# Do you consider yourself as an introvert or extravert type?



## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

From the internet:

*Why Extroverts Love Crowds*
Extroverts are very comfortable in groups, and may be even happier as the center of attention. Traditional extroverts' personality traits are self-confident, enthusiastic, gregarious, friendly, and outgoing. Extroverts love crowds: the more people around, the better life is! Extroverts like public demonstrations, community events, and other large social gatherings.

*The Introvert's Personality Traits*

Introverts have an inward focus and aren't usually the life of the party. They have a strong sense of self that can make them feel highly self-conscious around other people - making walking into a crowded room a little nerve-wracking. Introverts have a hard time being goofy in front of the camera and telling jokes to more than a couple of people at a time, but they can be extremely witty. They're less "Larry, Curly, and Moe" and more Woody Allen - but that doesn't mean introverts' personality traits are neurotic.

Martin


----------



## Klavierspieler (Jul 16, 2011)

Introvert, definitely.


----------



## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Somebody told me once...You are the extravert introvert...and he was right! The way I speak everybody thinks I am extrovert or extroverted (I'm not sure how to say this)...But I don't like to unveil my real "me". I think I am a complex person, but want to show I'm simpler than I am. I call this a defence (Br) or defense (US).

What about you?

Martin


----------



## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Klavierspieler said:


> Introvert, definitely.


Cats are mysterious...

Martin


----------



## lou (Sep 7, 2011)

I'm an introvert, who wants to be an extrovert. I'm using an actual photo of myself for my profile pic, that's kinda extroverted.


----------



## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

Obviously, it is a spectrum, but I am very solidly an introvert. I choose to have counselling because it makes me unhappy.


----------



## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I'm an introvert involved in several situations which require me to be an extrovert.


----------



## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Polednice said:


> Obviously, it is a spectrum, but I am very solidly an introvert. I choose to have counselling because it makes me unhappy.


Your counselling is working...You have said a bit about yourself and that is good, you seem to be an interesting person and interesting to know better too.

Martin


----------



## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Polednice said:


> Obviously, it is a spectrum, but I am very solidly an introvert. I choose to have counselling because it makes me unhappy.


For a guy with 2,311 posts....you don't seem to be so introverted...LOL Unless you always use small talk. I don't think you do.

Martin


----------



## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> Your counselling is working...You have said a bit about yourself and that is good, you seem to be an interesting person and interesting to know better too.
> 
> Martin


Being introverted isn't about revealing personal information. I can do that easily. My kind of self-detrimental introversion is about feeling paralysed in the company of other, physical human beings. It's about an inner conflict, demanding yourself to be better, and never being able to. Having an inner dialogue of questions: "Why am I doing this? Should I do that? Is this OK?" - at the same time ignoring what's going on around you, and also being keenly aware of others' reactions to your silence. It's a kind of self-hatred because you know all too well that mankind is a social species, and yet interaction with mid- to large groups of people makes you feel terrible about yourself as a person.

Yes, I can tell you my name and my interests, but that doesn't mean I can socialise or make friends!


----------



## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

P.S. My character on the internet is *extremely* different to my real-life self. I am only able to be this verbal and interactive on a website where no one sees my face, and where I don't have to wonder what is going through other people's minds or what their body language means _etc. etc._. In the real world, I often dread just leaving my room because I can't bear to be in the company of others. It is actually a great relief to have a website like this where I can talk in a way that I can't anywhere else.


----------



## Stasou (Apr 23, 2011)

The more I know people, the more extroverted I become around them. I voted a little extroverted.


----------



## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Going by what Martin is saying, I'm introverted but I really like talking about myself, my life, my opinions, etc., & asking people to respond with their opinions, etc. I like conversations to be "real" not plastic. I rarely do small talk like the weather, etc. unless it is relevant to things at hand. I'd rather talk about things that matter, even to people I hardly know. It does sometimes put my backside on the line when I go out on a limb & say something that might be not in accordance with the opinions of who I'm talking to. But I'd rather take some small risks and be human rather than talk about cr*p that means absolutely nothing to me.

