Susan Cain‘s ‘Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking’ started the ‘Quiet Revolution’. She made people look at introverts in a different way, in a way that didn’t see them as less adequate to extroverts, but simply as people who have a different skill set. Her book examines our society’s obsession with the ‘extrovert ideal’. We strive to be more outspoken and outgoing, and to look down upon people who are ‘shy’ or more reserved. Parents get worried when their children aren’t the life of the party but would rather immerse themselves in social situations where they prefer to listen rather than be the center of attention. A common misconception is that all introverts are shy, however, that is far from the truth. Extroverts can be shy as well. This shows that the division between introverts and extroverts isn’t as clear cut as people believe it is.
A person’s personality is said to be made up of the Big Five traits, which is a dimensional diagnosis. The traits include extraversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, neuroticism, and agreeableness. So on the extrovert trait, we can either be high on extraversion or low on extraversion, which means we are high on introversion. It’s a spectrum, where people can fall on a range depending on their level of extraversion. Some people call this the ‘north and south of temperament’ and people’s lives are shaped by their place on this continuum. Brian Little looks at how introverts can use ‘free traits’ for personal and core projects that are important for them. These traits are different from their ‘fixed traits’ and allow them to pursue goals that they are motivated by, which help them to be more extroverted or less introverted. However, introverts need some ‘me’ time after they have used these free traits to be themselves so that they can re-energize for future projects and not completely exhaust their resources. These are known as ‘restorative niches’.
Famous individuals like Mother Theresa, Rosa Parks, and Albert Einstein were all introverts. They displayed their strengths in ‘soft power’. Making changes through well thought out decisions, taking multiple perspectives into account, and not being motivated by external rewards such as money and fame is what soft power looks like. In particular, in group environments, introverts tend to help team members direct their ideas whereas extroverts tend to dominate the discussion. Introverts are stimulated by low levels of stimulation as they prefer listening over talking. This is beneficial in various environments as they use introspective skills. An important aspect of introversion is the context they are in, as they can display generic extroverted traits in situations where they are around people that they are comfortable with as they can pick and choose their level of stimulation.
Introverts form solid relationships that are rooted in deep conversations instead of small talk, which they absolutely can’t deal with. Extroverts, on the other hand, have a large group of friends and have no trouble in forming social bonds that may require them to make small talk. Introverts are observers and extroverts are doers. This doesn’t necessarily mean what they do is well thought out though, as they are prone to rash decisions. Introverts observe the situation, analyze it, and then act upon it.
People assume that introverts can’t succeed in workplace environments that require them to be extroverted. Susan Cain herself is a lawyer, a profession that is associated with extroverted traits. She was able to use her introversion to succeed in negotiations, and further her career without becoming extroverted or change who she was. With practice, introverts can become good public speakers and go on to have leadership roles. Next time someone tells you to be more extroverted or change who you are, maybe tell them they should be more introverted.
If the study of personality interests you, I highly recommend reading Susan Cain’s book and taking the extremely popular course ‘Introduction to Personality, PSYC 332’. You can also listen to Susan Cain’s Ted Talk.
Information and images obtained from:
http://www.thecolourworks.com/why-the-world-needs-introverts/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/07/physical-behavior-of-introverts…
https://experiencelife.com/article/quiet-the-power-of-introverts-in-a-wo…
http://www.lysistrataproject.org/Introversion.htm
https://uponasunnyday.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/susan-cain-quote.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QD0WF-ig4AU/VIwQEv6BpbI/AAAAAAAAF50/caQwTaWvn_…