WEBVTT - What's the Science Behind Introverts? 0:00:02.200 --> 0:00:04.880 I guess what will? What's that mango? So you know 0:00:04.920 --> 0:00:07.440 how their names of groups of animals, like I think 0:00:07.480 --> 0:00:10.039 a group of crows is a murder of crows, or 0:00:10.360 --> 0:00:12.800 if you have a group of rhinoceros is called a crash, 0:00:13.039 --> 0:00:15.920 not a squad, which you know, I guess Taylor Swift 0:00:15.960 --> 0:00:18.599 or my son would call them. It's a crash. Just 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:22.160 one more similarity between Taylor Swift and your son. You did, 0:00:22.320 --> 0:00:24.279 you forgot a couple of my favorites. So I've always 0:00:24.360 --> 0:00:27.240 loved smack of jellyfish, and then of course a business 0:00:27.320 --> 0:00:29.560 of ferrets, which I don't know why, but that's my favorite. 0:00:29.560 --> 0:00:31.480 I think it is pretty great. So I found this 0:00:31.560 --> 0:00:34.480 video online called how to Care for Your Introvert, which 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:36.559 claims that a pair of introverts is actually called an 0:00:36.600 --> 0:00:40.160 awkward and a group of introverts is what you call 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:44.559 an angst. Is this real? Like, of course not, but 0:00:44.880 --> 0:00:47.360 the whole video is joky and fun, and it points 0:00:47.360 --> 0:00:49.480 out that introverts are rarely found together in the wild. 0:00:49.560 --> 0:00:52.800 So these are mostly theoretical terms anyway. But as you know, 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:55.920 I'm definitely an introvert, and when I was in high school, 0:00:56.120 --> 0:00:59.120 I almost used to bristle at this phrase, like all 0:00:59.200 --> 0:01:02.720 great figures in history are seen as charismatic and big characters, 0:01:02.760 --> 0:01:04.679 And I figured, you know, I could be fun at 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:07.559 a party and friends, I do things, So I figured 0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:09.480 there was no way I should be lumped in with 0:01:09.520 --> 0:01:12.200 the introverts. But then in college I quickly realized I 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:15.200 am such an introvert, especially when I compared myself to 0:01:15.240 --> 0:01:17.640 my wife, who just crams in so many things into 0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:20.399 our social calendar. It doesn't make any sense to me. 0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:23.240 But you know, this whole thing has made me wonder 0:01:23.560 --> 0:01:25.920 what does being an introvert really mean? Like do you 0:01:25.959 --> 0:01:28.319 have to be strictly an introvert or an extrovert? Or 0:01:28.480 --> 0:01:31.800 is there a spectrum? Do our brains actually behave differently? 0:01:32.280 --> 0:01:34.480 And is it okay for me to hit the closed 0:01:34.480 --> 0:01:36.600 door button on an elevator when someone's trying to catch 0:01:36.600 --> 0:01:39.160 a ride with me, Because I would really love a 0:01:39.200 --> 0:01:43.840 scientific excuse to say that's all right, let's dive in, 0:02:05.440 --> 0:02:07.960 say their podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm 0:02:07.960 --> 0:02:10.400 Will Pearson, and as always I'm joined by my good 0:02:10.400 --> 0:02:12.960 friend Mangesh Ticketer. And on the other side of the 0:02:12.960 --> 0:02:16.920 soundproof glass sporting yet another one of his classic T shirts. 0:02:17.040 --> 0:02:21.000 This one just says introverts social club. Why go big 0:02:21.080 --> 0:02:24.440 when you can go home? This is one of my 0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:27.520 favorites of his. But that's our friend and producer Tristan McNeil, 0:02:27.639 --> 0:02:30.160 And I've got to say, for an introverted guy, he 0:02:30.320 --> 0:02:35.000 definitely speaks volumes with his shirts. Mango wouldn't agree. Definitely. Well, 0:02:35.040 --> 0:02:37.280 you know, one thing I realized while doing the research 0:02:37.360 --> 0:02:40.120 for today's show is that introverts can be pretty tough 0:02:40.200 --> 0:02:43.480 to pin down in terms of personality. And you know, 0:02:43.520 --> 0:02:45.760 and most of us here the term, we immediately think 0:02:45.800 --> 0:02:51.200 of traits like sensitivity, or introspection or maybe quietness. I mean, 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:53.840 but the truth is, none of those things are guaranteed 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:57.560 signs of introversion. And that's because introversion is definitely a 0:02:57.600 --> 0:03:00.600 spectrum rather than being this one set way of being. 