I'm pretty open. I can be people's best friend or worst enemy. I don't hold back on speaking my mind to friends or anybody (but I try to put it reasonably, of course, not throw things in their face). The only things that are out of bounds are invading others' personal or mental space, stepping on their toes so to speak, I don't go for that rough bully behaviour (I actually hate it, it's primitive, regardless of a person's education, etc., it's about attitude).

So I chose the final option "a little extraverted..." ...


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Sigh...
There was a poll exactly like this not long ago.
Please folks, do your homework. Try to avoid repetition of the exact same threads, it's best to just contribute to the existing one.
If our search function is defective, maybe we should do like graaf and use Google search to find out whether there is a similar thread in Talk Classical before starting one, especially when it's a poll.
By the way, introverts were overwhelmingly the majority in that other poll (about 90% of the voters)


----------



## Yoshi (Jul 15, 2009)

I am an oyster.










Jan, introverted.


----------



## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

Jan!...I hadn't seen you around, my dear! Oyster, eh? Silly dilly. 

If you're introverted,...you must be one of the coolest introverts ever!


----------



## Yoshi (Jul 15, 2009)

Indeed, one of the coolest oysters around.


----------



## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

I can't answer, because I don't know. I've been very withdrawn in the past, but I do get stimulated talking to people in groups. We all do I bet in the right settings. Lately I've been chatting with people in the music room of my building, its an open atmosphere right in the lobby there, and sometimes I can really get going. Anyway, I like to think that I'm a very open person, who isn't afraid to reveal much about myself, or chooses to reveal things on principle even if I am afraid, as I want people to know me, but then again I am more fixated on particular people that I have a good feeling about and my attitude towards "general" people is a bit more restrained. Probably more on the introvert side, I still have some shy barriers to overcome.


----------



## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

Here's the poll from last time this question was asked (not too long ago), if anybody's interested in the stats.
Introverted or Extroverted?


----------



## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

^^ Thanks for putting that link *Meaghan*. Reading what I said there, I was more introverted then, but I still stand by what I said there as well as here. I'm an "open" introvert, if that makes sense, or a slightly "closed" extrovert, however you want to put it, I'm in the middle, it can vary...


----------



## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

It's no surprise that most people here are introverted.


----------



## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

The poll choices appear to be unrelated to either introversion or extroversion.


----------



## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

Hilltroll72 said:


> The poll choices appear to be unrelated to either introversion or extroversion.


You have a point. Most people tend to just have some personality traits that pull them towards or away from socializing with people. Being an actual introvert or extrovert according to a psychologist, would mean that you are abnormally social or non-social, and that it could be negatively effecting you. An introvert can really like people, and an extrovert can be really phony and caustic. But the two are instinctive patterns, not personal attitudes.


----------



## samurai (Apr 22, 2011)

I firmly believe--as Sid points out--that we all fluctuate to a certain extent between the two extremes given the daily situations in which we are placed. The persona or facade which we present to the "outside world" viz. other people, is often determined by the situation in which we find ourselves placed. I have usually been seen--I believe--by family and friends as basically being a "shy" person. However, because my career was in law-enforcement, I often found myself of necessity having to take charge and be more aggressive, in other words, extroverted. Then, after the day was over and I was home again, I would "revert" {for lack of a better term} to being quieter and more introspective. In other words, back to "normal" {whatever that means} at least for me.
So again, as was pointed out by Sid and some other earlier posters, these two conceprs are not necessarily mutually exclusive of each other, but are more in the nature of being on an oft changing spectrum.


