Introversion And Introvert Analysis

At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate but loathe self-promotion, dislike small talk, and feel exceptionally strong emotions. It is to introverts—Rosa Parks, Chopin, Steve Wozniak, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Mahatma Ghandi—that we owe many of the great contributions to society. In Quiet, Susan Cain argues that we dramatically undervalue introverts and also shows how much we lose in doing so. She shows the rise of the “Extrovert Ideal” throughout the twentieth century and explores how deeply it has come to permeate our culture. From a clever, energetic public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the

Because an introvert “enjoys solitude,” they are generally frowned upon at school and are looked at like there is something mentally wrong with the individual. Although students who are introverts tend to have better grades and test scores than extroverts, teachers still try to “get them out of their shell.” In Arnold Henjum’s article, “Introversion: A Misunderstood "Individual Difference" Among Students,” he states that “Many well-meaning teachers and parents try to mold the youth into socially outgoing individuals without understanding the

“Introversion – along with its cousin’s sensitivity, seriousness, and shyness – is now a second-class personality trait, somewhere between a disappointment and a pathology. Introverts living under the Extrovert Ideal are like women in a man’s world, discounted because of a trait that goes to the core of who they are. Extroversion is an enormously appealing personality style, but we’ve turned it into an oppressive standard to which most of us feel conform” (Cain, 4). Cain uses this simile to compare the introverts in an Extroverts ideal to a woman in a man’s world because most people would agree that it is very hard for a woman to get as much respect as a man, especially in a profession that is male-dominant. It explains how hard it actually is for introverts to get the respect they deserve in today’s society. Later on, Cain states, “I worry that there are people who are put into positions of authority because they’re good talkers, but they don’t have good ideas. It’s so easy to confuse schmoozing ability with talent. Someone seems like a good presenter, easy to get along with, and those traits are rewarded. Well why is that? They’re valuable traits, but we put too much of a premium on presenting and not enough on substance and critical