0:03:01.280 --> 0:03:03.239 So with that distinction in mind, I thought we could 0:03:03.280 --> 0:03:05.360 use this episode as a way to kind of set 0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:07.959 the record straight on what's probably one of the more 0:03:08.040 --> 0:03:12.160 misunderstood aspects of human personality. We're gonna look at the 0:03:12.200 --> 0:03:15.640 science behind introversion as well as how our society tends 0:03:15.680 --> 0:03:18.720 to view introverted people. And we'll also run through some 0:03:18.760 --> 0:03:21.680 of the pros and cons to really see how introverts 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:25.560 stack up against their more outgoing counterparts, and to kick 0:03:25.600 --> 0:03:27.200 things off, I I thought we could talk a little 0:03:27.200 --> 0:03:29.880 bit about what introversion is and also what it isn't. 0:03:30.360 --> 0:03:32.680 So to start from the beginning, the terms introvert and 0:03:32.760 --> 0:03:35.920 extrovert were first coined by Carl Jung way back in 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:39.560 He used them mainly as a way to distinguish between 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:42.880 two prevalent types of personality, those who feel more connected 0:03:42.920 --> 0:03:45.400 to their inward thoughts and feelings and those who focus 0:03:45.440 --> 0:03:48.360 primarily on the external world. And really, that was it, 0:03:48.520 --> 0:03:50.960 Like there was no stigma, no rank attached to one 0:03:51.080 --> 0:03:53.080 or another. You know. It wasn't like my wife who 0:03:53.080 --> 0:03:56.280 tells me you introverts think you're so special. Like these 0:03:56.280 --> 0:03:59.840 were just two different, equally valid ways of experiencing and 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:03.680 processing the world. And in the years since then, other 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:07.200 researchers have expanded on Young's ideas. Of course, there's no 0:04:07.320 --> 0:04:09.600 catch all definition for the term, but there at least 0:04:09.640 --> 0:04:11.680 a few things we can say about introverts in general. 0:04:11.920 --> 0:04:14.600 For example, introverts tend to be good listeners, who think 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:17.840 before they speak. They enjoy time alone, They usually need 0:04:17.960 --> 0:04:20.839 less stimulation than extroverts when it comes to entertainment. And 0:04:20.880 --> 0:04:23.600 while they typically tire of small talk quickly, they can 0:04:23.640 --> 0:04:25.560 talk to your ear off when they're given the chance 0:04:25.600 --> 0:04:28.440 to dig into a topic they really care about, you know. 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:31.080 And and I think this was something that I've really 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:33.040 thought about in the past week or so as we've 0:04:33.040 --> 0:04:35.240 been working on this topic. And that's the fact that 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:38.839 no one is really a hundred percent introverted or add 0:04:38.880 --> 0:04:42.640 percent extroverted other than my year old Mammo. I think 0:04:42.680 --> 0:04:47.719 she's pretty close to extrovert extrovert. She's definitely an extrovert. 0:04:47.760 --> 0:04:49.760 But but we're all really more of a mix of 0:04:49.800 --> 0:04:53.400 both personality types. And I've actually realized that about the 0:04:53.440 --> 0:04:55.200 two of us. If if people are looking at the 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:57.520 two of us, most people would say you're an introvert 0:04:57.520 --> 0:05:00.200 and I'm an extrovert. But really, as we've been doing 0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:03.039 the research, you kind of realize there is this very 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:05.880 real mix. It's just that most of us lean harder 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:08.760 one way than the other, definitely, and that's why you'll 0:05:08.760 --> 0:05:11.799 find like a quiet classmate or a coworker can actually 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:14.839 be a really engaging public speaker. And that's because of 0:05:14.880 --> 0:05:18.240 this big cultural misconception that all introverts are incredibly shy 0:05:18.320 --> 0:05:19.800 people who can never get up in front of an 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:23.760 audience without cracking under the pressure. But in reality, introversion 0:05:23.800 --> 0:05:27.120 is a completely different thing than shyness. So I'm not 0:05:27.160 --> 0:05:29.680 sure if you remember that groundbreaking book on introverts. It 0:05:29.760 --> 0:05:32.680 was written by Susan Kine. It's called Quiet. It came 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:34.800 out about Yeah, it came out about five or six 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:38.800 years ago, and it's full of really insightful takes on introversion. 