What words do you associate with the word “introvert?” Shy? Standoffish? Quiet? On the flip side, what do you think of when you hear the word “extrovert?” Outgoing? Fun? Sociable? Through a simple word association exercise, we see that as a society we tend to value extroverts more. Generally, introverts come second to extroverts in professional environments and even in academic environments.
If you don’t believe me, let’s take a look at questions a potential employer might ask you in a job interview: Do you like working with others? How well do you work in groups? Would you say you have an attractive personality? Are you outgoing? How well do you network? These are all personality traits that are generally valued in an employee. Similarly enough, these are all attributes associated with extroversion. From an introvert’s point of view, having to fake your personality to get a job has become a routine–almost like a circus act. You can’t break character. This is who you are now when you’re on the clock.
If you are an extrovert, then you might not realize that this is quite literally exhausting. Introverts need time to recharge, or else energy drops and it may physically start to show. For example, if someone has a tendency to get cranky when they are tired, then they may start to exhibit some irritability when they are around people for too long. Unlike extroverts, introverts are drained of energy when interacting with others. So a long workday at a customer service job does not do well for most introverts of the world. Don’t get me wrong, introverts can and do love working with people! Nevertheless, even though that may be true, they can only go for so long before they start to burn out.
Similarly, in a classroom setting, the utterance of the phrase, “get into groups” can be terrifying. Even in classes like math and English, which would seem like classes that would typically consist of individual work, teachers will put students into groups to work on a worksheet or to write a “group paper.” Yes, learning to work with others is a valuable and necessary skill. However, it is not always necessary and it can make students uncomfortable and even hinder their learning if it is emphasized too much. This commonplace teaching method has helped socialize us to value extroverts, and therefore marginalize introverts.
Furthermore, most people would agree that a good leader is someone who is good at analyzing information to figure out the best possible solution; someone who has good ideas and can execute them efficiently; someone who is creative and has good intuition. A lot of studies show that these are qualities mostly found in introverts. But how often is the leader of the group the one who is simply the loudest or talks the most?
That isn’t to say, however, that extroverts are inherently worse than introverts, or that introverts are inherently better. The words introvert and extrovert are just words to label how we function. It goes without saying that the world needs extroverts. Extroverts are great at connecting with others and keeping the party going. They’re the people you want to be around. They’re the ones who know how initiate a revolution. Also, how boring would it be if everyone had the same personality?
The point is, maybe we should try paying attention to the underdog. Give the quiet ones a chance. Value everyone’s strengths because that’s who they are.
Here’s a handy, basic guide to learning about introverts and extroverts: