By Maddie Baker
As students gaze across the classroom there is a clear distinction between the outgoing students who enjoy an environment surrounded by friends, and the students who prefer to sit quietly and observe everything happening around them. These preferences of interaction can come from a difference in chemicals interacting in the brain and have an adverse affect on someone’s personality and how they interact with others.
“The class that requires presentations or group work could make a difference to both personality types. Introverts tend to excel at tests, quizzes, listening, and following directions. Extroverts usually do better with class participation. America has a stigma against introverts if they don’t open up quickly. Teachers need to be smarter than this when conducting a class,” Mr. Anderson, AP Psychology teacher, said.
Extroverts are defined as an overtly expressive people. They are the kids that are easily picked out in a crowd because they are always socializing and making their presence known. Extroverts feed off the energy of others: being social invigorates them. This is caused by dopamine, which is a chemical released in the brain linked to pleasure that provides the motivation to seek external rewards. Dopamine is what causes rushes of excitement and happiness when you do something daring or out of your comfort zone. Extroverts are much more comfortable when surrounded by people; they don’t like silence or loneliness.
“Opposite personalities can attract, but it depends on what the opposite parts are. If it’s just that one person is super outgoing and the other is more on the shy side, it works great because the shy one can start to be brought out of their shell while also reeling in the extrovert when they get a little too out there. If it’s about fundamental beliefs, then, no, opposites do not attract. I do believe that opposing personalities in a friendship are good though. It creates a challenge. The good kind though,” Alli Harper, sophomore, said.
Introverts are defined as a person predominantly concerned with their own thoughts and feelings rather than with external things. These are the students who tend to stay out of the spotlight and come off as quite shy. Introverts become overwhelmed by too much stimulation: they would much rather be alone and entertain themselves with solo activities than feel pressured to interact with people in a crowded space. They have the same amount of dopamine as extroverts, but it tends to be less active than in the brains of extroverts. Introverts instead rely more heavily on acetylcholine, which is another chemical linked to pleasure when people self reflect.
Someone who has an equal amount of introvert and extrovert personality traits is known as an ambivert. Sometimes they showcase more extroverted traits, and sometimes they display more introverted qualities.
“Since I teach a discussion-based class, I want everybody to participate as much as possible. I encourage everyone to speak up, and if the quiet students are uncomfortable talking in class, then I make sure I’m here before and after school to answer questions,” Ms. Rush, AP World History teacher, said.
Personality traits contribute to how kids behave in school. Extroverts enjoy open participation, activities such as debates and presentations. They don’t shy away from attention. However, extroversion doesn’t always equal academic achievement and/or a willingness to participate in a school setting. It’s a matter of how these extroverts choose to use their potential. Introversion is the same way. Staying quiet and shying away from attention doesn’t always equal a need or desire to do schoolwork. While they don’t prefer presentations or open participation, that doesn’t mean they enjoy writing essays or other forms of quiet classwork.
Friend groups tend to be an interesting blend of introverts, extroverts, and ambiverts in order to balance out the traits that the others in the group lack. Extroverts will talk or be the bearer of attention when needed, introverts will be an open ear due to their willingness to listen as opposed to speaking, and ambiverts will fill whatever role they feel subconsciously they need to.
“It is easy for me to become friends with both types of people, but probably an introvert because it seems more personal over and extrovert,” Daniel Foreman, junior, said.
In the long run, the world and the societies within it balance out due to the populations’ extroverts and introverts. If every single person sitting in a classroom or workplace was constantly demanding attention or wanting to talk, nothing would ever get accomplished. It’d be the same if no one in a classroom or workplace was willing to speak or lead others into what needed to be done. There is harmony in having those who speak out and prefer the company of large groups and those who prefer the company of a good book as opposed to that of a party. Introverts and extroverts together make the world a more intriguing and diverse place.
