Introvert

There are times when people conclude on what a person’s attitude is based on what he appears to be. One of my experiences for this situation is when my classmates, teachers, and other people around me took my laziness as a form of introversion. They concluded that I am an introvert based from their observation that I am not that talkative and I do not socialize much. At first I considered this as laziness because interacting with the majority will require me to exert unnecessary energy but later on, I thought that they might be right in some aspects. Even so, I am not embarrassed to say that I am somehow an introvert but there are just some misconceptions that give a different perception on being one. To further understand what an introvert is, I got its definition from Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary. It defined an introvert as a shy person. This is quite contrary to what an introvert really is. Although some introverts may be shy, introversion itself is not defined by shyness. Cain (2012) explained that, “shyness is the fear of social disapproval or humiliation, while introversion is a preference for environments that are not overstimulating. Shyness is inherently painful; introversion is not” (p.12). This explanation helps in clarifying the difference between shyness and introversion. I do not think that introversion should automatically be linked to shyness. Besides, I may be an introvert but I am not that shy to initiate a conversation with a friend, an acquaintance, or even with a stranger. Shyness is not the only misconception that is associated with being an introvert. In a conversation with my English high school teacher, it was taken that, “introverts find it difficult to socialize” (J. Nocomora, personal communication, July 23, 2014). Quite similar to this is that other people would simply think that introverts are bad at socializing. They may even associate an introvert as an antisocial person. An antisocial is not sociable; not wanting the company of others (Oxford dictionaries, n.d.). Antisocial people isolate themselves from the group and do not prefer to associate with others. If introverts were like this, then they would totally seclude themselves from those who want to socialize with them. However, introverts, as a whole, are not antisocial. In fact, they also socialize with others and that can be observed when they interact with the group that they are in. Introverts also have their social lives. They do have a limited number of close friends whom they can confide to. They also consider talking to people who they do not know. In spite of this, they are not noticed by the majority of people as sociable because introverts only socialize to an extent and not for a long period of time. Introverts are distinct from shy and antisocial people. Even though an introverted person may also have the personality of an antisocial and shy person, the word introvert will suggest a different meaning, if associated with the two. Introverts are relatively more withdrawn, retiring, reserved, quiet, and deliberate; they may tend to mute or guard expression of positive affect, adopt more skeptical views or positions, and prefer to work independently (APA dictionary of psychology, 2007). This definition gives the essential meaning on what an introvert is as opposed to merely relating it to a shy or antisocial person. As noted earlier, an introvert also likes to interact with others but not as much as the other type of people. This other type of people is known as an extrovert. Extroverts are relatively more outgoing, gregarious, sociable, and openly expressive (APA dictionary of psychology, 2007). Extroverts are the more energetic type of people who can socialize with others longer than how an introvert can. Although they are like this, an extrovert’s brain is less excitable than an introvert’s as opposed to what one would expect (Bowdon, 2007, p. 92). Since this is the case, they socialize more to reach the level of excitement that would give them satisfaction and fulfillment. Even with their differences, introverts and extroverts both have something in common and that is they are both sociable. It only differs to how much an introvert socializes compared to an extrovert. In relation to the explanation about an extrovert’s less excitable brain, it would mean that an introvert’s brain is the opposite. As a result of this inner sensory overload, as a form of self-protection they naturally avoid too much social interaction, which they find mentally taxing (Bowdon, 2007, p. 92). This explains why introverts do not often socialize and their social interaction with other people are limited. As an introvert, I find too much social interaction with a number of people as energy-draining. Naturally, I do not hold a conversation for too long if I see little importance in it and if the conversation is with someone who is not a close friend of mine. Perhaps if the subject of a conversation is to my interest, I could keep the conversation going for a longer period. Most of the times, I prefer to do my work independently rather than with a group whom I need to work with for a long time. Also, I prefer to interact with a small group of people because it makes me feel tired when I do it with a large group. At the end of the day, I just like to be recharge myself from all the activities and socialization that I did. As much as I prefer being independent or interacting with a few people, there are also times when I would feel that I have all the energy to socialize with everyone. When this happens, I tend to be noisy and this would be an opposite scene from my usual quiet self. In this case, I would have an extroverted personality. Similarly, extroverts do not socialize all the time. They also have these instances where they would like to have a quiet time for themselves and this makes them act like an introvert. Bennet (1962) asserted that “every person has a quality of both extraversion and introversion and the relative preponderance in consciousness of the characteristics of one or other indicates the type” (p.76). No one can be a pure introvert or pure extrovert. A person will likely have a characteristic of an introvert and extrovert. Yet, he will have a characteristic that will be more dominant than his other characteristics. The dominant characteristic will be more noticeable, thus, defining the personality of an individual. On the whole, I consider myself as an introvert since I prefer and posses the qualities of an introvert more than that of an extrovert. Even if extroverts seem to be more preferred by society, an introvert should not feel inferior. Often times, introverts are just overlooked because of their silence. Hence, they are misinterpreted by many. Introverts also socialize like most of the people around them but they only do so to an extent because too much of social interaction will exhaust them mentally. In order to restore their energy, they would spend time alone or only with a few people who are close with them. They are different from antisocial and shy people. There times when people tell an introvert to change or to interact more with others. This happens because they do not fully understand what an introvert is. Despite the misconceptions about introverts, these do not affect how I see introverts as a unique kind of personality. In any case, I am still one of these introverts.