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:42.040 And one of the things Susan covers is that shyness 0:05:42.160 --> 0:05:45.599 and being an introvert are driven by completely different forces. 0:05:45.920 --> 0:05:49.120 So listen to how she explains it. Quote, shyness is 0:05:49.120 --> 0:05:53.440 the fear of social disapproval or humiliation. Well, introversion is 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:57.320 a preference for environments that are not over stimulating. Shyness 0:05:57.400 --> 0:06:01.160 is inherently painful, Introversion is not. I mean, I think 0:06:01.200 --> 0:06:04.520 that's such an interesting quote from that, because those are 0:06:04.600 --> 0:06:07.839 definitely two words that I think people have just assumed 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:10.720 kind of meant the same thing. But so think a 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:12.560 little bit more about it. So, shyness is more of 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:16.000 a reaction than a way of being, and so as 0:06:16.040 --> 0:06:18.520 a result, you could even have an extrovert who might 0:06:18.600 --> 0:06:21.440 really enjoy being around crowds, but actually it is definitely 0:06:21.480 --> 0:06:25.479 afraid of being in the spotlight themselves. Absolutely, And in 0:06:25.520 --> 0:06:27.680 the same way, it's possible to have an introvert who's 0:06:27.720 --> 0:06:31.679 also shy. Since shinus is a learned behavior, an introvert 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:34.400 could develop a fear of social situations because they've been 0:06:34.400 --> 0:06:36.640 made to feel like they don't measure up to extroverts. 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:39.400 So it could actually be this, I guess, the self 0:06:39.400 --> 0:06:43.760 fulfilling prophecy. Well, and there's that same kind of misconception 0:06:43.800 --> 0:06:46.880 about social anxiety. I mean, a lot of people would 0:06:46.920 --> 0:06:50.040 assume that that condition goes hand in hand with introversion, 0:06:50.080 --> 0:06:53.719 but it doesn't necessarily. I mean, social anxiety is is 0:06:53.760 --> 0:06:57.080 similar to shyness, and that it's largely learned behavior, but 0:06:57.560 --> 0:07:00.559 anxiety also tends to run in families, so is without 0:07:00.680 --> 0:07:03.680 question a very real genetic lenk there as well. It's just, 0:07:04.120 --> 0:07:07.000 you know, a more extreme form of self consciousness than 0:07:07.040 --> 0:07:10.680 either shyness or introversion. And just trying to think of 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:13.640 an example of this, I mean, somebody with social anxiety 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:17.160 might feel totally incapable in a social situation, you know, 0:07:17.200 --> 0:07:20.280 maybe they tell themselves they don't have anything to contribute, 0:07:20.440 --> 0:07:23.760 or that people ignore or misunderstand them, so why bother 0:07:23.920 --> 0:07:27.280 even saying anything. But I mean, that's generally not the 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:30.119 case with introverts. In fact, many of them are pretty 0:07:30.120 --> 0:07:32.600 adept at kind of you know, you might say, turning 0:07:32.640 --> 0:07:35.960 on their social skills when they need to. All right, well, 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:38.000 now that we know some of the things that introversion 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:40.400 is not, we should talk about what it actually is. 0:07:40.520 --> 0:07:42.520 And like you alluded to at the top of the show, 0:07:42.640 --> 0:07:45.560 that's kind of easier said than done because most popular 0:07:45.600 --> 0:07:48.320 definitions fail to capture the range of ways that introversion 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:51.560 manifests in people like we tend to view introversion as 0:07:51.600 --> 0:07:55.480 opposite to extroversion. So if an extroverts outspoken, then an 