# Which type of introvert are you?



## To22 (Apr 6, 2012)

Take the quiz here (you have to scroll down while on the webpage to see it): http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/06/apparently-there-are-four-kinds-of-introversion.html

I scored:
Social - 43%
Restrained - 41%
Thinking - 40%
Anxious - 27%

"*Social:* Social introversion is the closest to the commonly held understanding of introversion, in that it's a preference for socializing with small groups instead of large ones. Or sometimes, it's a preference for no group at all - solitude is often preferable for those who score high in social introversion. "They prefer to stay home with a book or a computer, or to stick to small gatherings with close friends, as opposed to attending large parties with many strangers," Cheek said. But it's different from shyness, in that there's no anxiety driving the preference for solitude or small groups.

*Thinking;* Thinking introversion is a newer concept. People with high levels of thinking introversion don't share the aversion to social events people usually associate with introversion. Instead, they're introspective, thoughtful, and self-reflective. "You're capable of getting lost in an internal fantasy world," Cheek said. "But it's not in a neurotic way, it's in an imaginative and creative way." Think the dreamily imaginative Luna Lovegood, not the socially awkward Neville Longbottom, Cheek said, putting it into Harry Potter terms I, for one, am deeply familiar with.

*Anxious:* Unlike social introverts, anxious introverts may seek out solitude because they feel awkward and painfully self-conscious around other people, because they're not very confident in their own social skills. But, often, their anxiety doesn't fade when they're all alone. This kind of introversion is defined by a tendency to ruminate, to turn over and over in their minds the things that might or could or already have gone terribly wrong.

*Restrained:* Another word for this one is reserved. Restrained introverts sometimes seem to operate at a slightly slower pace, preferring to think before they speak or act. They also might take a while to get going - they can't, for instance, wake up and immediately spring into action. Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running contains a passage that I think neatly illustrates the restrained introverts, when he discusses how it takes his muscles a while to warm up when he starts to run. "When I put on my jogging shoes in the morning and set out, my feet are so heavy it feels like I'll never get them moving," he writes. He says it's the way his mind works, too: slow to get going. Murakami, I would bet, is a restrained introvert."


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## Ignopius (Mar 19, 2013)

I was 45% in Thinking and Anxious. The rest I was in the 40s as well.


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## Sean07 (May 9, 2014)

Social 16%
Thinking 45%
Anxious 24%
Restrained 46%

I've always been on the cusp of extroversion and introversion, completely depends on my mood or who I'm with. Those percentages would have been much higher a year ago and for that I'm happy with my progress.


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## tea111red (Nov 8, 2005)

Social: 38%
Thinking: 46%
Restrained: 32%
Anxious: 43%


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## bad baby (Jun 10, 2013)

not sure why mine is not showing the actual %s


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## chinaski (Mar 1, 2010)

social 46%
thinking 22%
restrained 40%
anxious 38%


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## pocketbird (Jun 30, 2014)

I'm 45% on all except restrained: 35%


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## Gamer85 (Sep 13, 2009)

*Doesn't make sense*

I scored above 40 on social also, and the rest seemed almost balanced out.

I think this test was designed for normal people. I bet the same things are going on with most of us. There are things about us that are opposites for us because of our SA. Where in normal people they would compound into a higher score in one direction. For us they balance out and tell us nothing.

The term "social introvert" doesn't make sense to me.

Just because someone has the ability to communicate doesn't make them "social".


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## tea111red (Nov 8, 2005)

bad baby said:


> not sure why mine is not showing the actual %s


if you put your mouse over the points, it'll show the percentages.


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## Winds (Apr 17, 2011)

Social: 49
Thinking: 49
Anxious: 49
Restrained: 41


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## Crystalline (Dec 1, 2008)




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## False Protagonist (Jul 8, 2011)

46% thinking and anxious
42% social
40% restrained

Hrm.