----------



## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

samurai said:


> I firmly believe--as Sid points out--that we all fluctuate to a certain extent between the two extremes given the daily situations in which we are placed. The persona or facade which we present to the "outside world" viz. other people, is often determined by the situation in which we find ourselves placed. I have usually been seen--I believe--by family and friends as basically being a "shy" person. However, because my career was in law-enforcement, I often found myself of necessity having to take charge and be more aggressive, in other words, extroverted. Then, after the day was over and I was home again, I would "revert" {for lack of a better term} to being quieter and more introspective. In other words, back to "normal" {whatever that means} at least for me.


Introversion and extroversion means that a person has something akin to a pathos. There's shy people, and then there's guys like me and my neighbor John (my friend and Rain Man of a neighbor), who don't go to more than 2-3 parties a year, never celebrate our birthdays, *never* tell people our addresses, never invite people over who aren't family or long time friends, etc.


----------



## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Lukecash12 said:


> Introversion and extroversion means that a person has something akin to a pathos. There's shy people, and then there's guys like me and my neighbor John (my friend and Rain Man of a neighbor), who don't go to more than 2-3 parties a year, never celebrate our birthdays, *never* tell people our addresses, never invite people over who aren't family or long time friends, etc.


We are peas in adjoining pods.

My understanding of the very generalized personality traits that are commonly call extrovert and introvert:

An introvert spends a significant part of his time peering inward at himself, asking questions like "How are things going in there? Are you/am I OK? You did a stupid, unkind thing yesterday (hashes over details). Don't be doing _that_ again!"

An extrovert does the same routine, but much less often. Mostly his attention is outward, toward other people; he enjoys socializing, and does a lot of it.

Note that 'peering inward' is a Quiet Time activity. If it isn't available, the introvert misses it; the extrovert does not.

Under those terms, I am an introvert. I am also a humanist, which requires an outward focus. I compensate by making good use of my Quiet Time.


----------



## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

Hilltroll72 said:


> Note that 'peering inward' is a Quiet Time activity. If it isn't available, the introvert misses it; the extrovert does not.


Actually, I would say that an introvert peers inwards regardless of whether there is quiet time available.


----------



## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Polednice said:


> Actually, I would say that an introvert peers inwards regardless of whether there is quiet time available.


That introvert may have a clinical condition. If one is peering inwards while he should be observing/reacting to the world around him, he is missing stuff; maybe including that leopard in the tree.


----------



## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

I'm not an oyster, that's for sure. But I do tend to keep to myself unless I'm surrounded by a bunch of friends who I can have good discussion with. I rarely talk about my inner thoughts with people because it takes trust, but that doesn't mean I don't do it at all. I don't believe in closing up your emotions/thoughts when it would do you good to release the burden. I'm definitely a thinker through and through, sometimes to the point I feel I think too much.

lol just a thought... what if the oyster has something to be shut for? (i.e. a pearl of great price is to be revealed only at the right time)


----------



## Klavierspieler (Jul 16, 2011)

Polednice said:


> Actually, I would say that an introvert peers inwards regardless of whether there is quiet time available.


I would also say that an introvert tends to seek more of this quiet time.


----------



## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Meaghan said:


> Here's the poll from last time this question was asked (not too long ago), if anybody's interested in the stats.
> Introverted or Extroverted?


I'm sorry! If I had known!

Martin


----------



## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> I'm sorry! If I had known!
> 
> Martin


Yeah, I had made that thread, but your poll had more shades of introversion/extroversion, whereas mine was just black and white.


----------



## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Klavierspieler said:


> I would also say that an introvert tends to seek more of this quiet time.


I think that's so. But even introverts can get 'caught up in life'. Among the young U.S. citizens 'caught up' in Afghanistan there are likely to be a number of introverts.


----------



## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

I'm definitely extra _vert_....


----------



## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

Couchie said:


> I'm definitely extra _vert_....


Ooo, Couchie, you make me squeal with delight sometimes!


----------



## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

In normal life, I consider myself to be introvert ... but as a performer, quite the extravert.


----------



## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Couchie said:


> I'm definitely extra _vert_....


