by Kelly Ann Griffin

Created on: January 16, 2008

Introversion is a dreadfully misperceived concept of personality in the American culture. To the layman, the label transmits negative images of reclusive, unstable individuals, or at kindest, the assumed equivalent of being shy. The American stereotype of success is often associated with the expressive, gregarious, high-energy extrovert, an ideal personality that leaves the introvert with an overwhelming identity crisis. However, the true introverted personality is not necessarily a meek, unpleasant personality, but one fueled by inner reflection and thought. Introversion is a normal, common personality type concentrated on inward energy restoration.

Personality is difficult to define, with each individual possessing a unique framework of behaviors, responses, and inclinations. Possibly genetic and most likely innate, personality is a critical influence in shaping a person's identity in relation to self and others. Carl Jung, a twentieth century psychologist, first conceived of the personality identifiers, introvert and extrovert. Emphasis was placed on the different orientations employed by the introvert and extrovert in experiencing the world around them. This theory of orientations, stemming from the 1920s, became the forerunner in personality research and testing.

Scientific research has not ventured much farther out the front door that Jung unlocked. Information on introversion is not easy to find, and throughout the decades, the term has been completely misunderstood. The statisticians seem confused when reporting the number of introverts in society, probably because appearances cannot be trusted in the matter. However, most sources seem to indicate that introverts are the minority, composing less than half of the population. And yet, minority is not the equivalent to inferiority. The key to understanding introversion and extroversion is realizing that there is no ethical value placed on either; both are acceptable in their differences.

Still, societal judgment certainly exists. A culture's lexicon indicates much about its values and views, and the thesaurus is a wonderful resource in testing the theory. Performing a thesaurus check on introversion, one finds synonyms of bashfulness, nervousness, and timidity to name a few. Amusingly, extroversion produces results such as sociability, unreservedness, and companionable. The introvert's lot seems to be one of unfair type casts, in society as well as thesaurus. These descriptors however are not quite right.

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