It all began this past semester with a wonderful Economics
teacher and a wonderful Psychology teacher. Believe it or not, this semester
was the first time that I really got interested in unveiling the truth about
extroversion and introversion. Which was I? What exactly is an introvert vs. an extrovert?
I began my quest to discovery by visiting the dictionary.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Introvert means “to turn or direct
inward.” Introversion was given the psychology definition of “the direction of or tendency to direct one's thoughts and
feelings toward oneself.” And last but not least, Introverted was defined as follows: "Marked by interest in or
preoccupation with oneself or one's own thoughts as opposed to others or the
environment; shy or reserved."
According to those definitions an introvert would appear to
be selfish (focused on oneself) and shy. However I was not completely satisfied
with that answer. Surely there was more to it than that. And I was not ready to
call an introvert selfish.
So, I decided to try to google introvert. And this is the
next definition I came up with: "A shy, reticent, and typically self-centered
person. A person predominantly concerned with their own thoughts and feelings
rather than with external things."
Okay so both references called an introvert shy and
self-centered. I still was not satisfied with that definition. I still would not call a introvert self-centered. I found a better explanation of introversion in the book written by Susan Cain which I will talk more about later. But for now..... what about extroverts?
According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Extroversion is “Interest in or behavior directed toward others or one's environment rather than oneself.” “Gregarious and outgoing” was added to the definition of extroverted.
Well, now it was time for the most interesting part. I
decided to do a quiz online and see which I was and how exactly psychologists
were defining these terms.
So, again I googled and found a quiz that was based on a
book by Susan Cain’s book “Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t
Stop Talking.” I answered all but one True and that is a pretty good indication
that I am an introvert. I tended to agree with her prognosis. Here is the link
to Susan Cain’s Introvert Quiz -
http://www.thepowerofintroverts.com/quiet-quiz-are-you-an-introvert
- I encourage you to find out what you are and then comment on my blog and let
me know what you discover. You will also find her explanation of the terms a whole lot more helpful and accurate than the dictionary definitions. She draws a distinction between being shy and being an introvert. I found it really interesting that they were not actually the same thing.
Although this topic has virtually nothing to
do with Diabetes Insipidus, I think that my DI has
made my introversion and need for some alone time greater.
What about you? Are you an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert?
Please comment below when you find out.
For those of you with DI, has your DI strengthened your introversion or extroversion?