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:58.360 introvert is tight lip. This is kind of a dumbing 0:07:58.400 --> 0:08:01.800 down of distinctions, and it's really nothing new. But thankfully 0:08:01.800 --> 0:08:03.960 there's been a lot more research on the subject, and 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:06.840 that includes the work of a psychology professor at Wellesley 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:10.160 College named Jonathan Cheeks. So a few years back, he 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:13.120 surveyed a group of five adults and he asked them 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:16.200 everything from how often they dy dream, how important they 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:19.600 consider solitude for their well being all sorts questions like this, 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:23.040 and then Cheek used their responses to help develop what 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:26.040 he called the star chart. But you know you don't 0:08:26.040 --> 0:08:27.520 have to worry about this, well, I know you've got 0:08:27.560 --> 0:08:30.040 an aversion to astrology. This has nothing to do with 0:08:30.080 --> 0:08:35.240 where mercury is rising. And it's actually a breakdown of 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:40.280 what Cheek considers the four types of introversion. So it's social, thinking, anxious, 0:08:40.440 --> 0:08:43.840 and restraint. Even better, so we've got an acronym, and 0:08:43.880 --> 0:08:46.760 you know I love a good acreatim So now I 0:08:46.800 --> 0:08:48.559 feel like you deserve the chance to kind of give 0:08:48.600 --> 0:08:50.680 us a rundown of what falls in each of those 0:08:50.800 --> 0:08:54.920 those four categories. Sure, so the S is social introversion, 0:08:55.120 --> 0:08:56.920 and this is probably what a lot of people would 0:08:56.960 --> 0:09:00.120 think of when they're asked to describe introverts, right, Like, 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:03.040 it's basically a preference for small groups over large ones, 0:09:03.520 --> 0:09:06.560 for more solitary activities, you know, thinking about things like 0:09:06.880 --> 0:09:10.920 reading a book or watching a movie. Thinking introversion, which 0:09:10.960 --> 0:09:13.160 is the T that's a little different. Introverts of this 0:09:13.200 --> 0:09:16.640 type don't mind like big social events or these highly 0:09:16.679 --> 0:09:20.960 stimulating environments, and that's mainly because they're really connected to 0:09:21.000 --> 0:09:24.600 their interior world. You know, all that commotion around them 0:09:24.679 --> 0:09:28.000 is really drowned out by all the introspection that they 0:09:28.040 --> 0:09:31.360 go through in self reflection that occupies their minds. Yeah, 0:09:31.640 --> 0:09:33.080 so these are people. I mean it kind of makes 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:34.840 me think of the phrase where we talk about people 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:38.080 being in their own little world. I guess, yeah, exactly. 0:09:38.120 --> 0:09:39.880 And the example I read try to lay it out 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:42.920 in Harry Potter terms, which is of course very much appreciated. 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:46.080 And in that case, the socially awkward nevill would be 0:09:46.120 --> 0:09:49.439 a social introvert, while a thinking introvert would be someone 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:53.319 more like Luna Lovegood, you know, who's sort of dreamily creative. Right, 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:55.880 that makes sense. I feel like everything makes more sense 0:09:55.880 --> 0:09:58.760 when you can explain it in Harry Potter. So evidently 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:01.040 we'll try to do that with all future episodes. But 0:10:01.520 --> 0:10:03.440 all right, so that's the S and the T. So 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:06.520 how about the A and the R. Right, So next 0:10:06.600 --> 0:10:09.520 up is anxious introversion. As you might guess from the name, 0:10:09.600 --> 0:10:12.200 this refers to introverts who have also some form of 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:15.559 social anxiety, and it's characterized by a tendency to kind 0:10:15.559 --> 0:10:19.079 of overthink things and also to dwell on your mistakes 0:10:19.160 --> 0:10:22.679 or perceived mistakes for well after the fact, I mean, 0:10:23.160 --> 0:10:26.360 it really is, it can be crippling. And lastly, there's 0:10:26.360 --> 0:10:29.480 the R and star, which refers to restrained or reserved. 