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Old 05-12-2008, 10:59 PM   #13 (permalink)
Eric B
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I think the FIRO system captures the distinction the best.
There are two scales, expressed behavior, and wanted behavior (also called expressiveness and responsiveness). You can see this illustrated in the Avatar!
What we normally think of when we think of extraversion is "expressiveness". How much and how fast a person expresses to others. But the other factor tells us how much others actually want from or "respond" to others (that is, wanting interaction, such as to be included). You would normally think a person who expresses a lot to others wants from them as well, and someone who doesn't express doesn't want. Many are like this, but there are also some who express to others a lot, but don't really want from them. The reason they express is for some personal goal, or they just like to gain attention. But they don't care much about the interaction itself.

Where many of these "introversion/shyness" questions are coming up apparently is with people who do not express, but do want from others. Their low expression is the "shyness" often called "introversion", yet they are in fact energized by people and being included, (though usually only for a while).
This actually has been considered a fifth temperament by a lesser known theory based on FIRO. That's why it seems so unusual and out of place.
Responsiveness in the MBTI system is matched closest by the Informing/Directing scale of the Interaction Styles Model. However, the low E/high R temperament is even more shy and at the same time more responsive than the introverted/informing "Behind the Scenes" style. This, in my case (I fall into this category), is sometimes picked up in tests or the cognitive dynamics as "extraversion". In fact, we call it "responding as an extravert"; despite the fact of not expressing as one.
This would also probably explain the dom. Ne E-NP types, which are often said to be like introverts at times.
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