WHITE 1

Ashley White

Dr. Rand

UWRT 1102

March 30, y

Introvert-Extrovert Interaction With Different Environments

Think about the following scenarios: going to the bookstore, walking to class, working at

your job, going out with friends and relaxing at home. If you could guess what they all had in

common, what would you think? Let’s give you a hint, each one of these scenarios plays a role in

how you express yourself. Environment has a bigger impact on personality than people expect

and many don’t take it into account that people choose how they interact with their surroundings

based on a key personality trait. It’s true that introverted and extroverted people prefer a certain

environment (Robinson). Though how exactly does environment influence the choices of

introverted and extroverted people?

Lets start off at the beginning with what exactly is an introverted person. Someone who is

introverted can be classified by liking “alone time”, expressing their thoughts on paper, quiet

and think before they speak in a conversation (Bainbridge). So it’s clear that a person who is

considered an introvert values the time they have alone. It helps them express themselves and as

Robinson states about alone time, “… introverts are re-energized …” (Robinson). Therefore, an

introvert’s “perfect” environment would be curled up in a comfy chair, reading one of their

favorite books in a quiet room with no distraction. Introverts can feel their best in this type of

environment and most “alive” as Cain would say (Cain). Though what happens if they are

placed in an environment that is completely opposite of this. Where they had to invest a lot of

their time on social interaction or had many things to interact with at one time.

WHITE 2

Imagine being introverted and asked to go to a house party that your friend is hosting.

When you arrive there are people everywhere and it’s hard to move from room to room. The

guest have to scream in order to hear each other talk and you can’t even concentrate on your own

thoughts. Immediately an introvert can become uncomfortable with their environment and feel

drained from too much social stimuli. They try not to interact with too many people because that

would cause more stress on them so they search for one of their good friends. In most cases

introverts have only one or two friends, not because they lack social skills but because they don’t

need many friends to fulfill their social needs. Though once the introvert finds their friend, they

still prefer to engage in a conversation that is beneficial to their well-being. By this they want to

talk about something that puts a lot of thought into and promotes inner individuality. However,

three hours into the party they can become quite irritable from too much going on and look

“zombie like” by showing less expressions (Bainbridge).

Now let’s take a closer look at the difference between the introverts behavior towards it’s

environment when they weren’t with their friend and when they finally found them. When first

introduced to the party, an introvert is looked upon as shy and antisocial. Though that’s not

exactly what they’re trying to portray themselves as, instead they are holding onto their internal

energy so it’s not taken away from the people surrounding them (Robinson). Which gives people

the wrong impression on introverted people, because they don’t bring “life” to a party, but once

they get in range of close friend their true inner self comes out and they become very social.

Many introverts will become highly talkative around a familiar environment and won’t feel any

stress from the uninvited attention (Bainbridge).

So environment clearly shows a huge influence of how an introvert will express their

emotions and social interaction. The same concept is shown in extroverted people as well. An

WHITE 3

extroverted can be defined as “…"social butterflies", extroverts make a living through social

stimulation.” (Robinson) which is the complete opposite of an introvert. Instead of distancing

themselves from social interaction, they thrive off of being around people. Also they express

their ideas through talking to others and prefer to multitask (Robinson). So in this case going to

that loud, social party would be an extrovert’s “perfect” environment. They want meet new

people and interact with everyone that is present. Just like an introvert, they have the same

concept of a “re-charge” environment. Though let’s take an extrovert out of their typical

environment and cut them off from all social interaction for a day. A personal connection can be

put into this scenario since I tested my personality and it came out to be that I was extroverted.

Being around people gives me an all around “good” feeling. Socializing makes me feel

connected with others and helps me express myself. Though taken away from that environment

gives me the complete opposite effect. When I isolate myself from the real world and stay in my

room for over a few hours, my mental state goes from stable to stressed. Without the social

interaction I don’t have the opportunity to express my thoughts and ideas. To make up for lack of

social stimuli, I try to talk to myself and pretend i’m with someone else to fulfill that need.

Though this only works for a short period of time and just like an introvert, I soon become

“zombie like” and will stop showing expressions. A good point was made in an article I read,

they mentioned that extroverts find happiness in being around others and that’s exactly what I do

(Angelo, Srivastava, and Vallereux). When i’m around people I can feel their happiness and take

it in to help improve my mood.

After analyzing both the perspectives of introverted and extroverted people. Anyone can

see the distinct characteristics of each personality and even the similarities; however, not

everything is in black and white. In today’s society people adapt and change to fit their

WHITE 4

environment. They will push back personality traits to pursue in something, gain traits to fulfill

tasks, and even change to “fit in” (Cain). Therefore, many introverts will show extrovert

characteristics and vice versa. So in that party scenario from above, an introvert could become

the “life” of the party instead of excluding themselves with the close friend. While there could

be multiple reasons why they did this, one idea could be because they wanted to feel accepted.