Jeez. Here _Polednice_ is in imminent danger of being dropped on by a leopard, and you are making... whatever that is!


----------



## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> Yeah, I had made that thread, but your poll had more shades of introversion/extroversion, whereas mine was just black and white.


I'm older than you, flute girl. LOL When you get old, we use more "nuances"...Life is not black and white, is it? Like the washrooms...LOL For men and for women...What about travestis or whatever in between?

Finland is in my humble opinion the place where we find the finest musicians of our century. Rautavaara is an exception though...he's so...traditional...

Martin


----------



## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Couchie said:


> I'm definitely extra _vert_....


Super LOL!!!!!!! Good!!!!!!!

Martin


----------



## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Krummhorn said:


> In normal life, I consider myself to be introvert ... but as a performer, quite the extravert.


A bit normal! LOL

Martin


----------



## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Krummhorn said:


> In normal life, I consider myself to be introvert ... but as a performer, quite the extravert.


Like Couchie? LOL

Martin


----------



## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

Myaskovsky2002: the internet forum version of the stream of consciousness literary technique.


----------



## Igneous01 (Jan 27, 2011)

id consider myself extremely introvert - I like being in the comfort of my thoughts, so I usually spend most my time "up there" then down here in reality, imagination flows non stop for me, so I am usually just imagining random things - a story, a picture, musical texture, programming as well (ive had i think one dream where I recall programming in it and staring at nothing but code, of course i dont remember what I was doing in it now) Like someone else said, I stopped celebrating my birthday, holidays, I dont go to social and community events (I find them very boring and agitating) and I truly love being home alone - theres a sense of freedom that isnt surpassed by it. If I do have to do social things, I turn into con-artist mode and think about the most logical way to "sell something" to someone, by being overtly outward and talking about simple things to get what I really want from that person. 

To me, a conversation is not important unless I can acquire something from it (job, connections, knowledge) otherwise its pointless to me.


----------



## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

Igneous01 said:


> To me, a conversation is not important unless I can acquire something from it (job, connections, knowledge) otherwise its pointless to me.


Why are you engaging in this pointless thread then?


----------



## Igneous01 (Jan 27, 2011)

hah^^ good point


----------



## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Polednice said:


> Why are you engaging in this pointless thread then?


I think you can "learn" from any conversation, from anyone...Just open your ears and your eyes...

Martin


----------



## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> I think you can "learn" from any conversation, from anyone...Just open your ears and your eyes...
> 
> Martin


And mouth.


----------



## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

Hilltroll72 said:


> We are peas in adjoining pods.
> 
> My understanding of the very generalized personality traits that are commonly call extrovert and introvert:
> 
> ...


Right, you fit the basic profile. As is usual as well, there is a bunch of superfluous but interesting information to consider. What does an introvert look like? What are the specific shapes of his thoughts? These are questions that people ask, questions that they confuse with the condition itself. But classifying someone as an introvert or extrovert is a pretty simple classification. It doesn't tell us that he/she has Danlos syndrome, muscular dystrophy, reciprocal anxiety, etc. There are more things of interest than the classification itself.

Now, an observation relevant to how and why there are introverts and extroverts, aside from your interesting disposition (instinct?) towards finding time to keep your own company, is that obviously our TC demographic appears to be made up more of introverts. Why is that? Was the sample group too small, or is this a real trend here?


----------



## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

Lukecash12 said:


> Now, an observation relevant to how and why there are introverts and extroverts, aside from your interesting disposition (instinct?) towards finding time to keep your own company, is that obviously our TC demographic appears to be made up more of introverts. Why is that? Was the sample group too small, or is this a real trend here?


The poll from May, where people chose between the binary categories "introvert" and "extrovert" had a sample size of 48, which is a decent percentage of the active membership. We seem to be an introverted bunch, and potential reasons for that were discussed on the other thread as well. Questions I found interesting were whether classical music or internet forums tended to draw introverts in general, and if so, why that might be.


