Social types in our everyday lives: Extroverts
Being an extrovert often dictates who you are as a person and affects many of the decisions you make. Living an outgoing, interested and involved life has its perks, but it is not always easy.
In Philosophy 302: Ethics. Jung’s Psychological Types, Carl Jung states there are two contrasting attitudes, introversion and extroversion, that people take toward life and that no one lives completely as one or the other.
Extroversion, like introversion, comes with its benefits and disadvantages. For me, being extroverted has helped a great deal in pushing me to be more social, confident and has helped me step out of my comfort zones. Other advantages that Jung lays out include being motivated by outside factors and greatly influenced by the environment, enjoying organizations and parties and tending to be optimistic and enthusiastic.
The cons of extroversion are often as noticeable as the pros. Extroverts often put a lot of weight on making a good impression and both make and break relationships easily. Extroverts also lack self-criticism and avoid reflection and being alone.
Not only do extroverts differ in their tendencies and lifestyles, but also with their brain’s processing of rewards.
Tia Ghose explains in the Huffington Post article, “Extrovert’s Brain: Scientists Find Their Processing of Reward Differs from Introverts,” that extroverts prefer immediate gratification and focus more on faces. On the contrary, introverts tend to pay more attention to detail and become overwhelmed by too much stimulation.
One’s attitude also relates to the career path chosen. Dawn Rosenberg McKay writes, in “Careers for Extroverts” that as extroverts, people are best suited in a job in which they are given the chance to work with others.
