by guest blogger Simone
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/18/opinion/cain-introverts-power/index.html?hpt=hp_bn6
Here is an opinion article from CNN about the long-standing debate between the personality types of Introverts vs Extroverts.
Many people who consider themselves to be introverts, have felt that they have been wrongly criticized or judged for being 'aloof', a 'loner', or anti-social by some extroverts, who tend to be much more outgoing, sociable, and gregarious. Some introverts may feel that they have been oppressed in school or in the workplace because of their introspective nature. Here is a portion of the article, but please read it in its entirety at the link above, along with reading some of the reader's comments. BTW, which are you, introvert or extrovert? I'm an introvert.
Introverts run the world -- quietly
The theory of evolution. The theory of relativity. The Cat in the Hat. All were brought to you by introverts.
Our culture is biased against quiet and reserved people, but introverts are responsible for some of humanity's greatest achievements -- from Steve Wozniak's invention of the Apple computer to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter. And these introverts did what they did not in spite of their temperaments -- but because of them.
As the science journalist Winifred Gallagher writes: "The glory of the disposition that stops to consider stimuli rather than rushing to engage with them is its long association with intellectual and artistic achievement. Neither E=mc2 nor Paradise Lost was dashed off by a party animal."
Introverts make up a third to a half the population. That's one out of every two or three people you know.
Yet our most important institutions -- our schools and our workplaces -- are designed for extroverts. And we're living with a value system that I call the New Groupthink, where we believe that all creativity and productivity comes from an oddly gregarious place.
Picture the typical classroom. When I was a kid, we sat in rows of desks, and we did most of our work autonomously. But nowadays many students sit in "pods" of desks with four or five students facing each other, and they work on countless group projects -- even in subjects like math and creative writing. Kids who prefer to work by themselves don't fit, and research by educational psychology professor Charles Meisgeier found that the majority of teachers believe the ideal student is an extrovert -- even though introverts tend to get higher grades, according to psychologist Adrian Furnham.
The same thing happens at work. Many of us now work in offices without walls, with no respite from the noise and gaze of co-workers. And introverts are routinely passed over for leadership positions, even though the latest research by the management professor Adam Grant at Wharton shows that introverted leaders often deliver better results. They're better at letting proactive employees run with their creative ideas, while extroverts can unwittingly put their own stamp on things and not realize that other people's ideas aren't being heard.
Of course, we all fall at different points along the introvert-extrovert spectrum. Even Carl Jung, who popularized these terms in the first place, said there was no such thing as a pure introvert or a pure extrovert -- that "such a man would be in a lunatic asylum." There's also a term, ambivert, for people who fall smack in the middle of the spectrum.
(read the rest at cnn.com)
I think it's kind of a stretch to call personality differences "oppression" in any sense of the word. We have to draw a line between being mean and actual oppression if we want to have a productive conversation about oppression.
ReplyDeleteMike S
The oppression takes a form when people are bullied in school for being the quiet nerd, or people overlooked for promotions at work because they are deemed not outgoing enough, or strong "leaders". Please look a bit deeper into this topic, I know we haven't scratched the surface yet.
ReplyDeleteIt seems as though people who are in a position of power such as, supervisors or managers, should be better listeners. If a person is extremely extroverted would they not be more apt to be talking instead of listening. In order to make good decisions people need to be listening as well and not just talking. I can understand why teachers feel that students who are more outgoing are better students, it is because they talk more in class and help to carry a discussion. But there also needs to be a balance in the classroom, and students who talk all the time might not necessarily be listening all the time. The students who are more reserved and listen might get better grades because they may pay more attention to detail. I feel like no matter what your personality type is there is going to be some sort of oppression to deal with throughout your life at one point or another. I also feel that having introverts and extroverts in the classroom is necessary for the balance of the class.
ReplyDelete