0:10:29.760 --> 0:10:32.760 And uh, these are people who take a little while 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:35.599 to get going. So instead of diving straight into a conversation, 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:38.679 a restrained introvert, might you know, hear what everyone has 0:10:38.720 --> 0:10:40.920 to say, really take their time to absorb and think 0:10:41.000 --> 0:10:43.480 on it and then offer their own thoughts. So pretty 0:10:43.559 --> 0:10:47.040 much there to think first, act let people in the world. Okay, 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:49.160 that makes sense, And I feel like this four way 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:52.920 system definitely covers more ground than just the one blanket term. 0:10:53.000 --> 0:10:55.080 But I have to also think that, you know, there's 0:10:55.080 --> 0:10:57.800 an awful lot of overlap between the different types, Like 0:10:57.840 --> 0:11:01.240 I can imagine somebody being a part thinking introvert and 0:11:01.360 --> 0:11:05.959 part restrained introvert or some other combination of these four definitely, 0:11:05.960 --> 0:11:08.320 and when she came up with this model, he really 0:11:08.320 --> 0:11:11.000 wanted to expand the definition of introvert, not just replace 0:11:11.080 --> 0:11:14.000 it with these four strict types. So, according to him, 0:11:14.040 --> 0:11:16.360 plenty of introverts are actually a mix of all four types. 0:11:17.160 --> 0:11:18.720 Al Right, well, I'd say we have a pretty good 0:11:18.760 --> 0:11:21.200 grasp on what goes into being an introvert. So why 0:11:21.240 --> 0:11:23.120 why don't we switch gears a little bit and talk 0:11:23.160 --> 0:11:26.240 about the science of introversion Because it isn't by chance 0:11:26.280 --> 0:11:29.440 that introverts and extroverts think differently. I mean, their brains 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:32.920 are actually different. For example, if you look at brain 0:11:33.000 --> 0:11:35.400 scans of the two different types of brains, you'd see 0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:38.880 a thicker prefrontal cortex in introverts when you compare them 0:11:38.880 --> 0:11:41.439 to extroverts. And since that part of the brain is 0:11:41.480 --> 0:11:45.640 connected with things like deep thought and planning, that bigger 0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:48.960 cortex might actually explain why introverts tend to be less 0:11:48.960 --> 0:11:53.760 impulsive than extroverts. Now, instead of processing new information directly, 0:11:53.840 --> 0:11:57.120 these introverts first run it through the neural pathway that 0:11:57.280 --> 0:12:00.880 deals with planning and long term memor Marie. And so 0:12:00.960 --> 0:12:03.439 this is why introverts might actually take longer to make 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:07.640 a decision or former response, because they're comparing old and 0:12:07.679 --> 0:12:11.719 new experiences and even weighing the potential outcomes while they 0:12:11.800 --> 0:12:15.200 mold things over. And so this can slow the thinking 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:18.319 process down a pretty good bid actually, but it also 0:12:18.360 --> 0:12:22.600 results in these carefully thought out responses and choices, and 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:26.440 it's not something that you always get with extroverts, which 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:28.680 is interesting. You know, I hadn't heard about that bigger 0:12:28.679 --> 0:12:30.520 cortex is thing, But now I feel like I'm gonna 0:12:30.520 --> 0:12:33.360 brag to everyone about how large my cortex. Probably I 0:12:33.400 --> 0:12:35.280 knew that that was coming. I know you're gonna be 0:12:35.280 --> 0:12:39.120 bragging about this non stuff. So actually, the differences between 0:12:39.200 --> 0:12:42.600 introverted and extroverted brains that I've always heard about is 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:45.520 the way we respond to dopamine. And you know, we've 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:48.000 talked about this before. Dopamine is one of the neurotransmitters 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:50.959 that's closely tied to our sensation of pleasure, especially when 0:12:50.960 --> 0:12:54.080 it comes to seeking rewards or taking risks, and uh, 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:57.800 