• You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community, you will have access to additional post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), view blogs, respond to polls, upload content, and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free, so please join our community today! Just click here to register. You should turn your Ad Blocker off for this site or certain features may not work properly. If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us by clicking here.

The Scientific Definition of Introversion and Extraversion (Quiz Included)

Thalassa

Permabanned
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
25,183
MBTI Type
ISFP
Enneagram
6w7
Instinctual Variant
sx
Ambiverted narcissist here, 3.1 and 100

I'm actually a little proud of my narcissism score (for obvious reasons I guess)

Of course you are proud. A real narcissist would be. Many many people with Cluster B personality disorders don't even seek help ever. Narcissists and Borderlines are especially difficult to treat. ASPD maybe more so simply because of the often criminal consequences of their outward manifestation of personality, and histrionics because they get depressed when they feel unloved and we most often seek therapy after romantic break ups.

Even I rejected my histrionic diagnosis for many years. Then one day I was like wow that does sound like me, and my emotions aren't shallow, people just don't understand!!!111
 

magpie

Permabanned
Joined
Jan 21, 2010
Messages
3,428
Enneagram
614
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
I got 3.0 on the introversion test, which makes sense. I've always sort of wondered whether I was actually as much of an introvert as most quizzes seem to say so it feels right to be so close to ambivert territory.

And I hate to be the one to bring this up, but I find the narcissism test flawed to the point where I'm not sure how to interpret it. The statements seem inconclusive somehow? As in, it's hard for me to understand what they're trying to say without context.
 

Bush

cute lil war dog
Joined
Nov 18, 2008
Messages
5,182
Enneagram
3w4
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
Extraversion in terms of the magnitude of responses to rewarding behavior. The article's intriguing, at least up until the questionnaire. Then it's just rehashing the relevant Big Five questions and doesn't serve support the more intriguing points of the article. An article like this deserves to end with a bang.

There are costs to extraverted behavior, however. This includes time and energy that could be invested in other activities, such as accomplishing a goal (conscientiousness) or engaging with ideas and imagination (openness to experience).
I can see the reasoning, but the five factors are intended to be as independent as possible from one another. (Whether the Big Five meets that goal is another matter.) Right?
 

thoughtlost

Honeyed Water
Joined
May 20, 2013
Messages
745
Enneagram
N/A
*ppphhhhoooommmppp*

2.45 on the introversion scale (? ....well, sure)

68 on convert narcissism.

...I want ice cream.
 

Mole

Permabanned
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
20,284
Scientific Scepticism and Liberal Arts Critique

A scientific definition of introversion and extroversion is about as useful as a scientific definition of love and hate.

In both cases we are dealing with the imagination not science.

However we do have a whole body of work dealing with the critique of the works of the imagination.

If we had a scientific definition of introversion and extroversion, we would apply scientific scepticism to introversion and extroversion. But we don't apply scientific scepticism, rather we take introversion and extroversion for granted, we have a gullible belief in introversion and extroversion. We are like little children who believe whatever we are told.

So we don't apply scientific scepticism to introversion and extroversion, and we don't apply liberal arts critique to introversion and extroversion.
 

uumlau

Happy Dancer
Joined
Feb 9, 2010
Messages
5,517
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
953
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
^^ Thus one is gullible to believe in love and hate?
 

INTP

Active member
Joined
Jul 31, 2009
Messages
7,803
MBTI Type
intp
Enneagram
5w4
Instinctual Variant
sx
A scientific definition of introversion and extroversion is about as useful as a scientific definition of love and hate.

In both cases we are dealing with the imagination not science.

However we do have a whole body of work dealing with the critique of the works of the imagination.

If we had a scientific definition of introversion and extroversion, we would apply scientific scepticism to introversion and extroversion. But we don't apply scientific scepticism, rather we take introversion and extroversion for granted, we have a gullible belief in introversion and extroversion. We are like little children who believe whatever we are told.

So we don't apply scientific scepticism to introversion and extroversion, and we don't apply liberal arts critique to introversion and extroversion.

The Neuroscience of Extraversion and Introversion | Sam Snyder

and this is just a fraction of the studies done on the topic
 

skylights

i love
Joined
Jul 6, 2010
Messages
7,756
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
6w7
Instinctual Variant
so/sx
2.6 on I/E and 55 on covert narcissism. Interesting perspective. Not sure I see the article's take as the only way to look at this but I do appreciate its goal of to isolating the variable. I noticed on the narcissism test that I am very sensitive to others' opinions, which yields high narcissism scores, but feel a lot of kinship, which resulted in more low scores.
 

OrangeAppled

Sugar Hiccup
Joined
Mar 20, 2009
Messages
7,626
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
4w5
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
It goes over a lot of misconceptions about introversion. Unfortunately, it falls into the snare of making introversion sound very undesirable, IMO. And it seems to define "happiness" based on an extroverted experience of emotional highs. I wish they would use a different word for that, as "happiness" is arguably not an emotional response...

