Introversion

I was listening to a psychology podcast this week on personality traits. I was intrigued when the prof. said that personalities don't really change. Introversion vs. extroversion is a basic personality differences, and I always assumed that I had become more extroverted over time. I don't duck and cover when people talk to me anymore -- I even choose to sit behind a desk and answer their questions! I think the distinction is more subtle than the popular definitions, though. I've become less shy, but not necessarily less introverted.

Introverts can be good at public speaking, while extr0verts can potentially be shy. The difference has to do with how you process information. Introverts process information internally, so outside stimuli are distractions. Extroverts need external interaction to process. The professor used the analogy of a glass. Autistic people, for example, have a very low overflow threshold for stimulation. Normal introverts have a higher overflow threshold, but they still have a point where they can take no more interaction. Extroverts don't have a threshold.

That's at least how the podcast described it. Wikipedia gives definitions from various theorists. All agree that introverts find a great deal of socializing draining, while extroverts find it energizing. I like the wording of Jung's "psychic energy flow" model. I think it's true that the difference is deeper than how we interact with other people -- it's how we react to any sort of barrage on our senses. (Here's another article about introversion). In the original Manchurian Candidate, Raymond says "there are two kinds of people in the world: those who walk into a room and turn the TV on, and those who walk into a room and turn it off."

The Atlantic has an insightful article about "Caring for Your Introvert." I really think somewhere near the center of the bell-curve -- almost an "ambivert." I'm not intently focused, I can work in groups (or I've been lying on my job applications), and I do blurt things out before I think about them. I also find myself in environments with a high concentration of introverts (the library, and academia in general), so I tend to be more extroverted than those around me. Yet I've certainly had the experience where I need some "alone time" and my highly-extroverted friends/siblings/parents simply don't understand.

Are all people who wake up crabby in the morning introverts?