Personality types: Extroverts and introverts

Being an extrovert isn’t what it seems. Not everybody enjoys the company of an outgoing and vocal individual. Sometimes people misinterpret the talkative nature of a person as an attempt to draw attention to themselves, when in fact they are simply being themselves.

And even when it may appear that extroverts are ever confident and capable, they can still find themselves in situations where they don’t know what to say.

“(Others) think that I want to be the center of attention, but I think that’s just who I am as a person,” junior Kevin Wilson said. “I like to talk and and just say what’s on my mind.”

Being a naturally talkative person can have its drawbacks. Some people are simply overwhelmed by an extrovert’s straightforward, say-what’s-on-your-mind attitude. This could even result in possible lost friendships for some.

“Sometimes people are intimidated by me and don’t want to talk to me cause I’m just so outgoing,” senior Elena Noyola said. “I think that I overwhelm some people, and I guess I will lose some friends, but overall I really don’t care.”

Noyola doesn’t try to suppress her upfront, vocal tendencies; instead, she embraces them, staying true to who she really is.

“I just walk with my head up, and say what’s on my mind,” Noyola said. “I walk around with no filter. For me that just explains being outgoing and saying what’s on your mind, like you have no filter.”

Being a vocal young student has social benefits, but brings with it some drawbacks. In elementary school, chit-chat during lessons is often interpreted as disrespectful towards teachers, but from the perspective of an extrovert, it is his or her natural tendency and carries no malicious intent.

“When I was younger, I always used to get in trouble and I’d get on steps, but now people realize that a lot people are just into talking. I think they realize that there is a certain point where I’m not being annoying,” Wilson said.

Click here to read about how different personality types are dealt with in the classroom.

Though extroverts are often thought of as “social butterflies” they still find themselves in difficult social situations where they don’t know what to say.

“There was a time when somebody stole something from me, and I felt like I should have confronted that person because that’s just who I am; I’m just gonna say whatever I feel like,” Noyola said. “I didn’t then because I was worried that it might start problems, or it might just make a big scene and create a lot of conflict, so I didn’t just go out on a limb; I kinda just held it in. But I felt like I shouldn’t (have kept quiet) because I’m not being who I am.”

An extrovert’s brain functions differently than an introvert’s, according to a study by Yu Fu and Richard Depue, two neurobiologists at Cornell University. One of the largest discoveries in their study was that an extrovert’s brain processes reward differently that an introvert. The reward system of an extrovert’s brain responds more heavily to external signals from the environment, such as socializing.

In the end, whether you are extroverted or introverted it comes down to how you feel about yourself and who you are as a person.

“People mostly like who I am, and they respect me because I’m so friendly and outgoing,” Wilson said.

What is an introvert? Someone who is shy, quiet, and generally just likes to be left alone? In some cases, this definition of this personality type can be very true. But to what extreme does this definition match up to the introverts of the world as a whole?

The psychological definition of an introvert is as follows: a person characterized by concern primarily with his or her own thoughts and feelings. Just because someone is concerned with his or her own thoughts and feelings does not mean, however, that they are only concerned with themselves. Instead, this means that they simply don’t like to share their feelings with a group, as much as an extrovert would.

“It takes me a little while to warm up to people, but I’m not super shy,” junior Allie Osgood said. “I just prefer smaller groups, so in classrooms it’s hard for me to get to know people.”

In general, introverts are just as sociable as extroverts, just on a smaller scale. They said don’t need to be friends with everyone, because they have their group of friends that they are completely comfortable with.

“It’s not negative; I think it just takes more time becoming friends,” senior Eli Kahn said. “But once you do [become friends], it is way better.”

With all of these traits mentioned above, such as smaller scale social settings and shy attitudes in big groups, one would think that this would negatively affect introverted students in the classroom. In some ways, these obstacles can slow a student down, such as raising their hand in front of the class.

“It is harder to raise your hand. I just assume more people have the same questions as me, and they will ask them,” senior Erin Higley said.

“Yeah [I don’t like to raise my hand in class]. If I have a question, I’ll go after class, instead of during [the class],” senior Elena Kahn said.

Overall, an introverted personality does not negatively affect a student in the classroom.

“I don’t speak out as much [in class], but I also think about things more, and work my ideas out,” Osgood said.

“In some situations [being an introvert] does affect you, but it doesn’t affect how you perform in a classroom. You can still get good grades and stuff,” freshman Charlie Cutter said.

“I don’t think its (being an introvert) that big of an affect,” Eli said. “It’s more of a social thing. You have a tight-knit group of friends.”

According to a research project done in 1999, scientists found that there is a difference in the cerebral blood flow of extroverts and introverts. Introverts displayed more blood flow in the frontal lobes and anterior thalamus, which are regions of the brain that are involved with recalling events, making plans, and solving problems. Extroverts, on the other hand, showed more blood flow passing through regions of the brain that were connected to sensory details. Through this research, scientists concluded that where extroverts attention focuses outwards, whereas an introverts attention focuses inwards.