Dopamine has similar effects on introverts and extroverts alike. When 0:12:57.840 --> 0:13:00.000 it hits your brain, you feel more alert, you might 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:03.840 be more talkative, more motivated to take chances, and in fact, 0:13:03.960 --> 0:13:07.000 introverts and extroverts even have the same amount of dopamine 0:13:07.040 --> 0:13:10.400 in their bodies. The differences that dopamine triggers the reward 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:13.440 network much more strongly in the brains of extroverts. So 0:13:13.760 --> 0:13:16.400 take something like earning a promotion at work that would 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:19.240 likely generate excitement in both kinds of people, right, But 0:13:19.559 --> 0:13:22.480 the extrovert would feel that excitement to a much greater 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:24.840 degree than the introvert, which I don't know, when you 0:13:24.840 --> 0:13:27.559 think about it, feels like kind of a raw deal 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:29.680 for the introverse. If it feels like they're getting jipped 0:13:29.720 --> 0:13:32.640 on the whole dopamine thing, I guess, well, don't feel 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:35.559 too bad just yet, because there's actually another transmitter is 0:13:35.559 --> 0:13:39.800 a newer transmitter called acetal coline, and it's also associated 0:13:39.800 --> 0:13:42.199 with pleasure, but this one is the go to choice 0:13:42.240 --> 0:13:46.720 for introverts looking to unwind, and unlike dopamine, acetal coline 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:50.560 generates these happy feelings for more inward focused activities, so 0:13:51.000 --> 0:13:54.160 like thinking deeply about something or concentrating on one thing 0:13:54.200 --> 0:13:57.080 for an extended period. And the chemical is tied to 0:13:57.120 --> 0:14:00.880 the parasympathetic side of the nervous system, which is nicknamed 0:14:00.920 --> 0:14:05.680 the throttledown or the rest and digest side. So if 0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:08.320 Netflix and Chill is actually your pastime a choice, you 0:14:08.360 --> 0:14:12.160 can thank a settle colin for that. All right. Well, 0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:15.640 since we're getting into the comparisons between introverts and extroverts, 0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:17.920 I feel like we should go through our list of 0:14:17.960 --> 0:14:20.680 pros and cons and see how the two ways of 0:14:20.720 --> 0:14:23.800 being kind of stack up against one another. Yeah, it 0:14:23.800 --> 0:14:38.080 sounds fun to me. But first, let's take a quick break. 0:14:42.240 --> 0:14:44.000 If you're listening to Part Time Genius and we're talking 0:14:44.040 --> 0:14:49.120 about the not so subtle differences between introverts and extroverts, alright, 0:14:49.160 --> 0:14:51.600 I go. So the first introvert advantage that I want 0:14:51.640 --> 0:14:53.760 to talk about is their knack for being able to 0:14:53.840 --> 0:14:56.920 read people, because when it comes to judging how another 0:14:56.960 --> 0:15:00.320 person will think, or feel or act, start show that 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:03.960 introverts make better inferences than you know, extroverts. And that's 0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:07.200 almost every single time. And we do know this thanks 0:15:07.200 --> 0:15:09.600 to a study from a team of psychologists at Yale, 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:13.160 because they were asking more than a thousand participants about 0:15:13.160 --> 0:15:17.520 how the average person would react in different social situations. So, 0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:20.480 for example, this one comes straight from the test, and 0:15:20.520 --> 0:15:24.880 here's the question. It's quote, people are usually overly confident 0:15:24.960 --> 0:15:29.960 in the accuracy of their judgments true or false. I 0:15:30.000 --> 0:15:32.680 mean I have to say true on that, but I 0:15:32.720 --> 0:15:36.640 also feel like I might be being overconfident of course, 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:39.280 but actually you got the correct answer on this one. 0:15:39.320 --> 0:15:42.840 But anyway, after the survey, the researchers rounded up the 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:45.920 highest scoring participants, and then they ran a series of 0:15:45.960 --> 