Introverts and Extroverts

According to a review of Marti Olsen Laney's new book, "The Hidden Gifts of the Introverted Child":

"Introverted children enjoy the internal world of thoughts, feelings and fantasies, and there's a physiological reason for this. Introverts have more brain activity in general, and specifically in the frontal lobes. When these areas are activated, introverts are energized by retrieving long-term memories, problem solving, introspection, complex thinking and planning."

"Extroverts enjoy the external world of things, people and activities. They have more activity in brain areas involved in processing the sensory information we're bombarded with daily. Because extroverts have less internally generated brain activity, they search for more external stimuli to energize them."

"It's the different pathways that are turned on that activate the behaviors and abilities we see in introverts and extroverts... It impacts all areas of their lives: how they process information, how they restore their energy, what they enjoy and how they communicate."

Introverted children need time alone more than do extroverted children... "Extroverts gain energy by being out and about," but "being with people takes energy from introverts, and they need to get away to restore that energy."

"Shyness is behavior that may diminish as children grow; introversion is a character trait that lasts. "

Comments

[Janice Pence]

I love this article. I am an Introvert – very introverted and was born into a family of Extroverts. It seemed that no one understood the way I processed information – after all that is the biggest difference between introverts and extroverts. Introverts process by thinking, extroverts process by talking.

Both of my children are extroverts, one being is very extroverted. Talk about turning the tables on me. I am trying to learn to just listen to them without becoming overwhelmed with all of the talking.

Great article – I loved the topic. I found great resources on the (www.knowyourtype.com) Myers Briggs definitions of (www.knowyourtype.com/extraversion.html) Extroversion and (www.knowyourtype.com/introversion.html) Introversion – they sum up the information for those in the dark.