The "introverted attitude"
Carl Jung, a contemporary and colleague of Sigmund Freud, was the first psychological theorist to describe introversion as a coherent set of qualities.
For Jung, the "introverted attitude " was a method of knowing about the world which was based on a natural inclination to thoroughly observe and process the qualities and meaning of an object, person or situation. Introverts therefore tend to turn inward and focus more on their own thoughts, feelings, moods and reactions rather than seeking out external stimulation.
Jung contrasted this experiential style with the "extroverted attitude" which he saw as a preference to get knowledge of the world through direct, immediate and often "hands-on" contact. Introverts gain energy from being with others and tend to seek out stimulating environments.
Jung theorized that both ways of approaching experience had powerful advantages which had survival value from an evolutionary perspective and that neither was superior or inferior to the other as a way of being in the world
Introversion is often misunderstood, both by researchers and laymen.
Because empirical research is usually oriented towards measurable, quantifiable phenomena, much modern psychological research focuses on the observable behavior that is characteristic of introverted individuals. As a result introversion is usually described as a tendency to withdraw socially either because of low sociability or because of social anxiety. Unfortunately, observation of external behaviors cannot capture the internal experience of introversion.
A more fully accurate description of introversion goes beyond behavioral descriptions and draws on a broad range of qualities including physiological and cognitive differences.
Research suggests that introverts are more physically and perceptually sensitive than extroverts.
They perceive more subtle physical changes, physical sensations and discriminate more finely amongst visual and olfactory stimuli and are typically more sensitive and reactive to them (Stelmack 1997). They are more reactive to novelty even as infants and have stronger startle responses.
From a cognitive perspective, introverts have been found to process information more thoroughly.
This means that they reflect more on their experience or feedback from others and may therefore take longer to arrive at conclusions. The tendency to reflect longer and more thoroughly means that ideas, experiences and emotional reactions can be processed to relatively greater levels of depth and complexity but this more detailed processing also takes extra mental effort and is often best accomplished in the quiet non-stimulating surroundings to which introverts naturally are drawn.
Temperamental introversion vs. social introversion
Temperamental introversion, understood as a preference to process information more thoroughly and a greater physical sensitivity and responsiveness, is a cognitive style which is present from birth (Chess and Thomas, 1987).
It would be a mistake however to confuse introversion with shyness, social anxiety or lack of interest in social relationships.
While temperamental introverts may enter social situations cautiously, they are not shy or socially anxious unless they have had the interpersonal experiences that have taught them to fear social evaluation and rejection.
Highly Sensitive People (HSP)
A closely related set of qualities has been described by psychological researcher Elaine Aron (2010) who calls it High Sensitivity or Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS). HS individuals, like introverts, exhibit the cognitive strategy of processing information deeply and are also very physically sensitive and responsive.
Aron notes that their ability to notice details and their strong responses to environmental stimuli are not attributable to better eyesight or hearing but to more elaborate cognitive processing.
She proposes that this enhanced sensitivity occurs at a prevalence of about 15-20% in the population, that it is present from birth, equally divided between men and women and also observable in many animals.
High Sensitivity as described by Aron is often associated with:
Emotionality: Detailed processing of the emotion-provoking experience and their physical responses to it intensifies the emotion. This applies equally to positive and negative feelings and experiences.
Empathy: Noticing and responding to other's emotions. Sometimes being overwhelmed and over-run by other's emotions becomes and interpersonal problem.
Creativity: Extra stimulation from outside and also from inside in the form of memories, dreams, intuitions... are noticed and processed. This adds depth and facilitates creative work. "Sensitive" poets, musicians and artists are common stereotypes.
While there is considerable overlap between HS and introversion, not all Sensitive persons are introverts.
Approximately 30% of HSP's are extroverts or even "sensation-seekers".
Introversion, Shyness and "Inhibited" personalities
Introversion and High Sensitivity share many common qualities. Depth of cognitive processing and physical responsiveness to stimuli occur in both, but may be more intense in HSP's. Not all sensitive persons are introverted and not all temperamental introverts are shy and inhibited. Research suggests that negative early life experiences which create fear of social evaluation intersect with temperamental tendencies to create painful shyness, inhibition or social anxiety.
