What kind of introvert are you? Click here to find out with this quiz made by Science of Us.
Like me, maybe you didn’t think that there was more than one category. As Scott Barry Kaufman has written, pop culture has defined introversion in quite a few confusing ways.
BRIEF HISTORY OF INTROVERSION
Freud’s protege C.G. Jung called it “inwardly directed psychic energy”, but his work on introversion has been criticized. As Patricia Barrigan rightfully argued in 1960, the idea required more specification due to clashing concepts of introversion. “What appear to be minor distinctions between the various conceptions may in fact be crucial ones,” she wrote.
The commonly accepted meaning of the word today was produced by the Big Five Personality Test in the 90s. For the test, introversion was defined as extraversion’s opposite: a lack of assertiveness and enthusiasm. And it’s rather obvious that for “introversion” to be a meaningful word, it must be regarded as belonging to multiple personality types.
A cool theory developed by the personality psychologist Jonathan Cheek may put any introversion-related disputes to rest. With his STAR (Social, Thinking, Anxious, Retrained) model, Cheek posited four archetypal introverts: the social, the thinking, the anxious and the restrained. Here is a brief summary of their meanings:
So…what kind of introvert are you?
SOCIAL
This introvert is the one most often associated with the word – they have a preference for spending time with a small group of people (or with nobody at all.) As the Science of Us blog pointed out, social introversion differs from shyness because it is not driven by anxiety.
THINKING
Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter fans know who I’m talking about) is an example of the thinking introvert, according to Cheek. Social events aren’t necessarily uncomfortable for this kind, but they’re naturally inclined to self-reflection, thoughtfulness and introspection.
ANXIOUS
Worries haunt the anxious introvert, who is usually driven away from social situations by discomfort. But being alone might not necessarily make them feel better. And like the other types, the anxious introvert is prone to contemplation.
RESTRAINED
The restrained introvert often will take extra time to think before they act or speak. Click here to take the quiz and find out what kind of introvert you are.
