“They used a method known as the “oddball task” in which subjects see a series of very similar images, such as a bunch of blue cars, and then all of a sudden, a slightly different image appears, such as a red car. In the current experiment, subjects saw a series of male faces and every so often a female face appeared. They were also shown pictures of purple flowers interspersed with pictures of yellow ones.

Electrodes placed on the subjects’ scalps recorded the electrical activity in their brains, a technique known as electroencephalography, or EEG. The researchers studied a particular change in the brain’s electrical activity known as P300.

The higher subjects had scored on a test for extroversion, the greater their P300 response was to human faces. In other words, extroverts pay more attention to human faces (P300 can be seen as an indicator of human attention, or how fast their brains’ noticed that something has changed.) There was no link between scores on extroversion and the P300 response to flowers. Introverts had very similar P300 responses to both human faces and to flowers.”

“They (Introverts) just didn’t place a larger weight on social stimuli than they did on any other stimuli, of which flowers are one example,”  said.

“[This] supports the claim that introverts, or their brains, might be indifferent to people — they can take them or leave them, so to speak. The introvert’s brain treats interactions with people the same way it treats encounters with other, non-human information, such as inanimate objects for example,” Inna Fishman said.

The researchers concluded, “The results strongly suggest that human faces, or people in general, hold more significance for extroverts, or are more meaningful for them.”

The ideas here should not be taken as absolutes but perhaps are true to some degree. Keep in mind that the sample size was small (only 28) and limited (ages 18-40) More research should be done on this hypothesis. But it is an interesting start.

I would say 98% of reporters are self proclaimed introverts. Our interviews often last longer than the alloted time. I find that the best stories have been the ones where we engaged in this give and take.

I love hearing their “ah ah’s ” and anecdotes – one reporter reminisced about hiding in the broom closet at a company reception. Another described the quiet mountain scene outside her window and her love of solitude in nature. Another, Taylor Mallory, Editor of the Little PINK Book shared some of her personal insights in her blog entry, “If I Am Not Talking, I Am Thinking!” I know you will enjoy her reflections.

http://www.ajc.com/services/content/hotjobs/careercenter/articles/2009/06/21/introverts_jobs.html

This “introvert bias” is all too common. The extrovert’s frustration is real but how about getting rid of the judgment first? My next entry will address some tips for the extrovert to better connect with introverts. But the first task is to get rid of that pointing finger, don’t you think?

 See this description, let me know if you have tried this and how it has gone. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Features/Corporate-Dossier/Try-brainwriting-if-bored-by-brainstorming-sessions/articleshow/4442442.cms

Do you think extroverts and introverts differ in how(and even if) they are twittering? Extroverts tend to like to share details of their life(ex. waiting on the carpool line at school, etc. ) and like to connect with LOTS of people. With their more private nature and their preference for writing, are  introverts a) twittering and b)sharing different kinds of (less personal information to fewer, more select contacts).  Your thoughts?

I love the analogy to the wild west with this whole social networking phenom…Some people ventured out west and never made it..others did the same and ended up owning half of Colorado. We are all pioneers in this new age and it is both exciting and frustrating for extroverts and introverts alike.

Yet they know that they will have to get with the program and are trying to figure out how to create a healthy balance between thinking and talking..a common organizational challenge for introverts.
 Taking time to pause so that we can carefully consider proposals(even sleep on it?) makes total sense. It is hard to do when the  message is “Talk to us, talk to us!”

But I have found that it has helped to cut back. For me it is the morning routine that has changed. For now, the radio is off. This was hard in the beginningl(extroverts like noise) but I have come to enjoy the peaceful side of morning. There is plenty of time to get my fix of news throughout the rest of the day. Are you scaling back your intake? How?