Introversion: The Often Forgotten Factor Impacting the Gifted
September 2, 2005You know at least one or perhaps are one: the child who immediately, when he comes home from school, escapes to the privacy of his room for time alone; the speaker who presents beautifully in front of 1200 people but who leaves a few minutes into the social hour because he says he can’t deal with large groups of people; the quiet student who always has a book in hand, commonly plays alone, and whose favorite place is the reading corner; the adult who is vocal and social in a small group of people but who becomes silent and withdrawn if she is made to work in a larger one; the adolescent with only one best friend who lives in another city or state and who is content with that situation; or the individual who when attending a conference or convention can only take so much socializing and hustle and has to retreat to the privacy of her hotel room to ‘re-center’ herself.
These are just some examples of introverted individuals. These aren’t simply shy people, although certainly many are shy. They also are not simply depressed individuals, although introverts just as extraverts can be depressed. And they aren’t all social outcasts, although it may appear this way to the extraverts who need that ongoing social contact to be healthy and happy. Introversion is not a pathological condition; it is not an abnormal response to the world. It is simply a personality trait found in a small percentage of the total population. Introverts are different from extraverts and this difference is very difficult for the extravert to understand because they do not operate in that fashion. And because they do not understand it, many continually try to help the introvert become more social, more gregarious, more outgoing, and have more fun from the extravert perspective. Such is the situation of the introvert, a minority in the regular population but a majority in the gifted population (Gallagher, 1990; Hoehn & Birely, 1988). And that difference from the ‘norm’ is the reason this factor needs to be considered when developing educational programs and parenting strategies for gifted students.
Some Characteristics of Introverts:
· Are territorial - desire private space and time
· Are happy to be alone - they can be lonely in a crowd
· Become drained around large groups of people; dislike attending parties
· Need time alone to recharge
· Prefer to work on own rather than do group work
· Act cautiously in meeting people
· Are reserved, quiet and deliberate
· Do not enjoy being the center of attention
· Do not share private thoughts with just anyone
· Form a few deep attachments
· Think carefully before speaking (practice in my head before I speak)
· See reflection as very important
· Concentrate well and deeply
· Become absorbed in thoughts and ideas
· Limit their interests but explore deeply
· Communicate best one-on-one
· Get agitated and irritated without enough time alone or undisturbed
· Select activities carefully and thoughtfully
Some Characteristics of Extraverts
· Are social - they need other people
· Demonstrate high energy and noise
· Communicate with excitement and enthusiasm with almost anyone in the vicinity
· Draw energy from people; love parties
· Are lonely and restless when not with people
· Establish multiple fluid relationships
· Engage in lots of activities and have many interest areas
· Have many best friends and talk to them for long periods of time
· Are interested in external events not internal ones
· Prefer face-to-face verbal communication rather than written communication
· Share personal information easily
· Respond quickly
Thats an extremely interesting article, I’m an introvert and you are?
Tags: Introversion, introvert
