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What is introversion?

INTJMom

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Sep 28, 2007
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...
So what does it mean in terms of MBTI if you're a mixture?
Everyone is a mixture.
You just have to learn the system well enough to know which one describes you the most accurately.
There's 7 billion people in the world and 16 types; surely no description is going to fit 100%.
 

Chris_in_Orbit

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ESTJ
Hmm, not sure to be honest. I just don't feel particularly energised by interacting with people I'm comfortable with, but I don't feel particularly drained either. *shrug* Maybe I'm taking the being energised concept too literally? I'm not sure. One of my favourite things to do is just hang out with my partner, speaking a bit now and then, do stuff together or do our own thing in the same room. I usually find that restful and calming.

I might need a second opinion on this but that makes sense. An introvert would enjoy calm activities with one or two people they enjoy being with. Saying it is "restful and calming" and enjoying those things would make sense if you were an introvert. I doubt most Extraverts would consider this to be a good time.

Can you give some examples or links?

I can think of things that point to both, but Ni seems stronger.

Of course. :)

Extraverted Feeling Child

Introverted Intuitive Child

Maybe get someone who has known you since you were young to check these out.

Everyone is a mixture.
You just have to learn the system well enough to know which one describes you the most accurately.
There's 7 billion people in the world and 16 types; surely no description is going to fit 100%.

Very true. On the same token, to describe introversion, either a person had to take a group of people and find the best fit (As in take a person who they thought was the 100% introvert and describe introversion using that person) or take a group of people and describe introversion by listing off things that the group had in common.. The first idea is really interesting to me, because that would mean there is someone out there who is an 100% introvert. But yeah, like you said, I doubt any description is going to fit perfectly, just based on sheer odds.
 

Kasper

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Everyone is a mixture.
You just have to learn the system well enough to know which one describes you the most accurately.
There's 7 billion people in the world and 16 types; surely no description is going to fit 100%.

I know which one describes me most accurately, problem is there are some MBTI types who can act and appear quite introverted despite actually being extraverted.
 

raz

Let's make this showy!
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LoLz
Slap a label on them and tell them to stop being so out of character.
 

TrueHeart

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Dec 23, 2007
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INFP
guess if you are caught completly naked, when coming out of the shower in front of the whole classroom and you start dancing and giving a show to join the laughter, you are definitly not Introvert :D
Except maybe if the introvert is... um... well endowed. :devil:
 

Chris_in_Orbit

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Oh, I say a study is in order. Is there a correlation between introversion and... um....yeah :tongue:
 

cascadeco

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For instance, someone mentioned in here that being alone deteriorates their mood and someone thought that he might be extraverted instead. Is it really that simple? Why would a simple statement make that person an extravert instead?

I gain energy from people who I like and am comfortable with, usually people who think similarly to me...but isn't that true for everyone? I almost think the energy gaining thing to describe introversion and extraversion is too muddled. What do you guys think?

Many interesting responses and questions in this thread, don't feel like doing all of them justice.

I think you raise good questions.

And I think many of the traits that are casually thrown around for introversion are actually more temperament-oriented, or sticking to dichotomy's in mbti, are combo's of I plus F, or I plus T, etc. Simple example (and I have no doubt that there will be exceptions to what I'm about to say.. ;-) -- IxTx's will probably be more likely to say they can go days without seeing or interacting with other people, and are fine with that. IxFx's won't be able to relate to this as well.

And all of the 'where do you get your energy from' definitions can get pretty muddled and situational IMO. Based on some of the statements regarding this in here, I'd be an E. Which I'm not. ;-)

I thought TrueHeart's post was getting to the meat of a general Introversion trait/definition that could be true for all I's. More along the lines of cognitive processes and decision-making and data gathering in the brain - most easily observable in childhood before the individual matures and starts balancing out. Extroverts reacting to external stimuli immediately (questions directed to them, behaviors others exhibit towards them, conversation stuff, etc) and also initiating many things. Introverts will have a delay before reaction, where they do their little assessments/ computations/analyses/observations/deliberations/value-checks in their head first, before acting externally. (this delay could also explain why in general excessive interaction is physically tiresome for I's -- stuff has to go through their internal filters first before being externalized, and externalizing obviously isn't the dominant trait of the I.). Of course this could end up being an equally muddied definition, but oh well. ;-)
 

Chris_in_Orbit

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Slap a label on them and tell them to stop being so out of character.

I think you're on to something!:cheese:

Introverted Intuitive :newwink:

Yeah the two seem pretty dissimilar. Out of curiosity, what made you decide on the Ni dominant?

Many interesting responses and questions in this thread, don't feel like doing all of them justice.

I think you raise good questions.

And I think many of the traits that are casually thrown around for introversion are actually more temperament-oriented, or sticking to dichotomy's in mbti, are combo's of I plus F, or I plus T, etc. Simple example (and I have no doubt that there will be exceptions to what I'm about to say.. ;-) -- IxTx's will probably be more likely to say they can go days without seeing or interacting with other people, and are fine with that. IxFx's won't be able to relate to this as well.

And all of the 'where do you get your energy from' definitions can get pretty muddled and situational IMO. Based on some of the statements regarding this in here, I'd be an E. Which I'm not. ;-)

I thought TrueHeart's post was getting to the meat of a general Introversion trait/definition that could be true for all I's. More along the lines of cognitive processes and decision-making and data gathering in the brain - most easily observable in childhood before the individual matures and starts balancing out. Extroverts reacting to external stimuli immediately (questions directed to them, behaviors others exhibit towards them, conversation stuff, etc) and also initiating many things. Introverts will have a delay before reaction, where they do their little assessments/ computations/analyses/observations/deliberations/value-checks in their head first, before acting externally. (this delay could also explain why in general excessive interaction is physically tiresome for I's -- stuff has to go through their internal filters first before being externalized, and externalizing obviously isn't the dominant trait of the I.). Of course this could end up being an equally muddied definition, but oh well. ;-)

I think I'm starting to understand introversion a lot better now. I agree that introversion was being tied with feeling and thinking, often leaving half of the descriptions not defining all introverts.

Even talking with Nat seemed to cement this for me. Introversion does have much to do with decision making. Thats probably why the judging functions end up being tied into it. Maybe we should look at it from a different perspective. Try to look at what your natural tendencies were as a child before you started to become well rounded. Thats perfect. Studies show that differences between introversion and extraversion are observable before the age of 1.

So, can all you introverts agree that, as children, you had to internalize information before making a decision? Thinking in comparison with the other children, did you hesitate before speaking out on things you didn't take time to mull over?
 

millerm277

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So, can all you introverts agree that, as children, you had to internalize information before making a decision? Thinking in comparison with the other children, did you hesitate before speaking out on things you didn't take time to mull over?

Yes. Very much so. Always made me seem more mature/older, even though it meant I missed some opportunities because I hesitated to speak/raise my hand/whatever.
 

Kasper

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Slap a label on them and tell them to stop being so out of character.

You're no help :dry:

*staples ESTJ label to raz*

Now entertains for me loud talky boy!
 

Nat

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INFJ
Yeah the two seem pretty dissimilar. Out of curiosity, what made you decide on the Ni dominant?

There was only a bit of the extraverted feeling description that I could identify with, and those parts were perhaps to do with age. INJ traits seemed a lot more like me when I was young - vivid imagination (would make up stories for entertainment all the time), reading (I was obsessed!), seemed older than I was, enjoyed being one on one with people rather than big groups etc.

Perhaps the problem is that "Fe" drives me to want to be with people more than "T" introverts, thus making some descriptions of introversion difficult for me to identify with.
 
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