"Vantage Sensitivity"
Recent research (Pluess and Belsky, 2012) suggests that sensitive individuals ability to respond to small differences may make them particularly able to benefit from small advantages or positive experiences. They call this quality "vantage sensitivity."
An introvert is not a failed extrovert
North American culture in the aggregate idealizes extroversion. The ideal North American personality is sociable, tough minded and action-oriented. Social psychology informs us that most people will strive, if they can, to embody the social ideal of their culture. Parents and families attempt to socialize their young children towards this ideal, often running roughshod over an introverted child's nature.
As a result of cultural and familial pressures, introverts who are not comfortably able to embody these ideals often see themselves as, or are treated as, social failures.
Repeated experiences of being pushed to be what they are not leads to low self-esteem and social anxiety, psychic exhaustion or pathologies of the false self as they try to be what the world claims to admire.
Cultural prejudice is far from absolute
Fortunately, even though our culture overvalues extroversion, most of us are, as individuals, very capable of appreciating the qualities of our introverted and sensitive friends, colleagues and relations. We enjoy and benefit from their empathy, depth and creativity.
We would all do well to recognize that much of our culture, science and art originate in the qualities that introverts manifest most fully and that most of us who are not at the extreme ends of the introversion/extroversion divide move back and forth between the two positions many times a day as we try ourselves, to access the qualities that are characteristic of the two attitudes.
References:
Aron, E & Aron, A, (1997) Sensory-Processing Sensitivity and Its Relation to Introversion and Emotionality, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 73, No. 2, 345-368
Chess, S. & Thomas A. (1987). Temperamental individuality from childhood to adolescence. Journal of Child Psychiatry, 16, 218-26.
Pluess, M., & Belsky, J. (2012, October 1). Vantage Sensitivity: Individual Differences in Response to Positive Experiences. Psychological Bulletin. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/a0030196
Stelmack, R. M., & Campbell, K. B. (1974). Extraversion and auditory sensitivity to high and low frequency. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 38, 875-879.
Carl Jung, a contemporary and colleague of Sigmund Freud, was the first psychological theorist to describe introversion as a coherent set of qualities.
For Jung, the "introverted attitude " was a method of knowing about the world which was based on a natural inclination to thoroughly observe and process the qualities and meaning of an object, person or situation. Introverts therefore tend to turn inward and focus more on their own thoughts, feelings, moods and reactions rather than seeking out external stimulation.
Jung contrasted this experiential style with the "extroverted attitude" which he saw as a preference to get knowledge of the world through direct, immediate and often "hands-on" contact. Introverts gain energy from being with others and tend to seek out stimulating environments.
Jung theorized that both ways of approaching experience had powerful advantages which had survival value from an evolutionary perspective and that neither was superior or inferior to the other as a way of being in the world
Introversion is often misunderstood, both by researchers and laymen.
Because empirical research is usually oriented towards measurable, quantifiable phenomena, much modern psychological research focuses on the observable behavior that is characteristic of introverted individuals. As a result introversion is usually described as a tendency to withdraw socially either because of low sociability or because of social anxiety. Unfortunately, observation of external behaviors cannot capture the internal experience of introversion.
A more fully accurate description of introversion goes beyond behavioral descriptions and draws on a broad range of qualities including physiological and cognitive differences.
Research suggests that introverts are more physically and perceptually sensitive than extroverts.
They perceive more subtle physical changes, physical sensations and discriminate more finely amongst visual and olfactory stimuli and are typically more sensitive and reactive to them (Stelmack 1997). They are more reactive to novelty even as infants and have stronger startle responses.
From a cognitive perspective, introverts have been found to process information more thoroughly.
This means that they reflect more on their experience or feedback from others and may therefore take longer to arrive at conclusions. The tendency to reflect longer and more thoroughly means that ideas, experiences and emotional reactions can be processed to relatively greater levels of depth and complexity but this more detailed processing also takes extra mental effort and is often best accomplished in the quiet non-stimulating surroundings to which introverts naturally are drawn.
Temperamental introversion vs. social introversion
Temperamental introversion, understood as a preference to process information more thoroughly and a greater physical sensitivity and responsiveness, is a cognitive style which is present from birth (Chess and Thomas, 1987).
It would be a mistake however to confuse introversion with shyness, social anxiety or lack of interest in social relationships.
