Definition, Health Effects, and Self-Care Tips

Extrovert Type vs. Trait

If you’re like lots of other people, you’ve probably taken the Jung-inspired Meyers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI) test and been assigned a type that starts with an “E” for extrovert or “I” for introvert.

While the simplicity is appealing, that either/or attitude doesn’t exactly reflect current science. Research on the MBTI has found that most people don’t sort into distinct groups, says Gabriel Olaru, PhD, an assistant professor of developmental psychology at Tilburg University in the Netherlands who studies personality and its impact on well-being. Instead, he says, the results fall on a bell curve. “So you have a lot of average people, and then fewer and fewer people who are extremely extroverted and extremely introverted,” he explains.

Today, thanks to those findings and others, psychologists believe that extroversion exists on a continuum, meaning it’s a trait you can have more or less of, rather than a type of person you are or aren’t, says Entringer.

Research supports the idea that extroversion as a trait is largely scientifically valid, even if the extrovert personality type isn’t. In one study, researchers gave the Big Five Inventory (which measures extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness) to nearly 18,000 participants in 56 countries. The results suggest that variations in these five traits account for people’s personalities all over the world.

What Causes Extroversion

Extroversion and other personality traits seem to be related to biological differences that are influenced by genetics, environment (including life experiences), and interactions between the two, says Manon van Scheppingen, PhD, who studies personality development and is an assistant professor of developmental psychology at Tilburg University in the Netherlands.

One set of evidence comes from heritability studies, which have found that people who are more genetically similar tend to be more alike in personality, says Dr. van Scheppingen. Just how alike varies a bit depending on the study, but overall it seems that your genes account for roughly half of the variation in your personality, according to van Scheppingen and a separate meta-analysis of 62 studies).

Other researchers who study brain activity have found that extroverted people may be wired differently, such that for extroverts, social situations and other experiences are perceived as more rewarding than for introverted individuals, according to a review published in the October 2022 Personality Science. This dopaminergic reward sensitivity theory could explain why extroverts have a drive for more social interactions, are more sensation-seeking, and experience more positive emotions than introverts, explains van Scheppingen. “What I like about the theory is that it would be a common cause for these different facets of extroversion,” she says.

Is It Okay to Call Yourself an Extrovert?

Even if personality type theory has fallen out of favor with researchers, can it still be helpful in the real world to think of yourself as an extrovert or introvert?

Yes, says Janaya Sadler, LCSW, the owner of Urban Health Counseling in Raleigh, North Carolina, who takes a personality-informed approach to mental health. Knowing yourself and how you tend to respond to the world can help you thrive at work, in intimate relationships, and more, she says. “I think that it’s important in all arenas.”

Dr. Olaru agrees, adding that the terms extrovert or introvert also make it easy to share important information about yourself with others. It’s partly why things like the MBTI are so popular, he says. It’s easier to say “I’m an extrovert” than to say “I score 3.6 on a 1-to-5 scale,” he notes.