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Define Extroversion

Thursday

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From the other side of the pond

I as a person who consider myself very introverted, have gone on several times to say that most people don't exist.

They are but pawns and pieces that i must deal with - motifs and metaphors until they show signs of thinking for themselves/true intellect and compassion for their fellow human beings
All of which are defined by the universal principles that i identify

Much like a different land to be discovered
An introvert is an island that allows guests
An extrovert is a city that houses and thrives on such activity in varying degrees, and without it the native will feel like a ghost town

true or not so true, this is what came out the side of my mouth
 

Lady_X

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i like that and can totally relate to that as well. i do need lots of things going at once...i'm on here a lot but i'm actually doing several other things at the same time.

and...an interesting thought about people bringing out parts of you and it staying with you because i'm so drawn to different people and have so many friends who are so different from each other and i do like that they bring out different parts of me...so that searching for uniqueness is like trying to expand your own character or something....or maybe just looking to expand your mind in a new way...i don't know...interesting though.
 

nozflubber

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I don't really like this term "energy" that freud + Jung used to throw around for mental energies, so I think of it as such:


Extraversion is the source of mental stimulation you get from others; Introversion from within.

I think Energy sohuld be avoided for obvious confusion of abstract concepts, and I also think it's insulting to extroverts.... This idea that Extraverts, somehow, are more influenced by others. Extraversion is NOT the same thing as Conformity in social psych, although they might be found to correlate
 

Moiety

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Extroversion is to use other people as brain cells.
 

King sns

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I had thought this way for a long time. Deep down, I still do. To me, it was if you filled your gaps with other people. I think this may stem more from my desire to be completely self-sufficient, independent and my perplexity in regards to others' social behavior.

I don't know about this. Can you elaborate?
I draw my energy from seeing people and going places and doing things. I am able to sit alone for long periods of time but I get more tired and depressed, where the being around people is likely to wake me up and put me in good spirits.
However, I hate relying on people. Obviously I rely on them for my energy, but beyond that, I do not like to rely on them for anything. (as un-esfp as that sounds.) I always have the ability to take care of myself and make my own decisions and be a separate entity from everyone else.
 

INTJMom

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It gets tossed around quite a bit, so what is it exactly?
This is how Carl Jung defined Extraversion vs Introversion
according to from Chapter I of Part I of Conscious Orientation by Dr. J. H. van der Hoop:
Jung calls these people outwardly directed, or extraverted types:

  • consciously seek direction and adjustment in their lives almost exclusively guided by objects of the external world.

  • Facts and, circumstances,
  • the opinions and feelings of other people, and
  • ideas in current use,
determine the adaptations which these people make to life.

  • When in difficulty, they seek support first of all from the external world.



Jung called them inwardly directed, or introverted types:

  • guided, in so far as conscious motives are concerned, by entirely different factors; they are primarily conscious of their own subjective reactions to events.

  • They are peculiarly sensitive to these—

  • to what they feel,
  • how they think, about any situation.
Where these reactions conflict, they seek to weld them into some sort of harmony of attitude and opinion.
In their adjustment to life they thus take as starting-point their own needs and the demands of their own being.
They also consult these when in difficulty, and for this purpose they withdraw into themselves.
 
Last edited:

Clownmaster

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my view on it.

Extraverts regain energy from socializing
Introverts regain energy from solitude
 

alicia91

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Originally Posted by INTJMom
Jung calls these people outwardly directed, or extraverted types:

consciously seek direction and adjustment in their lives almost exclusively guided by objects of the external world.
Facts and, circumstances,
the opinions and feelings of other people, and
ideas in current use,
determine the adaptations which these people make to life.

When in difficulty, they seek support first of all from the external world.



