With all due respect, this
must be one of the most groundless theories in the social sciences since Keynes
famously mis-predicted the 15-hour work week. It is the “brain child” of Jennifer O. Grimes,
a “Millennial” prospective psychologist bent on finally cracking the “introvert”
walnut. She has developed an “energy theory” according to which introversion
and extraversion can be related to fleeting self-representations (“If you think about planning and really
putting together something in your mind, that could be argued to be
introversion. But unless you act and channel the energy outward, it's not
bringing to extroverted observable fruition the introverted plan.”);
or the personality traits of introverts (if we take these to be a bit less
transient) would place them on (or very close to) the autism spectrum – just dial
these qualities up a bit, and you will get into typical Asperger’s symptoms. This
is, I must say, a very extroverted way of analyzing introversion.
There
is, indeed, a lot of confusion around the “introvert” label – to the point
where people like Barack Obama and Angela Merkel (who learned to walk down
stairs when she was 5 year sold), or even Mitt Romney, are labeled introverts.
There have been all sorts of theories, going back to Jung and Eisenck – so here
is mine. My hunch is that what sets “introverts” apart is mostly a degree of
affective and visceral sensitivity/attunement – so individuals who are socially
detached are not necessarily “introverts.”
Of
course, this would be incomprehensible to extroverts – who also have a hard
time making any categorical qualitative distinctions. Here is Grimes again, advancing
the standard utilitarian argument. In her view, individuals “invest” in social
interactions only when they think they will get a good “return”on these: “There are people who like to invest a lot
of energy and get a lot back. Some people don't want to invest a lot and don't
expect a lot back. The people who are deemed the extroverts in pop literature,
the people who are social butterflies, what they get back on an interpersonal
level is sufficient for them.” Indeed, there is no limit to the
extent of rationalization extroverts can engage in – and receive all sorts of
credit for it. I am wondering if Steven Levitt could be a closeted introvert,
too. And, by the way, how would Grimes classify herself?
