Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 01:38, 19 June 2007

I transferred the main article here, away from the entry, Introversion and extroversion because this is the most common usage in psychology. Indeed, Eysenck frequently used the phrase, extraversion-introversion. I do not mean to imply that extraversion is normal or better than introversion. In fact, I think it is important to depict both orientations as having both positive and negative sides.

I am willing to discuss this issue further here, and I also want to work with all interested parties to develop this page further and make it as accurate as possible. I saw in some of the previous discussions on the topic that this has been a somewhat controversial entry.

Best regards, Jcbutler 21:46, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

Under what criteria do you determine extraversion to be the most common spelling? Merriam-Webster lists it as the variation to extroversion. —C.Fred (talk) 05:17, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Unfortunately, the dictionary may not be the best resource for this discussion. My dictionary has an entry for ain't, the classic example of poor usage. Please see the list of reasons I posted for further rationale. Jcbutler 17:36, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

A comment by reader:

This article is the worst bullshit I have ever read. It is as far from the psychological explanations of both the term 'extraversion' and the 'introversion' as it possibly can be. What this person descriped is the common perception of these two terms, the meaning of which, in the context of psychology, has nothing to do with what has been said.

Wow, the worst bullshit you've ever read? As far from psychological explanations as possible? I'm really curious as to what you think should be here. Granted, the article is not perfect, and the dictionary definitions are not entirely accurate, but I don't think it is that bad. What were you expecting? Jcbutler 07:08, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

I wrote much of the original content. However, I won't feel bad if a more knowledgeable person edits it to make a better article And I welcome constructive criticism.

Constructive = "the dictionary definitions are not entirely accurate. A better definition, from a psychological perspective, would be....". "Jung's theory is misrepresented. He actually said....", "the quoted study has since been discredited" etc.

Non-constructive = "this article is bullshit", "this is nothing but a cliche", "this is predjudiced against introverts/extraverts", etc. Fionah 10:27, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

I agree that there's a lot of bullshit here. The article makes introversion sound like a personality defect by implying that introverted people are not assertive or social people. Nothing could be further from the truth. Introverted people are hard-wired to work from internal energy and stimulation, not external. We're not social aberrations, our brains just operate differently. Extroverts just assume their personality type is the ideal for human behaviour. It's not. Being loud and obnoxious and talking without thinking first are hardly redeemable personality traits. Thank God there are clear thinking introverts out there to balance out the overbearing behaviour of extraverts.

Reasons to use ExtrAversion instead of ExtrOversion

1. Extraversion is the original spelling of the word introduced by Jung and used by Eysenck, the two biggest theorists in this area.

2. Extraversion is the term used on most (if not all) major personality tests, e.g. NEO, EPQ, MBTI.

3. The etymology is from the German word extraversion, from Latin extra- + versus, past participle of vertere to turn (Merriam-Webster Online).

4. "Extra" is a more appropriate prefix because it denotes "outside the scope of something," as in extraordinary, extravagant, extraterrestrial, or extra credit. Similarly, extraverts go outside of themselves for social interaction and stimulation, as opposed to introverts who stay within themselves and "introspect."

5. Extraversion is the term most frequently used by psychologists and professional journals in psychology.

6. PsycINFO, the comprehensive database of research articles in psychology provides the following search results:

1270 articles found for: ((EXTROVERSION))

7274 articles found for: ((EXTRAVERSION))

167 articles found for: ((EXTROVERT))

275 articles found for: ((EXTRAVERT))

7. Extraversion is more commonly used on the internet:

453,000 for EXTROVERSION

1,140,000 for EXTRAVERSION

8,100 for EXTROVERSION(Google Scholar)

35,800 for EXTRAVERSION (Google Scholar)

8. Extraversion is the preferred term in Corsini's Dictionary of Psychology and four volume Encyclopedia of Psychology (2nd Ed.)

Jcbutler 17:36, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

9. The article on the Myers Briggs Type Indicator uses the extravert spelling. —C.Fred (talk) 20:33, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Another good external link on Introversion

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200303/rauch This article became very popular in '03 and generated many responses. I'm surprised its not in the external links.

Fellow Introvert --72.202.129.98 16:18, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

So why not add it? Fionah 10:27, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

Extraverts or introverts

My ex-classmates used to be preoccupied with themselves. They didn't care about strangers and didn't have eye-contact with them. This sounds like introvertion. However, with friends and relatives they were talkative and even talked a lot. They smiled and laughted out loud. This sounds like extravertion. So, are they extraverts or introverts? 213.240.234.212 21:38, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Actually Misplaced Pages is not the place to discuss this, but anyway: extraversion/introversion is not such a firm dividing line. Nobody is 100% extravert or 100% introvert. Just like nobody is 100% hetero or 100% homo. It's not true that introverts are always quiet and lonely people who are uncaring of strangers. Introverts can be just as sociable as extroverts. But introverts just handle stimulus's differently then extroverts. Extroverts get the energy out of their environment, and thrive well with many different stimuli. Introverts get the energy out of their inner world, and are easily irritated when they feel like getting to many stimulu. It's not just the way a person acts, it's the way a person thinks. And that might be hard to determine.
By the way, you shouldn't base to much on the information from this article. It's a bit crappy. I might start making some plans to improve it. - Face 16:19, 20 January 2007 (UTC)

I am not so concerned about the spelling, although I tend to lean toward intro/extro... but that is just me. In my opinion introversion is more about how you react to people (like described above) -- introverts are emotionally drained when dealing with others, extroverts gain energy. In that way, an introvert can be "extroverted" but it takes more out of them. Which is why you will find your introvert friends taking long walks in the middle of a party, or hiding in their room reading a book at the end of the week. This is also why extroverts want to go out again right after having a great time with friends. Hope this helps.(MTW)--Meghanwier 01:39, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

Definition of the two terms

The definition of introversion is written as a negation of extraversion - it needs a rewrite so that the strengths of introversion are presented in contrast to the strengths of extraverion. --TAOdesign 22:41, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

No mention of Socionics? Fixed.

I noticed that there was no mention of extroversion and introversion as understood by socionics. This was regrettable to the west, because the east is well ahead of us as regards the understanding of psychological functions. Although I've only written a short stub, I trust that others can see the rationale for expanding on the discussion of introversion and extroversion as understood by socionists.