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## kageri (Oct 2, 2014)

Social 20
restrained 30
anxious 25
thinking 48


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## NE2 (May 5, 2015)

"I enjoy analyzing my own thoughts and ideas about myself." No, I ****ing hate it, but I do it all the time.
23% social and restrained, 37% thinking and anxious. Whatever the hell that means. I'd say that I'm trying to get out of social by getting rid of anxious and restrained. Thinking is just (yellow) ducky.


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## Were (Oct 16, 2006)

%46 social
%39 thinking
%38 restrained
%41 anxious

i got confused on why i got high points on social but than i understood that the higher points on social means you suck more socially.


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## Amphoteric (Sep 11, 2011)

*Restrained:* 48%
*Social:* 47%
*Anxious:* 36%
*Thinking:* 33%


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## Paul (Sep 26, 2005)

39% social, 45% restrained, 40% anxious, 41% thinking


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## AussiePea (Mar 27, 2007)

How PC of me.


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## Genos (Dec 17, 2014)

social - 29
restrained - 33
anxious - 39
thinking - 44


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## To22 (Apr 6, 2012)

Gamer85 said:


> The term "social introvert" doesn't make sense to me.
> 
> Just because someone has the ability to communicate doesn't make them "social".


Yeah, it's a bit of a contradiction, like Starburst:





I think by "social introvert" they mean that you are an introvert particularly when it comes to socializing. As in, you prefer to socialize in small groups if at all. Scoring high means that you prefer the more intimate, private, and focused socializing. Agreed, the term "social introvert" would ring as more accurate if flipped to "introvert socially". Though, to be fair, the term "social introvert" was never actually used, the type with dominant "social" wasn't officially given a name in the article or test, it was moreso implied (which is kinda my fault).

Our social skills rating presumably oppose our rating for the "anxious introvert", which essentially suggest something aside from personality and rather behavioral introversion i.e. avoidance/withdrawal. The "anxious introvert" is an interesting category although I wouldn't consider anxiety and introversion one and the same, but I think that's the point. If scoring high on anxiety, you might not be introverted at all. Of course, that's me taking the types further.


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## Aeiou (Feb 11, 2015)

social 39% 
thinking 44%
anxious 42%
restrained 46%

I would have liked to copy & paste my cute polygon, but I don't know how to do it.


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## ScorchedEarth (Jul 12, 2014)

I'm not seeing percentages but the distribution is almost exactly even.


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## feels (Jun 18, 2010)

"My secret thoughts, feelings, and actions would horrify some of my friends."

This one had me laughing.

*Thinking*: 45%
*Social*: 41%
*Restrained*: 37%
*Anxious*: 27%


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## Stargazer 7 (Jul 2, 2015)

It's kind of hard to tell except I feel I'm more anxious reserved at this stage of my life than the other 2. I feel like my brain mass is getting smaller each day. It's totally humilliating.


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## Aeiou (Feb 11, 2015)

LawfulStupid said:


> I'm not seeing percentages but the distribution is almost exactly even.


You can see them by putting your mouse over the points


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## Baldy Nohairs (Jun 20, 2015)

Social - 27
Restrained - 34
Anxious - 28
Thinking - 32

Are lower numbers better?


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## BlazingLazer (Jul 16, 2011)

How are you people even able to see the percentages, even with the mouse over the points? Unless I'm doing something wrong/different, the percentages are too small to even read (practically microscopic).


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## KawaiiHime (Oct 10, 2013)

social: 46 %
thinking: 46 %
anxious: 37 %
restrained: 37 %


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## bloodymary (Apr 26, 2009)

This test - especially part 3 - is based on a common myth that shyness/awkwardness is a product of anxiety, while IT´S THE OTHER WAY ROUND.