----------



## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

I think both classical music and internet forums are pulls for introverted people, but I wonder which exerts the _bigger_ influence?! Given the frighteningly overbearing likes of Alma in our midst, people like him I imagine to make up 90% of an opera audience, I'm going to suggest that most of us just don't have friends, so we make fake ones online.


----------



## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Polednice said:


> I think both classical music and internet forums are pulls for introverted people, but I wonder which exerts the _bigger_ influence?! Given the frighteningly overbearing likes of Alma in our midst, people like him I imagine to make up 90% of an opera audience, I'm going to suggest that most of us just don't have friends, so we make fake ones online.


 > :lol:

Your characterization of _Alma_ startles me. Your suggestion re friends even more so. _Polednice_, either life and people are much different in my neck of the woods, or you need to get out more.

Hmm. Even if the first is true, the second is probably also true.


----------



## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

Hilltroll72 said:


> > :lol:
> 
> Your characterization of _Alma_ startles me. Your suggestion re friends even more so. _Polednice_, either life and people are much different in my neck of the woods, or you need to get out more.
> 
> Hmm. Even if the first is true, the second is probably also true.


The second is certainly true, but I don't want to!


----------



## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

Polednice said:


> The second is certainly true, but I don't want to!


They hurts Smeagles, yes they do. Horrible hobbitses.


----------



## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Polednice said:


> And mouth.


Can you learn opening your mouth? Frankly, I doubt. Arabic people say something wise: God (Alah) gave us two ears and just one mouth in order to listen the double that we speak.

Martin


----------



## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Polednice said:


> I think both classical music and internet forums are pulls for introverted people, but I wonder which exerts the _bigger_ influence?! Given the frighteningly overbearing likes of Alma in our midst, people like him I imagine to make up 90% of an opera audience, I'm going to suggest that most of us just don't have friends, so we make fake ones online.


I don't agree. I have some friends, I like classical music very very much and I consider myself as a pseudoextroverted. That means everybodtdy thinks I am extroverted but very deep I am not.

Martin


----------



## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> I don't agree. I have some friends, I like classical music very very much and I consider myself as a pseudoextroverted. That means everybodtdy thinks I am extroverted but very deep I am not.
> 
> Martin


Introversion and extroversion are behavior profiles, Martin. The two terms are of much more use in sociology than psychology.


----------



## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Lukecash12 said:


> Introversion and extroversion are behavior profiles, Martin. The two terms are of much more use in sociology than psychology.


I'm not a shrink...Just a regular guy trying to know you a bit more....and having some fun, many people have interesting things to say and I'm not too serious here. At the end of every one of my texts you will see "life is a comedy", that is life for me. I don't think I'm making fake friends, yes we are making Internet friends. I made a friend on internet one year ago, she was in Brazil. She came home and stayed 4 months in Canada for her PhD, we write each other every week at least one letter. She was very grateful. Since my two sons left, I have plenty of space, she had her own bedroom. She's a great person. They are many interesting people here. I have learned a lot...Nevertheless they are "guilty". I bought many CDs because of them. LOL But I guess, that's my fault!

Martin


----------



## Chris (Jun 1, 2010)

What sorts introverts from extraverts is *meetings*. Introverts will only speak in a meeting when it is necessary to do, and will never open their mouths close to the finish, which would run the risk of prolonging the talking beyond the scheduled close. Extraverts, on the other hand, feel obliged to fill every lull and silence with the sound of their own voice.


----------



## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

chris said:


> what sorts introverts from extraverts is *meetings*. Introverts will only speak in a meeting when it is necessary to do, and will never open their mouths close to the finish, which would run the risk of prolonging the talking beyond the scheduled close. Extraverts, on the other hand, feel obliged to fill every lull and silence with the sound of their own voice.
> 
> View attachment 2566


 =============================
lol


----------