Jung called them inwardly directed, or introverted types:

guided, in so far as conscious motives are concerned, by entirely different factors; they are primarily conscious of their own subjective reactions to events.
They are peculiarly sensitive to these—
to what they feel,
how they think, about any situation.
Where these reactions conflict, they seek to weld them into some sort of harmony of attitude and opinion.
In their adjustment to life they thus take as starting-point their own needs and the demands of their own being.
They also consult these when in difficulty, and for this purpose they withdraw into themselves.

Because I'm an SP - I need a concrete example :D

So based on the above, if I get a bank statement in the mail, open it, and decide to start saving more - that's an Extraverted reaction because I'm basing my decision on something external (the amount in the bank) or is it an Introverted reaction because I very subjectively reacted to the balance?

(this actually happened today, which is why it's on my mind!)
 

Jeffster

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i don't know enough about the teachings of type to describe it in those terms...but...my thoughts swirl about and i like to bounce them off of people...they never feel complete until i do.....experiences in general feel flat unless i'm sharing them with someone...most of the time.

I feel very much like this too, but I'm not an extrovert.
 

SolitaryWalker

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A calcified unconsciously inspired cognitive tendency to derive positive emotion from interaction with the external world rather than through contemplatiom. Vice versa, or the calcified unconscious tendency to derive energy through contemplation rather than the interaction with the external world is the definition of Introversion, which is the opposite of Extroversion.
 

The Ü™

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Extroversion = Active

Introversion = Passive
 

JocktheMotie

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I don't know about this. Can you elaborate?
I draw my energy from seeing people and going places and doing things. I am able to sit alone for long periods of time but I get more tired and depressed, where the being around people is likely to wake me up and put me in good spirits.
However, I hate relying on people. Obviously I rely on them for my energy, but beyond that, I do not like to rely on them for anything. (as un-esfp as that sounds.) I always have the ability to take care of myself and make my own decisions and be a separate entity from everyone else.

This is what I mean. You need other people and interaction from other people in order to energize yourself. To me, that would feel like life support. That I am not capable of existing to my full capacity and ability without the presence of other social interaction feels foreign, and undesirable.

Now, the reason I think this way, is most likely because I'm an introvert in the first place. I don't think extroversion is wrong in any way, I can just not imagine being tied to others in such a [I feel] necessary way. The very thought of being dependent on others for something so essential as "energy" as we call it here is distressing for me.
 
V

violaine

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Extroverts look like this: C
Introverts look like this: O
Any questions? I DIDN'T THINK SO.

Yes, could we slim that O down to an aesthetically pleasing 0 or even an 8? (I would also accept the symbol for infinity, 'I's can get very sleepy while endlessly contemplating.)
 

Lady_X

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^^ can i ask you jock if your energy level feels higher or lower when with people or alone...i mean...does it also elevate but you don't like it or does it feel less so?

and it's not like we're lifeless blobs when alone...it's just that i need to be engaged in activity quite a lot. i need to be actively out taking pics or running around doing something and my mood level is quite serene and staid most of the time and it's good and peaceful in small doses...but when i'm with people i feel energetic and inspired...i have new information to process...new feelings to feel...conversation and laughs that make me happy and i feel renewed and my mood is elevated.
 

JocktheMotie

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^^ can i ask you jock if your energy level feels higher or lower when with people or alone...i mean...does it also elevate but you don't like it or does it feel less so?

and it's not like we're lifeless blobs when alone...it's just that i need to be engaged in activity quite a lot. i need to be actively out taking pics or running around doing something and my mood level is quite serene and staid most of the time and it's good and peaceful in small doses...but when i'm with people i feel energetic and inspired...i have new information to process...new feelings to feel...conversation and laughs that make me happy and i feel renewed and my mood is elevated.

For me personally, when in any social situation, I get very tired as the night goes on. I am just...not as interested in the experience of most social situations as I am my own personal activities and to push myself to continue to be in them is difficult and draining. When out with friends at a bar, club, or party, I feel like I'm ready for bed at 12; whereas if I am home alone reading, watching a good movie, or even watching these forums I will turn to the clock and it will read 4 AM. It is an interesting thing to me and since I've become aware of MBTI and type I've been trying to pay more attention to how different situations tend to tax me and how I tend to react to them.

