Week 9 Assignment, Are you an Introvert or an Extravert?

Are you an Introvert or an Extravert?

The introversion/extraversion dimension has been a mainstay of trait approaches to personality. In one form or another it has found a home in the thinking of everyone from Hippocrates to Hans Eysenck to devotees of the Big Five. As such, considerable energy has been spent cataloging the factors that distinguish introverts from extraverts, such as that introverts tend to salivate more than extraverts when lemon juice is placed in their mouth. Here are a few more examples, drawn from Bem P. Allen:

Eye-blink Conditioning

Introverts demonstrate faster classical conditioning because they are more easily aroused. Using an eye-blink conditioning procedure, Eysenck and Levey (1972) found that introverts exhibited greater conditioning and were able to be conditioned with weaker stimuli than were extraverts.

Reactions to Bad News

Fremont, Means, and Means (1970) administered a task that required students to learn a digit-symbol code. After the learning phase, they were either told that they had scored higher or lower than average or given no feedback at all. They were then immediately given a test of anxiety. Introverts showed significantly higher anxiety than extraverts after receiving negative feedback, but did not differ under any of the other conditions.

Drug Effects

Hans Eysenck (1962) suggested that depressants like alcohol would increase extraverted-like behavior, while stimulants like coffee or tobacco would increase introverted-like behavior. His hypothesis has received some support. Jones (1974) found that the effect of alcohol was greater on extraverts than introverts, while Gupta and Kaur (1978) found that the stimulant dextroamphetamine enhanced the effectiveness of extraverts while inhibiting that of introverts. Allen (1994) noted that one explanation of hyperactivity in children is that they are underaroused, much like extraverts. Therefore, administering the stimulant Ritalin may act to make them more like introverts, thus increasing their attention and responsiveness.

For this assignment you will be writing a two-to-three page paper that based on your reading of the differences between introverts and extraverts explains where you believe you fall in this spectrum. In your paper be sure to also include whether or not you found that Allen’s study was applicable to you. You will also need to provide concrete support as to why or why not you feel that way.

APA format and structure are required. Make sure to quote and cite appropriately. A title and reference page are required elements.