Introverts VS Extroverts: Carl Jung’s Theory The terms “Introvert” and “Extrovert” were
first used by the psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung in Switzerland in the 1920s.
According to Jung, an extroverted person seeks intense contact with the outside world,
while an introverted person likes to stay by themselves. For Jung,
nobody is 100% extroverted or introverted, we’re all a little of both but in different proportions.
When the two traits are balanced more or less equally, we talk about an ambivert personality.
In addition to Jung’s thoughts, in the 60s the psychologist Hans Eysenck added that the
different principle between an extroverted and introverted person is the way that they
recharge their own mental energy. Introverted people naturally tend to think more and have a
higher level of brain activity. Introverts feel the need to protect themselves from
external stimuli. In this way, they gain mental strength by staying by themselves.
The neuron activity of extroverts instead tends to be lower, and they overcome this lack by
exposing themselves to the outside world and thereby gaining their energy. This is
how extroverts recharge their own batteries. To better illustrate the differences, let’s
take two imaginary children, Daniel and Matt. Daniel is extroverted, while Matt is introverted.
Daniel loves being surrounded by friends, loves being the centre of attention and talking about
anything and everything. Daniel has no problems interacting with strangers and is always open to
getting to know new people. Staying with others stimulates him and increases his mental energy.
Matt instead has no problems spending time alone. He doesn’t feel the need to always be surrounded
by friends or acquaintances. His hobbies don’t necessarily include other people. In
his free time, Matt loves playing the piano and is becoming a real expert on the subject, but this is
his secret - he doesn’t need to know everybody. Matt loves to read and needs peace and quiet.
Let’s be clear, introverted people aren’t necessarily shy, even if they may seem
that way. Matt, for example, isn’t at all shy and has no fear of talking to anyone,
but tends to get tired when he’s surrounded by too many people and when a conversation
becomes too superficial, he gets bored and tends to exclude himself. His strategy,
where possible, is to go away and recharge himself by finding some peace and quiet.
Instead, Daniel loves having lots of friends around him, jumping from one conversation
to another. All of this stimulates him. Experts confirm that introverts and extroverts
use different parts of their brain to form their own thoughts. Extroverts tend to use Short Term
Memory. This allows them to formulate their thoughts, which is why they often talk quickly.
Extroverts tend to seem intelligent because their brain always offers a quick response. However,
the problem for extroverts is that they often talk before they think, and as a consequence
they change ideas after regretting what they said. However, introverts like Matt generally take their
time before expressing a thought instead, and rely on long term memory. His thoughts
are more complex and therefore need more time to be developed. Matt thinks before he speaks.
Good teachers or leaders in the business field understand the difference between
introverted and extroverted people and try to develop them according.
For example, when they ask a question in class, they ask everyone to think for a
minute in silence before giving an answer. In this way, the extroverts learn to form their
own thoughts before talking, and introverts will be given more time to express themselves
in order to practice speaking in public. Another method used by teachers during a
group conversation is to make everyone speak in turn. In this way, even students like Matt,
for example, can express their opinion without being overpowered by extroverted
students who want to talk continuously. By working and studying together,
introverted and extroverted people can help each other in their personal growth process.
Introverts can teach extroverts to think before they speak, while extroverts can
teach introverts to be more enterprising and to not be afraid of making their opinion heard.
Do you consider yourself more introverted or extroverts? What do you think of the
points discussed in this video? Let us know your opinion in the comments.
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