Also, an important view to reconstruct is the perception that introverts are passive, while extroverts are active. I like to think that extroverts and introverts are both active, however the domain in which that activity takes place is different. If you were able to somehow "watch" what goes on in the introvert's domain, it would definitely not be "passive." We are just as active in our minds, thoughts, and activities as the extrovert is with people, conversations, and their activities. It's an interesting dynamic.

Also, introversion is not "huddled inside of our rooms" all day. It just really means when we do something, we don't really do it with anybody else. I can't count the number of times I've just roamed the streets of Boston, pacing newbury street as I listen to music and stare at the sky, or lay on the grass in the Commons reading a book.

I hope this illuminated things a bit for you EA...
 

Lady_X

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thanks for that jock...that is interesting and of course i didn't think it meant huddled in your room...your just quite content with your activities when alone...i get that.. most of the people in my life are introverts...i think both tend to be that way it's just for how long we are comfortable with it maybe and also...the opposite is true for me when i go out...i never want to leave...i always want one more drink or want to talk to my friends longer...and very often have invited people back to my place and stayed up all night...because i simply cannot unwind easily after being social...my energy level is too high...if i'm at home just watching tv i'll go to sleep early...but i've found if i'm on here chatting with people...it's the same thing and i stay up really late...like that interaction makes it to where i can't sleep.
 

LostInNerSpace

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i don't know enough about the teachings of type to describe it in those terms...but...my thoughts swirl about and i like to bounce them off of people...they never feel complete until i do.....experiences in general feel flat unless i'm sharing them with someone...most of the time.

When I first heard your tree metaphor I thought, maybe erinavery should lay of the shrooms for a bit. But this makes sense. I do the same thing with my Ne (extraverted intuition). I feel compelled to share it with other people, and sometimes it doesn't completely make sense until I do--sometimes it makes even less sense when I do.
 

Lady_X

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me too! and haha...yes was in a weird mood earlier...but yeah...that's true too sometimes it all makes sense in my head but doesn't come out quite right but usually it just gets expanded and modified into something that i hadn't thought of yet.
 

LostInNerSpace

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For me personally, when in any social situation, I get very tired as the night goes on. I am just...not as interested in the experience of most social situations as I am my own personal activities and to push myself to continue to be in them is difficult and draining. When out with friends at a bar, club, or party, I feel like I'm ready for bed at 12; whereas if I am home alone reading, watching a good movie, or even watching these forums I will turn to the clock and it will read 4 AM.

I'm somewhere in between. In practice I tend towards the side of introversion, but I want the extroversion. When I go out, I find I want to stay out. I go home and I want to go back out again. I always envisage myself talking and interacting with people. It just never works out like that. I think I am at least to some extent a surpressed extravert.

the opposite is true for me when i go out...i never want to leave...i always want one more drink or want to talk to my friends longer...and very often have invited people back to my place and stayed up all night...because i simply cannot unwind easily after being social...my energy level is too high...if i'm at home just watching tv i'll go to sleep early...but i've found if i'm on here chatting with people...it's the same thing and i stay up really late...like that interaction makes it to where i can't sleep.
 

INTJMom

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Because I'm an SP - I need a concrete example :D

So based on the above, if I get a bank statement in the mail, open it, and decide to start saving more - that's an Extraverted reaction because I'm basing my decision on something external (the amount in the bank) or is it an Introverted reaction because I very subjectively reacted to the balance?

(this actually happened today, which is why it's on my mind!)
In this case, extraversion would include you asking your friends what they think you should do, and perhaps consulting outsides sources of information for a strategy.
Since you made your decision from sources on the inside of yourself, you made a decision in an introverted way.

If that is how you generally make most of your decisions, except for certain exceptions, you are probably an introvert.

And since your profile says so, I feel I am safe in saying so. :smile:
 
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