One of the many reasons why I am excited to be in college is the fact that I may be alone, whenever I please, and not be deemed a social outcast. I am not anti-social, per se, and I can easily carry out a conversion with people. In fact, my job when I am at home is selling shoes on commission. Thus, my ability to interact with the customer is directly correlated to my income, and I do quite well. That being said however, I treasure my alone time. Most of you, like myself, understand the characteristics of an introvert and extrovert, but I am curious as to why people are introverts or extroverts. And, because I exhibit characteristics of both, is there something in between?
Right off the bat, I found that there is a middle ground, ambiversion. Ambiverts are sort of a forgotten personality type, yet many people fall into that category. Even Carl Jung, the psychologist that coined the term “introvert” and “extrovert”, stated, “There is no such thing as a pure introvert or extrovert. Such a person would be in the lunatic asylum.” (You have to love the lack of political correctness in the 1920’s.)
I am still however curious as to the cause of introverted or extroverted nature. One theory is that our “individual differences in dopamine promote variation in the heterosynaptic plasticity that enhances the connection between incentive context and incentive motivation and behavior.” In simple terms, extroverts’ brains’ have an increased activation of reward-sensastive areas when receiving awards. This theory is backed by the evidence found in the Cognitive Brain Research medical journal. The study “used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine whether individual differences in extraversion predict the reactivity of the brain’s dopaminergic neural reward system.”
MRI image of extrovert brain activity (S7) compared to introvert brain activity (S13) when exposed to reward. (Image from study live link)
Based on the findings, the scientists involved stated that there are “clear links between stable individual differences in personality, genetics, and functioning of the brain’s reward system.”
While reading through the study myself, (most of which went right over my head) I did wonder about confounding variables. The human brain is incredibly complex, and there is still much we do not know about it. Could there possibly be a third variable that explains the direct correlation between extraversion and high brain activity when exposed to reward? The authors list several caveats to outlining possible problems with their study and things that might have skewed the results.
Do you find yourself to be more of an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert? And, do you think the brain activity of reward sensitive areas is the only explanation to your personality? Please, comment your thoughts/findings.
That is an interesting perspective. I guess it really comes down to the fundamental nature vs. nurture argument. I think based on the results that I found, much of our personality is a result of genetics. However, a traumatic life experience or childhood may just as well affect the behavior of a person. It would be very difficult to conduct any experiments on the matter though.
Hey Walter,
What actually grabbed my attention initially from this post was that I saw you sell shoes back home. I personally have my own stash of shoes that I collect, and someday I would like to start my own website to consign sneakers or resell them. I don’t know about yourself, but I own athletic footwear such as Jordan’s, LeBron’s, etc.
Nevertheless this was an intriguing post on a very captivating subject matter that I’ve always wanted to explore more. I myself definitely fit under the standards of an, “ambivert”. I believe that your upbringing and past contributes quite a bit as to which social category you would fall under. Your peers and those who you associate yourself with also factor in. For example, if one were to be a witness to their parents constantly arguing throughout their childhood, that person may be an introvert because they would always vanish themselves to their quiet, peaceful room with no noise.
Essentially what I am saying is that each of these three social categories are primarily learned and based on environment. Thanks for such an interesting post!