# Interesting article on introverts **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 23, 2016, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434 "2016-05-23T02:34:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/1 "2016-05-23T02:34:14Z")
Just like there are different types of “intelligence,” a few researchers are now saying that there are four types of introverts. There’s a quiz at the end, for people who are interested. I score highest on the “social” and “thinking” forms of introversion. > [@](#): > > As more regular, non-scientist types started to talk about introversion, psychologist Jonathan Cheek began to notice something: The way many introverts defined the trait was different from the way he and most of his academic colleagues did. > **[Apparently There Are 4 Kinds of Introversion](https://www.thecut.com/article/apparently-there-are-four-kinds-of-introversion.html)** > > There’s more than one way to be quiet. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/2 "2016-05-23T02:48:40Z")
I am 40% for social, restrained, and anxious, and only 30% for thinking. I don’t know how high or low that is, but I’ve known for years that I was introverted. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/3 "2016-05-23T03:04:31Z")
40% social,anxious,thinking. 30% restrained. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/4 "2016-05-23T03:42:01Z")
The resulting graph isn’t easy to see, let along interpret. If I enlarge it to 300%, it looks like I get ~ 38% thinking, 38% social, 35% anxious and 35% restrained. So not too much differences between the 4 traits. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/5 "2016-05-23T03:58:43Z")
About 50% on the thinking axis; about 25% anxious; 30% on restrained; and around 35% on social. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/6 "2016-05-23T07:54:54Z")
“Overcome shyness”… what is this shyness you speak of? 😛 Nice to see that they’re trying to separate “want” to be alone (social) from “need” to be alone (anxious, and in my case due only to specific people or situations). ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/7 "2016-05-23T09:34:18Z")
So I’m 44% in the social, 39% in the anxious, and 38% in the thinking, with 28% on the restrained. It does make sense given the definition they use for restrained. Still, most of my “problems” with introversion come from being anxious type, not the social type. Most people can get the social category. Many of them, though, don’t get how bad it feels if you have anxiety on top of that. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/8 "2016-05-23T10:05:54Z")
40% social, 42% restrained, 35% thinking and 30% anxious. I’m a slightly crooked diamond kite. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/9 "2016-05-23T11:24:03Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > The resulting graph isn’t easy to see, let along interpret. If I enlarge it to 300%, it looks like I get ~ 38% thinking, 38% social, 35% anxious and 35% restrained. So not too much differences between the 4 traits. If you mouseover the datapoints it gives you the percentages. For me: 44% social, 45% thinking, 37% anxious, 33% restrained. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/10 "2016-05-23T11:41:11Z")
I’m a bit skeptical about my results. I scored fairly high on the “thinking” aspect, but I think that most of the questions in that section were actually checking for “anxious”. I am very introspective, and I am constantly thinking about myself, but I don’t enjoy it one bit, and I most certainly don’t have any kind of rich, creative mental world. I do think that there are introverted people who can get lost in interesting, imaginative fantasy worlds that aren’t all _focused on themselves_. There is such a thing as creative and non-self-obsessed introvert. A Lewis Carrol type, maybe? Sounds about right. Most writers probably fit. But I don’t think the test is checking for that. And I don’t think “introspective” and “self-reflective” have much business being in the same category as “imaginative” and “creative”. I also scored high on “restrained”, whatever the heck that is supposed to mean. But the truth of the matter is that I’m just lazy. Very, very lazy. Yes, I have a hard time getting going in the morning, and I often feel sluggish. Don’t see how introversion really figures into that. And it doesn’t mean that I think before I act, I don’t. I can be extremely impulsive. As for “social” and “anxious”, no surprise that I’m basically maxing out both of those. Enough said. But it doesn’t take rocket science to figure that out. (BTW, despite all this, I’m I a likeable chap, I swear! Don’t let this put you off from going on a date with me. ;)) ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/11 "2016-05-23T11:42:34Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > The resulting graph isn’t easy to see, let along interpret. If I enlarge it to 300%, it looks like I get ~ 38% thinking, 38% social, 35% anxious and 35% restrained. So not too much differences between the 4 traits. Likewise. I got: Thinking - 37% Social - 35% Anxious - 25% Restrained - 33% ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/12 "2016-05-23T13:56:36Z")
I got 40% for Social and Thinking and 28% for restrained and 25% for anxious. This was interesting. Thank you for the link. I always felt Introversion comes in flavors because I like and need to be by myself for stretches and can get anxious but I also have been able to perform on stage and speak to people I have never met. ---
**Author:** ![misling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@misling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misling)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/13 "2016-05-23T21:06:30Z")
41-42% on everything but Anxious. 28% on Anxious. I think I was more anxious when I was younger. Stopped worrying about what other people were thinking as I grew older. I’d have to agree that the section on interior life was odd. Why assume that a rich interior life must be focused on oneself? I have a rich interior life, but it’s not about me. I have a ‘cast of characters’ that have adventures - have had most of them since I was a kid. I add some now and then. But I’m not one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/14 "2016-05-24T00:16:04Z")
I can’t even get the quiz to work. My cursor turns into a ‘nope’ when it goes over the ‘next part’ button. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/15 "2016-05-24T00:34:40Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > I can’t even get the quiz to work. My cursor turns into a ‘nope’ when it goes over the ‘next part’ button. Mine too. I tried turning off adblock, but it didn’t help. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/16 "2016-05-24T00:40:26Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > I can’t even get the quiz to work. My cursor turns into a ‘nope’ when it goes over the ‘next part’ button. I had the same problem in Firefox, but I got it to work in Chrome. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/17 "2016-05-24T01:54:03Z")
Interesting. It labeled me as 80% social. That’s not necessarily true. I have worked hard to develop my social skills very well but if it’s not a particular type of social event, I’d much rather usually read a book. I’d also come across as very brave and daring by this test. Again, that is something that took a lot of work on my part. Basically, I’ve worked hard not to come acroos as Laura of _The Glass Menagerie_, but that doesn’t mean that the inner me doesn’t still identify with her. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/18 "2016-05-24T04:58:17Z")
I followed a link that looked interesting and discovered I’m a covert narcissist. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/19 "2016-05-24T06:01:03Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > I had the same problem in Firefox, but I got it to work in Chrome. That worked, thanks…have to remember to keep a copy of Chrome installed for situations like this. Got 48% Social 40% Anxious 38% Restrained 36% Thinking ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-on-introverts/755434/20 "2016-05-24T09:32:34Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > That worked, thanks…have to remember to keep a copy of Chrome installed for situations like this. Usually, if a page doesn’t load for me in Firefox with Adblock, I simply decide that it has had its chance, and then I get on with my life. But for some reason, I absolutely have to complete these personality tests whenever I come across them. > [@Green\_Bean](#): > > I followed a link that looked interesting and discovered I’m a covert narcissist. Maybe the test is really testing how many hoops we’re willing to jump through in order to take the test.