Extroversion is ... The foundations of psychology. Scale of introversion, extraversion

Psychologists from the very beginning of the formation of this science have attempted to classify features of a person's personality according to certain criteria. One such classification is a type of temperament that relies on the characteristics of the individual's nervous system. Swiss psychologist Carl Jung proposed a different model based on the movement of psychic energy. From this point of view, two personal attitudes were singled out:

• Extraversion;
• Introversion.

The nature of this phenomenon

Under the installation of consciousness is meant the relation to objects or the world. Introversion and extraversion are psychological ways of adapting a person to the world around him, while these two attitudes are peculiar not only to man. According to Jung, everything in nature is divided into 2 groups. The features of the former are in a high speed of reproduction, which is accompanied by a low life expectancy of the individual and weak defensive abilities. The second group represents individuals with self-sufficiency in terms of self-preservation, but this affects the level of fertility. It is not so difficult to understand that extraversion is the first type of behavior in nature, whose essence is in multiplication and dispersion of its energy in all directions, and introversion is the second, here the individual defends himself against any external influences, while spending a minimum of energy.

Interest extroverts sent to the outside world. In the role of the object, other people and objects act in this process. Thus, the so-called external reality is manifested. For introvert, interest is their inner world - inner reality.

Characteristics of extroverts

Knowing the basics of psychology, you can clearly distinguish the features inherent in this or that type of personality. For the extrovert, the following is true:

• Life revolves around external objects;
• The value of objects with which such a person communicates is increased;
• Building up of object relations;
• People are empty for him, being only an object of observation;
• Since the value of people for the extrovert is low, he himself tries to increase it;
• Despite the energy charge, extroverts quickly get tired. Due to the high energy consumption for communication, they prefer to rest alone.

Characteristics of introverts

In turn, the introvert can be characterized by the following features:

• Abstraction from the object, that is, distraction of the libido from it;
• Movement directed to the inner world, away from the real;
• People perceive personally;
• Often objects for the introvert are hostile;
• The value of objects for such a person is high, so he tries to lower their value, so as not to become attached to them;
• If the introvert is not drawn into the active communication process, the introvert feels great in noisy companies.

Internal motives

According to Jung, extraversion is sincerity, mobility, man's co-existence with others, easy adaptability to the situation. A nature with this type of personality quickly creates social connections and attachments, while easily rejecting bad apprehensions and apprehensions. In an unfamiliar situation, the extrovert easily undertakes risky undertakings.

Introversion is characterized by a reflective, wavering nature, striving for solitude. It is common for such an individual to maintain himself, moving away from objects and almost always in a defensive position.

The driving force for perception, judgments and extroverts is external factors. Whereas the introvert is the complete opposite of such a nature of things. In the eyes of an extrovert, a person with a different type of personality is boring and easily predictable, spoiling the pleasure of everyone else. At the same time, an introvert who aspires to be self-sufficient perceives people with the opposite type of psychological attitude as capricious, superficial loafers who constantly try to attract attention in any possible ways.

Study extraversion and introversion

The psychologist Hans Eysenck has deduced a regularity according to which the personality model can be characterized by two factors: a personal attitude (extraversion / introversion) and stability. This system allows you to accurately determine the type of human temperament and its direction. Moreover, extraversion / introversion can be decomposed into 8 different models.

About personal attitudes, we told a little higher, so do not dwell on them again. Much more interesting in this regard is the indicator of neuroticism. According to Eysenck, temperament largely depends on the stability of a person. So, with high neurotism, a person is characterized by unbalanced mental processes, instability of emotions and lability of the autonomic nervous system. An individual with this type of personality is easily excitable, with characteristic mood variability, suspiciousness, slowness and indecisiveness. On the opposite pole of neuroticism is a personality characteristic with emotional stability, poise and determination.

Temperament

The scale of introversion-extraversion and instability-stability is independent and bipolar. That is, it is quite possible to meet an introvert and an extrovert both with high rates of neuroticism, and with low ones. Character traits of individuals in this case will be very different. Most people have characteristics located around the center of the Eysenck scale. Strong remoteness to the poles indicates a deviation from the average value and, thus, the expression of personal properties.

If this scale is reconciled with four types of temperament, a direct relationship can be derived. So, when moving along the horizontal axis from left to right, extraversion increases - this reflects the level of openness of the person. On the vertical axis from the bottom, you can see a decrease in stability.

According to Eysenck temperaments can be described as follows:

• Choleric - unstable, extraverted;
• Sanguine - stable, extraverted;
• Melancholic - unstable, introverted;
• Phlegmatic - stable, introverted.

Introversion-extraversion-test

In order to accurately determine the type of psychological attitude of an individual, one must turn to a psychologist who, on the basis of several tests, will be able to determine it as precisely as possible. For a quick check, you can use various questionnaires available on the Internet or in the subject literature. They allow us to estimate the personal qualities and orientation of an individual.

But it is worthwhile to understand that the accuracy of such tests can be limited in view of the sufficient complexity of the definition of psychotypes. After all, extraversion is not always a completely open type of person. There is a sufficient number of "steps" of the psychological setting. Thus, it is quite realistic to meet an introvert who is distinguished by sociability and openness and, conversely, a closed extrovert.

Conclusion

But whatever it is, the extraversion test will determine the strengths and weaknesses of the individual. This primarily relates to the degree of excitability, which directly affects the speed of perception and learning. Knowledge of the person's psychotype makes it possible to more correctly choose the kind of activity and profession, and also helps to avoid conflicts when dealing with an individual of the absolutely opposite type.