To go further into this idea let’s talk about different environments that could alter an

introvert or extroverts personality traits more specifically. If a job requires social interaction with

a large group of people, like in a conference, an introvert can obtain the trait of public speaking

and easily talk to the crowd. Many of these traits aren’t what would be in their original

personality characteristics, but are created to do the things they love. Introverts will pursue in

careers that seems only extroverts would excel in. They say that careers in the arts and sciences

are targeted for people who are more introverted than others (Robinson).

While that can be true, Susan Cain is a good example of an introvert who took a different

route. She grew up with a family who valued reading and exploring the world through their

mind. This created a strong imagination for Cain and she thought it was normal for people to be

more to themselves and enjoy being alone. Though one summer she decided to go to camp and

learned that introverts can also learn the ways of extroverts. After that experience, she went on to

become a wall street lawyer. Something no introvert would dare to be. Of course, she never grew

out of her introvert side. Reading was something she still had passion for, so she went on and

wrote a book. Those seven years were the best she ever had because finally her true introvert side

could come out (Cain).

The same goes from extroverts, some will learn to be quiet more often to do their work

efficiently or stay in a room for hours in order to write a book that will take years to complete.

WHITE 5

Not every extrovert will go into the career that meant for them like an actor or spokesman

(Robinson). Even though extroverts are known to be more outgoing they, too, can learn to adapt

to the environment influence. Similarities in extroverts and introverts like above are a good

example of that each personality trait is effected the same way.

Another common environment that influences introverted and extroverted people is school.

Most of the time school is a place where extroverts can really express themselves (Cain). Group

projects, presentations, class discussions, and other social activities help extroverts do what they

do best. While introverts feel stressed to talk about ideas to others and present a project in front

of the whole class. Just like having a job that requires someone to obtain traits that aren’t usually

in them, introverts learn to adapt to their environment. Don’t let this adaption fool you though.

Once an introvert or extrovert goes back home to their “safe” place, they revert to their natural

self. They “Re-energize” by talking to their friend group or sitting down to read a book. By

doing this they are preparing to take on the next day and once again adapt to the environments

they are exposed to.

Relationships and friendships are also an environment that changes the traits of introverted

and extroverted people. Previously mentioned, introverts become more talkative around people

that they are close with. The conversations that are talked about probably hold more value to

them and interaction. Introverts like to talk about deep topics and put a lot of thought in what

they want to say. So people who they are close with get this side of them because they know how

each other works and are interested in the same types of things (Bainbridge). Extroverts have a

huge role in this because they help bring out those traits in introverts. By being the complete

opposite of introverts, extroverts can do most of the talking in a conversation while the introvert

can sit back and listen to what they have to say. This helps take the pressure off of introverts and

WHITE 6

if they conversation is interesting enough, they will become more involved in the social stimuli

(Cain).

Now with a new perspective in mind about environment influence on personality traits of

introverted and extroverted people. Even though the two personality traits are complete opposites

from each other, they still have some similarities when it comes to influence from the

environment. While not the same environments create the same responses, they bring out the

“best” of the two personalities and some make the person feel uncomfortable and stressed. In

order to prevent stress from arising in an environment, introverts and extroverts will gain traits to

adapt in the specific environment. This helps the person pursue in what they want to do with

their life even if its dominantly for the opposite personality trait.

Reflection

Writing this inquiry paper gave me a lot of mixed feelings. At the beginning of the process

I knew exactly what I wanted to write about. Though once I got to the research it was hard to

find information about it and outline a good inquiry essay. I had to change my topic to something

that still related to it but made more sense when researching it. This same happened in the paper

when I started writing. In the first three pages of my paper all my information flowed perfectly, I

had realistic examples and it seemed like this essay wouldn’t be difficult. However, at the point

where I talk about how personality traits of introverted and extroverted people can change, my

mind became blank. You could say I got writer’s block, but it was hard to shake off. Though I

pushed through the block and tried my hardest to keep my paper flowing.

When I learned that introverts and extroverts can take on each other’s personality traits,

that was very interesting to read about. I thought introverts could never be “social” and always

WHITE 7

liked being alone. Though for some environments they are in some way forced to become the

opposite what they are. Extroverts do the same by being more quiet than they usually are. After

learning this, I want to know more about how the brain is affected in this situation. What parts

are being used to push away some personality traits and turn on ones that seemed to never be

there. The brain is a very interesting part of the human body and something I always want to

know more about.

Now that my inquiry essay is over I look back at it and see a lot of accomplishment. First

thing i’m proud of is my in text citation because it was something I really struggled with for my

research paper in high school. I feel like I have a good grasp on what to do and keep on

perfecting it. Also while I don’t think my analytical skills have changed, they were put into effect

in this essay. I’ve always been

Works Cited

Angelo, Kimberly M., Sanjay Srivastava, and Shawn R. Vallereux. “Extraversion and

positive affect: A day reconstruction study of person–environment transactions.”

Journal of Research in Personality, 42 (2008): 1613-1618. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.

Bainbridge, Carol. “All About Introverts.” Gifted Kids. About.com, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.

Cain, Susan. “The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain.” Online video clip. Ted. TED

Conferences LLC, Feb 2014. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.

Robinson, Jabril. “How to thrive in an introverted/extroverted workplace.” Phys Org. Phys.org,

22 Aug. 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.