0:15:50.160 psychological tests, and they did this to determine which personality 0:15:50.240 --> 0:15:53.880 traits these people had in common. Now, it's not surprising 0:15:53.880 --> 0:15:56.720 that the respondents who made the most accurate judgments were 0:15:57.200 --> 0:16:00.720 more likely to be intelligent and interested in problem solving 0:16:00.720 --> 0:16:04.560 than those who scored poorly. But the more surprising finding 0:16:04.640 --> 0:16:08.440 was that these same people were also more introverted. And 0:16:08.440 --> 0:16:11.680 as one of the studies authors explains, quote, it could 0:16:11.760 --> 0:16:14.800 be that the introverted people are spending more time observing 0:16:14.880 --> 0:16:17.840 human nature than those who are busy interacting with others, 0:16:18.600 --> 0:16:21.480 or they're more accurate and introspection because they have fewer 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:25.360 motivational biases. They don't view the world through rose colored 0:16:25.360 --> 0:16:30.440 glasses as jovial and extroverted people do. Well, I mean 0:16:30.560 --> 0:16:32.600 that does track with what we were saying about introverts 0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:34.800 and how they have a tendency to think carefully and 0:16:35.200 --> 0:16:38.680 be more observant of their surroundings. That's true, but I 0:16:39.080 --> 0:16:41.640 don't want to get accused of serious bias here, so 0:16:41.720 --> 0:16:44.200 I should point out that there was a drawback to 0:16:44.240 --> 0:16:48.240 the introverts perception powers in this same study, because along 0:16:48.280 --> 0:16:52.600 with that intelligence and curiosity, those highest scoring participants also 0:16:52.680 --> 0:16:56.360 reported being more lonely and maybe having lower self esteem 0:16:56.400 --> 0:16:59.400 than they're more extroverted counterparts, So it's not really an 0:16:59.440 --> 0:17:03.440 across the board win for either one of these groups. Yeah, 0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:05.720 and those kind of tradeoffs kind of pop up a 0:17:05.760 --> 0:17:08.840 lot when you compare introverts and extroverts, And I mean, 0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:11.560 it makes sense from an evolutionary perspective that both types 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:14.840 of people would excel and also lag in different ways. 0:17:15.440 --> 0:17:17.960 You know, if one way of being was decidedly better 0:17:18.000 --> 0:17:20.399 than the other, it feels like we still wouldn't have 0:17:20.520 --> 0:17:23.000 both types of people in the world. And if you 0:17:23.000 --> 0:17:25.080 think about how these different traits might have emerged in 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:30.120 the first place, it's easy to see their respective evolutionary advantages. Like, um, 0:17:30.160 --> 0:17:33.040 if you took like prehistoric introverts, they likely would have 0:17:33.080 --> 0:17:36.320 stuck close to the cave and avoided predators, which would 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:39.040 have increased their chances of not being eaten. And on 0:17:39.080 --> 0:17:41.680 the other hand, like the extroverted caveman would have wandered 0:17:41.720 --> 0:17:43.679 far and wide and and they would have had the 0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:46.320 instincts to look for new types of food and shelter 0:17:46.520 --> 0:17:49.040 and all of that. When shelter was in short supply 0:17:49.480 --> 0:17:51.000 and that's a good point. I had not really thought 0:17:51.040 --> 0:17:53.600 about that way. But I mean, what would you make 0:17:53.640 --> 0:17:56.680 of the idea that introverts tend to be more melancholic? 0:17:56.720 --> 0:17:59.320 I mean, I know I've heard before that extroverts or 0:18:00.000 --> 0:18:04.119 happier people overall when they're measured against introverts, and that study, 0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:06.520 for Meal, does seem to lend some credence to that theory. 0:18:06.600 --> 0:18:09.520 I'm curious what your thoughts are on that. Yeah. So 0:18:09.680 --> 0:18:12.399 I've actually seen those studies before too, and they're usually 0:18:12.440 --> 0:18:15.600 center on that dopamine reaction that we talked about earlier. 