Hurtful Misconceptions Across the Introvert-Extrovert Divide
Reasons why introverts and extroverts get testy with each other sometimes.
Posted August 13, 2012 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader
My last post saw lots of action and stirred up lots of discussion, which, of course, delights me. I'm always thrilled to have people engage in discussion here.
I’m sad, though, to see genuine animosity between introverts and extroverts. It crops up from time to time on this blog, and it's a bummer.
Some people are just cranky or misanthropic, I get that. Some introverts are fed up with being told to change, with struggling to get their say, with being called party poopers or wet blankets or whatever. You can’t blame them, can you? And extroverts take exception to the hostility leveled at them by some introverts. Can’t blame them either.
In today’s post, I would like to address (in sweeping generalizations) some of the misconceptions that cause friction between introverts and extroverts. After all, neither personality type is “better” or “right.” We are yin and yang, peanut butter and jelly, fife and drum, sunset and dawn, thought and action. The world could not function without both types so we needn’t squabble. There’s enough of everything to go around.
This time, let's start with seven misconceptions introverts might have about extroverts.
Now then, here are some misconceptions that get introverts all het up.
So, can we all just get along please, and respect and appreciate our differences? The world spins a lot more smoothly when we do.
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Sophia Dembling is a Dallas-based writer and the author of Introverts in Love: The Quiet Way to Happily Ever After.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.