I also think the author of the article doesn't fully grasp Jung's theory...which is about the ego, not just "energy" and motivation. It's about your sense of self - do you experience your identity via your "inner contents" or how you are in relation to the object? A lot of pseudo introverts define themselves a lot in relation to the object - how they act/feel towards people & social things. The article is right that introverts may experience this more neutrally than negative, because the sense of self is less tied to it (ie. the Introverted Feeling description notes we "resist" affect from the object).

When you hear an introvert describe themselves, they often define their identity by their inner feelings & thoughts & ideas, not their outer behavior. I can see how this may get confused with narcissism - appearing self-absorbed. But I think it's more about how you form your identity, not necessarily about finding yourself fascinating.

The article does touch on the reason many ENxx could mistype as introverted; I've noticed how a lot of ideas about introversion and intuition get mixed up. People may identify as introverts when really just intuitive or intuitive when really just introverted. A fair amount of ISxx could mistype as intuitive for this reason (ie. hyper sensitivity to strong sensory stimuli, something I've seen a lot of ISTJ complain about).

My introversion score: 2.25 (solidly on the introverted side)

Covert Narcissism - 59 (an average score)

Pretty typical introvert it looks like...
 

uumlau

Happy Dancer
Joined
Feb 9, 2010
Messages
5,517
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
953
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
And it seems to define "happiness" based on an extroverted experience of emotional highs.

That's just the extroverts looking for their keys over here beneath the streetlamp, instead of in that dark corner where they dropped them.
 

Bush

cute lil war dog
Joined
Nov 18, 2008
Messages
5,182
Enneagram
3w4
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
Thanks for the JS implementation. Makes life a lot easier.

Also agreed that there's way too much word-definition overloading. Conversations are meaningless if we're all actually talking about different things.


I/E: 4.05
MCNS: Avg. 2.52, Sum 58.

So pretty extroverted, moderately narcissistic. Seems legit.
 

Lily Bart

Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
136
MBTI Type
INFP
Best article I've read yet on introversion. It explains the disconnect I've alwaysnoticed in social situations with extroverts where I seem to be missing something really important. I've been observing the conversations I've had all weekend and there does seem to be some form of reward involved, which I guess I've always either overlooked or become annoyed at in extreme situations because it's never made any sense to me before.
 

five sounds

MyPeeSmellsLikeCoffee247
Joined
Jul 17, 2013
Messages
5,393
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
729
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
3.25

i don't like to influence or take charge very often. i think that may be a perceiver trait. although i'm excitable, friendly, and show my emotions, i do tend to be a little distant. i attribute that to e7 mostly. i don't like to get too invested in one place at the risk of sacrificing my freedom of choice.
 

scantilyclad

almost nekkid
Joined
Jul 31, 2007
Messages
2,106
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
4w5
Instinctual Variant
so/sp
2.65. I'm pretty enthusiastic though, so I didn't expect to be so low.

68 on covert narcissism.
 
Last edited:

Mole

Permabanned
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
20,284
Extroversion and introversion are imaginary constructs like angels or the trinity.

And being imaginary contracts they don't actually exist. So there is no scientific definition.

But this has not stopped us from arguing about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, or rationalising the three headed god.

Also there are whole tranches who believe the bible is literally true, when it is in fact theology. In the same way there is a whole cult who believes intoversion and extroversion are literally true, and have a scientific definition.
 

uumlau

Happy Dancer
Joined
Feb 9, 2010
Messages
5,517
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
953
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
Extroversion and introversion are imaginary constructs like angels or the trinity.

And being imaginary contracts they don't actually exist. So there is no scientific definition.

But this has not stopped us from arguing about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, or rationalising the three headed god.

Also there are whole tranches who believe the bible is literally true, when it is in fact theology. In the same way there is a whole cult who believes intoversion and extroversion are literally true, and have a scientific definition.

There is a huge difference between abstract ideas (which are "imaginary constructs") and belief in the existence of aspects of reality that cannot be proven to exist. Under the former, we might classify the whole of mathematics: that not only are imaginary numbers imaginary, but also real numbers, along with every concept from 1+1=2 on up. Under the latter we might classify modern string theory or the various interpretations of quantum mechanics.

Things can have real and valid scientific definitions, and yet not be true or real. E.g., the aether. Things can have no real or valid scientific definition, and yet be entirely valid and true, e.g., that the following video is sickeningly cute:

In order to prove that others are using sloppy thinking, one needs to do better than commit huge category errors that demonstrate one's own sloppy thinking.
 

Mole

Permabanned
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
20,284
In order to prove that others are using sloppy thinking, one needs to do better than commit huge category errors that demonstrate one's own sloppy thinking.

Looks like I have touched a nerve.
 
Top