0:18:15.800 --> 0:18:18.520 And the truth is, happiness levels are pretty evenly matched 0:18:18.560 --> 0:18:21.320 between introverts and extroverts when it comes I guess to 0:18:21.440 --> 0:18:25.919 like inwardly focused activities, you know, watching TV, listening to music, 0:18:26.040 --> 0:18:28.840 reading a book. But the real disparity arises when you 0:18:28.840 --> 0:18:32.000 look at happiness levels during social activities and the ones 0:18:32.080 --> 0:18:34.639 where some kind of reward is at stake, and in 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:38.080 those cases extroverts really have the advantage. But you know, 0:18:38.280 --> 0:18:41.000 according to Susan Caine, this is more about how we 0:18:41.080 --> 0:18:45.080 define happiness than it is about who's objectively happier. For example, 0:18:45.080 --> 0:18:47.119 in in Western culture is like our own, we we 0:18:47.160 --> 0:18:49.760 have a habit of viewing happiness as an active state. 0:18:49.920 --> 0:18:54.960 It's sort of this explosive enthusiasm and excitement and giddiness. 0:18:55.080 --> 0:18:57.800 And you know, that's not the case for Eastern cultures, 0:18:57.880 --> 0:19:00.440 where happiness is seen as something more past of its 0:19:00.680 --> 0:19:04.640 contentment and peacefulness and almost this feeling of being present 0:19:04.720 --> 0:19:07.560 and focused in the moment. So Kine actually has a 0:19:07.600 --> 0:19:10.959 quote on this. She says, when introverts talk about the 0:19:10.960 --> 0:19:13.440 things that they most love to do, it's very often 0:19:13.480 --> 0:19:17.840 activities like reading, hiking, cycling, being with their spouses, being 0:19:17.880 --> 0:19:20.600 with their children. It's a quieter type of contentment that 0:19:20.680 --> 0:19:24.000 often fuels introverts and that we don't pay proper attention to. 0:19:24.720 --> 0:19:27.280 But speaking of proper attention, you know that might be 0:19:27.320 --> 0:19:30.680 another reason that extroverts report such higher levels of happiness, 0:19:30.760 --> 0:19:34.040 because they're less introspective, and because of that, they also 0:19:34.080 --> 0:19:37.000 tend to overlook drawbacks and great experiences on a curve. So, 0:19:37.119 --> 0:19:39.520 for example, an extrovert might say that they had a 0:19:39.560 --> 0:19:41.920 great time at a party and not even mention things 0:19:42.000 --> 0:19:43.960 like there wasn't enough food to go around or that 0:19:44.000 --> 0:19:47.280 the sound system kept going out. But I guess feel 0:19:47.280 --> 0:19:50.440 like you're using specific examples from things. These are things 0:19:50.440 --> 0:19:54.080 that haven't at a party, I want to But you know, 0:19:54.320 --> 0:19:58.199 an introvert would likely notice all these little details and uh, 0:19:58.400 --> 0:20:01.200 you know, have a better sense of how it impacted 0:20:01.240 --> 0:20:04.800 everyone's overall experience. But you know, in the end, it 0:20:04.800 --> 0:20:07.000 could be that the introverts are more inclined to give 0:20:07.040 --> 0:20:10.320 this less rosy and potentially more accurate assessment of how 0:20:10.359 --> 0:20:14.119 happy they really are. I mean, I think that's probably true. 0:20:14.240 --> 0:20:16.119 But I mean, back to what we were saying about 0:20:16.160 --> 0:20:18.679 those trade offs, and to be fair, there are costs 0:20:18.760 --> 0:20:21.919 to being an extrovert as well. I mean, we mentioned 0:20:21.920 --> 0:20:24.800 that extroverts have this pensiont for risk taking, and so 0:20:25.280 --> 0:20:27.679 as you might expect, that tendency can backfire in some 0:20:27.760 --> 0:20:31.159 pretty damaging ways. I mean, as an example, extroverts are 0:20:31.160 --> 0:20:33.600 more likely to be hospitalized for an accident or for 0:20:33.640 --> 0:20:36.760 an illness than introverts are, and they're more likely to 0:20:36.880 --> 0:20:40.359 develop criminal behaviors. They're more likely to get arrested. To like, 0:20:40.440 --> 0:20:43.000 all of these things are true, that can't be true. 0:20:43.000 --> 0:20:46.280 I mean, I feel like they're more likely to be arrested. Yeah, 0:20:46.320 --> 0:20:47.879 this is why I'm trying to claim that I'm not 0:20:47.960 --> 0:20:49.840 as much of an extrovert, as I once thought that 0:20:49.880 --> 0:20:53.000 I was. I mean, but I guess it makes sense 0:20:53.040 --> 0:20:56.000 if you're impulsive instead of a planner. But this does 0:20:56.080 --> 0:20:59.760 come from the journal Comprehensive Psychiatry, and this was from 0:20:59.760 --> 0:21:03.119 re search conducted at Johns Hopkins and at the Bloomberg 0:21:03.160 --> 0:21:05.280 School of Public Health. So Mango, that sounds about as 0:21:05.359 --> 0:21:08.960 legit as it gets. Yeah, that's so bizarre. But you know, 0:21:09.200 --> 0:21:11.520 we've been focusing on differences. I I do want to 0:21:11.560 --> 0:21:14.000 make sure that we mentioned some of the similarities between 0:21:14.040 --> 0:21:17.440