Supplemental Essay: Extraversion Versus Introversion

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Compliant Versus Withdrawn

​In the main essay I said that Storr:

• defined extraverts as "compliant" with the society around them and attentive to the needs and priorities of the outer world; and

• defined introverts as "withdrawn" from society and focusing instead on their inner world and their inner compass.

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In his book Solitude: A Return to the Self Anthony Storr wrote:

 

Concerning the extraverted-compliant mentality

Children who feel that they have to be compliant to the extent of partially denying or repressing their true natures are bound to remain dependent on external sources for the maintenance of self-esteem. Such a child will develop into an adult who will continue to feel that he has to be successful, or good, or approved of by everyone, if he is to retain any sense of his own value. [...] The person who cannot stand up to other people, or assert himself when this is appropriate, represses his hostility. When he becomes depressed, his hostility toward others is displaced and becomes directed against himself in the form of self-reproach. [...P]eople of this temperament are predominantly extraverted...[1]

 

Concerning the introverted-withdrawn mentality

The second variety of person [...] is introverted, and, when disturbed or clearly pathological, is labelled schizoid. It was suggested earlier that there may be a link between the development of this kind of personality and the type of infantile behavior which attachment theorists call avoidance.[2]

 

By the way, it's my understanding that depression and schizoid mentality can be so close in how they manifest themselves externally and how they are treated that many treatment professionals tend to throw them in the same bucket under the general "depression" heading.

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Breadth Versus Depth

In the main essay I said that in Chapter VI of Psychological Types Carl Jung:

• defined extraversion as characterized by breadth of understanding that can tend toward superficiality

• defined introversion as characterized by depth of understanding that can tend toward a restricted view of the world and an impoverished view of life

 

To spell this out in more detail:

 

Concerning the introverted-deep mode of thought

Introverts like to build internal "complexes" or "constellations" of ideas: Fantasies, daydreams, plans for the future, favorite theories or hypotheses, favorite hobbies, ideas about relationships, people, etc. Introverts invest lots of mental energy (libido) in the particular "idea complexes" that interest them. And when they scan the outside world around them, they look for things that will relate to or reflect their favorite internal idea complexes.

 

If nothing in the outside world relates to any of his favorite idea complexes, then the introvert doesn't take much interest in the outside world. He's largely immune to the random attractions of the outside world; he only cares about things that relate to preexisting idea complexes in his head.

 

On the other hand, if something in the outside world relates to an internal idea complex of his, then the introvert can become quite excited and animated. He has so much mental energy (libido) focused on his idea complexes that the energy can explode and spill out when he finds something in the outside world that's related to one of his personal idea complexes.

 

The upside to this kind of introverted thinking is that if something interests the introvert, he mulls it over long and deep as part of one of his idea complexes. The downside is that an introvert can only sustain a limited number of idea complexes in his head. In other words, there are a multitude of things happening in the world around the introvert, but the introvert only takes interest in a very limited number of them: Only those things that pertain to his existing idea complexes. An example: The absent-minded professor who is so busy mulling over a favorite theory in his head that he can't remember to match the color of his socks or comb his hair in the morning. 

 

Another downside: The introvert can end up investing so much mental energy in one particular idea complexes that the idea complex can take over his world and become his sole focus in life (leading to paranoia, depression, etc.) An extreme example: Brooding and mulling over some tiny incident or petty insult and turning it into hatred, fear, and a big crusade to take down an opponent.

 

So, a general rule: The introvert ponders deeply, but only on a limited number of subjects; compared to the extravert, the introvert deals with a relative poverty of material, but he probes that material deeply.

 

Concerning the extraverted-broad mode of thought

Extraverts are the opposite of introverts: They are interested in the outside world and its possibilities, and their interest is wide-ranging, dynamic, and interactional. The world offers a multitude of inputs on a constant basis, so the thinking of extraverts tends to be broad but shallow in order to take it all in and move quickly from subject to subject. Extraverts typically don't invest much mental energy (libido) in internal idea complexes. Instead, they practice what people today would probably call "situational awareness" or perhaps "reality-testing": Inventorying the outside world and investing their mental energy in reacting to inputs with facility and speed.

 

The upside of this style of thinking: Extraverts tend to be practical, adaptive, and energetic in their approach to real-world issues. The downside: Extraverts can be so focused on external data that they become dismissive and even fearful of their inner world and their own needs and drives in the same way that introverts can become dismissive and even fearful of the external world. Extraverts may simply not have the time to engage in the type of extended introspection required to delve into such things. This focus on external data to the exclusion of their own needs can leave them at the mercy of the people around them; they can be pulled in so many different directions that they may come to feel martyred and abused by family, friends, or coworkers, or develop neuroses from spreading themselves too thin.

 

Comparing Extraverts to Introverts

To sum up:

 

From the introvert's point of view, the focus of the extravert can come across as superficial and banal because the extravert spreads his attention (libido) thinly across many subjects and doesn't interact deeply or in detail with things. But from the extravert's point of view the world of introverts may seem terribly impoverished and limited because introverts only prefer to deal with a few favorite subjects and thus miss so many other important things happening in the world around them.

 

However this difference of opinion simply reflects the fact that extraverts and introverts have different skills, strengths, and weaknesses. Neither attitude (extraversion or introversion) is intrinsically better or worse than the other. Extraverts are the pragmatists who take action and build, while introverts are the theoreticians who philosophize and design. The psychologist Otto Gross called extraverts the "civilizing genius" and introverts the "cultural genius." He equated extraverts with "practical achievement" and introverts with "abstract invention."[3]

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Link: Return to Intuition (N)

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~Posted January 10, 2024

~Updated with new material on "Breadth versus depth" on September 28, 2024

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