Types Of Introverted People: These Are Their Defining Characteristics
There are many myths about introverts. This is, among other things, because in Western countries introversion is seen worse than its opposite pole, extraversion, and that is why it is not talked about openly and honestly. That is, those who claim to be introverts are relatively rare.
Thus, truly introverted people may not be recognized as such, or in some cases they may be taken for shy people. Ignorance about this topic causes numerous prejudices to arise about this population group and their preferences and points of view are misinterpreted. And, if we add to this that It is possible to distinguish between types of introverted people things get even more complicated.
Although introversion is often related to shyness, they are not exactly the same. Shyness is based on fear and in anticipatory anxiety, and what produces that fear is the possibility of being in the center of attention of someone relevant, or of a group of people. However, introversion is not based on fear nor are its effects restricted to personal relationships.
In fact, introverts They are characterized by being almost always focused on their inner world , that is, in his musings, his memories and his fantasies. This tendency to base psychological activity on solitary activities or that can be carried out in the absence of other people has caused the confusion between this type of people and shy people to arise almost irremediably.
However, it must be emphasized that introversion is only a concept to label a certain pattern of behavior, and does not point to its causes. For example, you can be introverted because from the beginning you have loved the habit of fantasizing and reflecting, or you can reach that state because of shyness and social isolation, since there is no other alternative than to withdraw into yourself.
Types of introverted people
To add richness to the debate about what introversion really is, Psychologist Jonathan Cheek proposed a classification model of types of introverted people to be able to distinguish between various typologies. They are the following.
1. Mental introvert
The mental introvert is characterized by having a great ability to thread his thoughts together, jumping from one topic to another with great fluidity. If we could visualize your mind, it would be a very extensive space full of all kinds of elements and details with which it is possible to get creative.
Thus, this type of introvert has a predisposition to spend time lost in thought since it has a mental universe in which it is possible to imagine anything.
2. Social introvert
The social introvert is mainly introverted either because of great hostility on the part of others or because of a feeling of insecurity about oneself. In any case the result is the same: a certain degree of social isolation, defense of a relatively large living space (the space around us that must be without anyone else for us to feel comfortable in many contexts.
Thus, this is one of the types of introverted people in whom what is really sought is solitude (social status) and not the possibility of reflecting or creating fantasies.
The reserved introvert is characterized by appearing cold and distant, not because he has a rich mental world or because he feels violated in social relationships. In this case, introversion comes as a need to adopt a distant and analytical position in certain situations.
4. Anxious introvert
This is the type of introversion that can cause more frequencies more easily. Because? Because it is linked to stress and anxiety problems. In this case, these are individuals who, out of fear of what might happen if they come into contact with many other people, They decide to isolate themselves and leave the house little
On the other hand, the social circle of this type of person tends to be made up of very good friends. However, in front of other people, attempts to avoid dialogue or interaction cause the person to be seen as having very little social skill, which is why the fear of giving an image ends up creating it, in the style of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
