Introversion

[deicruxified]

hi! this is just a question on introversion. a lot of people, including myself, have a hard time in telling what an introvert really is. speaking based on experience, whenever i take mbti, my "i" was never less than 89% which quite puzzles me because whenever i am with my closest buds, i'm boisterous especially when i'm hitting on a common enemy, they see me a comedienne with my sick sarcasm (i'm also good at insulting people :P). so, when i had my first mbti, my friends were shocked to see a score of 95 and had me take the test again. they even said the would believe more if my entj friend is an intj and joked on how we copied each others answers in our mbti test. i guess one factor could be is that i already found comfort in them in saying whatever i want (not always what i feel). another guess would be is that most do not have a better understanding of what introversion means. a lot of people think that introversion always means being meek and quiet and uber shy. i do feel uneasy with a crowd but later i learn to mingle with people... i do talk a lot especially if the topic is within my sphere of interest but still feel drained afterwards.

so what about you guys?

[Jezebel]

Introversion is my most extreme preference. It's not a synonym for being meek, shy or having poor social skills. It's about whether you get your energy from solitary activities or interaction with the external. You might prefer some of both, but one force should be stronger than the other.

I can be hyper, blunt, and talkative around people. But the thing is, it drains my energy. The environment also matters, for example, if I'm at a large party or in a crowded place I will get tired and want to withdraw sooner than if I'm hanging out with a single friend at home. No matter how much I like who I'm around, I can literally feel my energy being tapped the longer I'm around them and I go quiet or seek an escape route. I can also be alone for very long periods of time without feeling lonely. In fact, it's been years since I've felt lonely.

[Max T]

Akin to Jezebel, I can be hyper, almost jittery, when with others.
I've learnt over time to pace myself if it's for example a 3+hr meeting.

When with others, it's as though there's too much information to consider and you want to dicuss it all, reaching conclusions about everything you talk about.


If remembering correctly, the fundamental difference between I and E is brain (specifically cortical part) arousal when with others. Introverts experience high cortical arousal when with other people- hence the drained feeling (unless with familiar people and talking about things that give INTJ buzz- deicruxified's sarcasm example). By being on our own, we lower arousal to a more comfortable, happily content level.

Conversely, Extroverts have low cortical arousal when with others and even lower arousal on their own- so they are driven to be with others to maintain 'thought activity', or else they 'vegetate' into boredom when alone.

So it is less a case of I's being attracted (pulled) to individual activities, more a case of I's being repelled (pushed) by others... and E's pushed by isolation.

[Doppelbock]

People who know me well are often surprised when I tell them I'm an introvert. I think this is because most INTJ's, while we're not "people persons", are confident enough to not give a s**t what others think of us, so we're not introverted in the meek/shy sense. With close friends we cut loose just like extroverts. The real thing about being an introvert is that it drains the energy out of us to be around other people for long periods of time. We need our alone time ("me" time, I call it) to recharge.

DB

[Firelie]

I guess it all depends on the person.

I usually score around 75-80 for i, but I'm very obviously an introvert in my daily life and I don't think anyone with a brain has missed that.

Some of my friends that have tested as introverts as well surprised the hell out of me, considering they are some of thse most popular (ie social butterfly), friendly people I know.

[MichaelH]

...if I'm at a large party or in a crowded place I will get tired and want to withdraw sooner than if I'm hanging out with a single friend at home. No matter how much I like who I'm around, I can literally feel my energy being tapped the longer I'm around them and I go quiet or seek an escape route. I can also be alone for very long periods of time without feeling lonely. In fact, it's been years since I've felt lonely.

That is SO me. If there are several people involved, I withdraw briefly during social interactions just to avoid being drained by a few minutes of conversation. On the other hand, when my spouse goes on occasional business trips, I'll miss him in the abstract, but it'll be three weeks before I start to feel "lonely".

In fact, one of the major challenges of this year has been to get my ESFP spouse to give me time alone. As an ESFP, he naturally wants to entertain me and be the center of attention. This is one of the things I love about him! However, I still have to have private time to avoid fatigue. We're still working on that...

[mind_wander]

Dei,

Well put it this way about ENTJ and INTJ, the longest I've chatted for was about 3hrs online. We'd meet in person way before the internet. I know he is busy and so as I. The conversation goes on for hours, sure times flies by. The only thing kinda stopped it is those darn brownouts during the summer. Be patient, its not the end of the world, ok back online keep chatting. Actually, ENTJ/INTJ are great social partners, extending the INTJ on the E side can drain you. My professor said, "As an Introverted, because your not normally expressed your E side often it will drain you." Yeah, he was very correct, I do feel drained afterwards.

As for sarcasms, I can take it. Sometimes it depends though, what is literal and what is not. Its a pick and choose game for me in my own mind. In my life, I've been targeted with alot of negative jokes, "So turned that into my own sarcasms. In the end, if you are cool with me and not take things seriously, hey shoot me a joke or whatever.