves and behave or even become more like extroverts and adapt to an extroverted world, while no one requests of extroverts any adaptation to a world of introverts?
It is true that we can “stretch” our personalities, but only up to a point, like a rubber band. If stretched too much, it breaks. Though introverts, in general, may dread public speaking, they can do it, and even strikingly well. As said previously, you probably won’t notice they are introverts. Why can they do that? We have a free will and can decide to act out of our character for the sake of a greater reason, a “core personal project,” or a passion. Allow an introvert to be himself or herself, and give them space to explore their interests and passions, and then watch and see what can happen. But just as introverts can stretch their personality, extroverts can do the same. It probably does require work; however, I believe they can do it—just as introverts can put in some effort and grow; introverts to the outside, extroverts to the inside.
I hope this information may give a hint about the vast subject of personality, especially the question of introversion and extroversion, and open the way for greater understanding, for oneself and for others.
As different as we are, I believe we are created that way, and God meant us to be that way. I think we can learn so much of each other, if only we treat each other with respect and allow for each one to develop properly. This will be helpful in our personal lives as well as in our families and in relationships at work and church.
1 Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking (London: Penguin Books, 2012), 2.
Regina Fleischmann serves in the Ministerial Association of the Inter-European Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Berne, Switzerland.
