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Around half of all people in the United States are known to be introverts. Some signs that indicate a person may be an introvert are as follows:
- They need their surroundings to be quiet to concentrate.
- They are reflective.
- They are self-aware.
- They take time to make decisions and often make decisions themselves, without requiring help or opinions from others.
- They are comfortable being by themselves.
- They prefer spending time with two to three people over a large group.
- They prefer having a few close friends rather than having a big social group.
- They prefer working alone over working in a team.
- They prefer writing or texting over talking.
- Being in a crowd feels exhausting for them.
- They often daydream or get lost in their thoughts.
- They tend to use their imagination to solve problems.
- They usually turn to themselves and their mind to energize and recharge.
What is an introvert?
The exact cause of introvert or extrovert behavior is unknown.
Carl Jung, a psychologist, began using the terms introvert and extrovert in the 1920s and categorized people into these two personality types based on how they get or spend their energy or how they dealt with their surroundings. Whether a person is an introvert or an extrovert depends on how they process and react to the world around them.
A typical introvert is a quiet calm daydreamer who talks less and enjoys being by themselves. Introverts feel more comfortable being by themselves, focusing on their thoughts, work, and ideas rather than what is happening around them. At most, they enjoy spending time with just one or two people they feel comfortable with, but they usually don’t enjoy large groups or crowds. They are often labeled as shy, quiet, or wanting to be alone. However, this is not always the case with all introverts. There is a lot to this personality type. On the contrary, extroverts are usually described as the life of the party. They are known to be talkative, outgoing, vibrant, enjoying attention, and thriving off interaction with others.
The exact cause of introvert or extrovert behavior is unknown. The brains of two personality types work a little differently from each other. Research has shown that introverts have a higher blood flow to the frontal lobe (the anterior/front part of the brain) than extroverts. Dopamine levels (a brain chemical) in introverts on exposure to crowds are low. Thus, introverts are not very happy in noisy surroundings. The frontal lobe of the brain helps reasoning, planning, problem-solving, speech, and performing multistep activities and is more active when they are alone or in quieter places. Introverts and extroverts have the same levels of dopamine, but they react differently to it. Having an introverted to extroverted personality may also be influenced by genetics and hormones.
According to Jung, the two personality types differ in how they derive or spend their energy. Introverts turn to themselves and their own minds to recharge, whereas extroverts seek out other people to fuel their energy. Basically, extroverts are energized by crowds and interacting with others. Introverts need their alone time to recharge and are more reserved. There are no good or bad personality types; they are just different and process things differently. Being an introvert or extrovert is not black and white. Most people fall somewhere on the spectrum between the two polar ends. Many people have characteristics of both personality types. One way to find one’s personality is to take a test, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) or SAPA project.