While temperamental introverts may enter social situations cautiously, they are not shy or socially anxious unless they have had the interpersonal experiences that have taught them to fear social evaluation and rejection.
- A temperamentallyextroverted individual can also become shy and socially anxious if they have suffered painful rejections and humiliations from important others.
Highly Sensitive People (HSP)
A closely related set of qualities has been described by psychological researcher Elaine Aron (2010) who calls it High Sensitivity or Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS). HS individuals, like introverts, exhibit the cognitive strategy of processing information deeply and are also very physically sensitive and responsive.
Aron notes that their ability to notice details and their strong responses to environmental stimuli are not attributable to better eyesight or hearing but to more elaborate cognitive processing.
She proposes that this enhanced sensitivity occurs at a prevalence of about 15-20% in the population, that it is present from birth, equally divided between men and women and also observable in many animals.
High Sensitivity as described by Aron is often associated with:
Emotionality: Detailed processing of the emotion-provoking experience and their physical responses to it intensifies the emotion. This applies equally to positive and negative feelings and experiences.
Empathy: Noticing and responding to other's emotions. Sometimes being overwhelmed and over-run by other's emotions becomes and interpersonal problem.
Creativity: Extra stimulation from outside and also from inside in the form of memories, dreams, intuitions... are noticed and processed. This adds depth and facilitates creative work. "Sensitive" poets, musicians and artists are common stereotypes.
While there is considerable overlap between HS and introversion, not all Sensitive persons are introverts.
Approximately 30% of HSP's are extroverts or even "sensation-seekers".
Introversion, Shyness and "Inhibited" personalities
Introversion and High Sensitivity share many common qualities. Depth of cognitive processing and physical responsiveness to stimuli occur in both, but may be more intense in HSP's. Not all sensitive persons are introverted and not all temperamental introverts are shy and inhibited. Research suggests that negative early life experiences which create fear of social evaluation intersect with temperamental tendencies to create painful shyness, inhibition or social anxiety.
"Vantage Sensitivity"
Recent research (Pluess and Belsky, 2012) suggests that sensitive individuals ability to respond to small differences may make them particularly able to benefit from small advantages or positive experiences. They call this quality "vantage sensitivity."
An introvert is not a failed extrovert
North American culture in the aggregate idealizes extroversion. The ideal North American personality is sociable, tough minded and action-oriented. Social psychology informs us that most people will strive, if they can, to embody the social ideal of their culture. Parents and families attempt to socialize their young children towards this ideal, often running roughshod over an introverted child's nature.
As a result of cultural and familial pressures, introverts who are not comfortably able to embody these ideals often see themselves as, or are treated as, social failures.
Repeated experiences of being pushed to be what they are not leads to low self-esteem and social anxiety, psychic exhaustion or pathologies of the false self as they try to be what the world claims to admire.
Cultural prejudice is far from absolute
Fortunately, even though our culture overvalues extroversion, most of us are, as individuals, very capable of appreciating the qualities of our introverted and sensitive friends, colleagues and relations. We enjoy and benefit from their empathy, depth and creativity.
We would all do well to recognize that much of our culture, science and art originate in the qualities that introverts manifest most fully and that most of us who are not at the extreme ends of the introversion/extroversion divide move back and forth between the two positions many times a day as we try ourselves, to access the qualities that are characteristic of the two attitudes.
References:
Aron, E & Aron, A, (1997) Sensory-Processing Sensitivity and Its Relation to Introversion and Emotionality, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 73, No. 2, 345-368
Chess, S. & Thomas A. (1987). Temperamental individuality from childhood to adolescence. Journal of Child Psychiatry, 16, 218-26.
Pluess, M., & Belsky, J. (2012, October 1). Vantage Sensitivity: Individual Differences in Response to Positive Experiences. Psychological Bulletin. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/a0030196
Stelmack, R. M., & Campbell, K. B. (1974). Extraversion and auditory sensitivity to high and low frequency. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 38, 875-879.
Susan Meindl, MA, is a licensed psychologist in private practice
in Montreal Canada. She has a special interest in the psychological
challenges of introverted and Highly Sensitive (HSP) clients and
practices a Jungian approach to psychodynamic psychotherapy. Contact
Susan at: smeindl@videotron.ca
http://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/59983
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