How many times have you seen one of the numerous “how to understand introverts” cartoons floating around online? Or came across another article extolling the secret power of introverts?
Intentional or not, we introverts have been receiving some extra attention in the past few years. Society is finally starting to understand that introversion is not just about being shy and introspective, that extroversion is not just about being talkative and social. Rather, it is about how and where you derive your energy — from others or from within yourself?
And today, I’ve learned that it goes even deeper still. According to a model developed by psychologist Jonathan Cheek and his colleagues, there are actually four types of introversion: social, thinking, anxious, and restrained. Many introverts are a mix of all four types.
Embedded at the bottom of the article is a quiz you can take to see what shade of introvert you are. The above graph depicts the results of my test; it seems that I have no strong inclination for a particular type of introversion, but I am more socially introverted than anxious.
Be sure to head on over to the NYMag article for a more thorough description of each type, and if you have a spare few minutes, take the quiz yourself!
