As aforementioned, the introvert-extrovert scale relies on issues like sociability and the place you get your power. On one finish of the spectrum, introverts desire quiet, reflective alone time, whereas extroverts desire partaking with others, expressing themselves, and directing their focus outward.
Introverts additionally really feel drained after spending time with folks (particularly giant teams), whereas that is the place extroverts thrive, and so they’ll really feel drained after an excessive amount of alone time.
Analysis has additionally pointed to explanations within the mind for why some individuals are extra introverted versus extroverted. Specifically, one research1 discovered thicker areas within the prefrontal cortex of introverts in comparison with extroverts—the a part of the mind that offers with issues like planning and determination making, which may clarify why introverts are typically extra reserved, whereas extroverts are typically extra impulsive.
“Of all of the completely different character traits, introversion and extroversion are one of many ones which might be most strongly hereditary,” Web page says, including that environmental elements, corresponding to the way you have been raised, will even come into play.
Our DNA additionally determines the diploma to which we will be versatile in these traits, he says. “Introversion and extroversion is basically linked to a complete bunch of points round our neurotransmitters, and a very powerful one is dopamine,” he says.
Dopamine fuels our reward heart within the mind, and Web page explains that extroverts have a tendency to understand or be motivated by these dopamine hits. “However introverts,” he notes, “their brains are much less pushed by that want for dopamine and that pleasure over dopamine.”
And this phenomena has been backed up by research, with analysis2 displaying that extroverts have a stronger response and dopamine response to rewards than introverts, which each highlights that extroverts have a tendency to hunt extra dopamine hits, and likewise reaffirms the aforementioned level about impulsivity.
As you may think, the place you fall on the spectrum can manifest into many alternative areas of your life, from the way you method friendships and courting, to the way you greatest get work completed, to how you like to spend your time.
In case you’re nonetheless undecided whether or not you are an introvert or extrovert, here is a quiz to search out out.