It´s quite bothering me that people are unable to see it and mistake (my) awkwardness for lack of confidence, belief in myself, anxiety or even worse all kind of negative thinking. When these are merely a BYPRODUCT of the fact that I am unable to synchronize well speaking, listening, eyecontact, thinking etc. Trying to do that everytime I am speaking to someone is so exhausting that after a while I am getting a suffocating feeling, tingling on my chest and I´ve even collapsed a few times in the past. 

Human communication is in fact a complex thing and if it wasn´t naturaly inborn for healthy people, they couldn´t do it either. Because it´s just a matter of health and NO SKILL, if it was they´d be even more ****ed than me. 

I am having aspergers according to a diagnosis a few years ago (which was just based on speaking and a few tests). But I think most people who are seriously shy also have AS. If it was just a mere anxiety, it would be a breeze and easy to get rid of.


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## Silere (Oct 19, 2014)

Social: 45%
Anxious: 45%
Thinking: 43%
Restrained: 41%


Not sure how accurate that is, wasn't sure how to answer some of the questions.


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## Skeletra (Aug 30, 2012)

Thinking 
It doesn't show percentages for me, but it was clearly my dominant side.

I also have high social. I do like spending time with people I know, I just need the alone time to charge my batteries. Which is what I think the definition of intoversion is all about. (How social setting are draining while alone time is charging. Extroverts being charged by social contact and drained by alone time. Maybe I'm confusing it?)


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## UndreamingAwake (Apr 11, 2011)

Guess that CBT was good for something. This result is probably just because I feel pretty decent right now too though. When I feel worse my anxiety increases.

This graph says I'm a thinking introvert, which I agree with. Even without SA, I'd still be introverted as hell.


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## To22 (Apr 6, 2012)

Skeletra said:


> (How social setting are draining while alone time is charging. Extroverts being charged by social contact and drained by alone time. Maybe I'm confusing it?)


You're correct. What I like about the test is that it considers many different definitions of introvert. The most common definition being the one you're referencing, which represents the "social" introvert. Though, my favorite concept/meaning of introvert is more about the subject of thought a person prefers, introspective vs extrospective, introspective being "thinking introversion".


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## seeking777 (Oct 24, 2012)

Social 35%
Thinking 47%
Anxious 33%
Restrained 36%

I definitely think this is accurate for me. From the definitions, I can see those traits in myself of being a thinking and restrained introvert. But I also prefer to socialize in small groups except its obviously because I have much less anxiety when I'm around less people. I am going to look into that book and website. I considered myself an introvert even before I developed SA, so I appreciate this article.


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## TryingMara (Mar 25, 2012)

Anxious: 48%
Thinking: 45%
Restrained: 36%
Social: 33%

I definitely identify with anxious and most traits for thinking. The thinking description mentioned that individuals do not avoid social situations as much, but for me that's not true. However, I definitely have a rich and complex inner life. I live a whole other life in my mind. Not to mention that I analyze everything I think and say.


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## Gamer85 (Sep 13, 2009)

*So that means,.....*



To22 said:


> Yeah, it's a bit of a contradiction, like Starburst:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


When it comes to socializing I'm an introvert? >

I have suffered from "social anxiety" since I was in 4th grade. That would make me about 9 years old. The very description of "socializing" is further than anything I've been able to do for the past 28 years that could be in any way associated with the fact that I'm an introvert.

Am I the big oouggie-boogie? (I wonder)

I understand what your trying to do. Being an introvert is like the new thing. What's going to happen when it goes out of style? Would you defend introverts and the way they are to other people? even people that you admire?

I dont mean this in a bad way. You should think about the outcome of what it is you're doing. "what comes next"?


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

Predominantly thinking/anxious.


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## To22 (Apr 6, 2012)

Gamer85 said:


> I understand what your trying to do. Being an introvert is like the new thing. What's going to happen when it goes out of style? Would you defend introverts and the way they are to other people? even people that you admire?
> 
> I dont mean this in a bad way. You should think about the outcome of what it is you're doing. "what comes next"?


You lost me.


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## Gamer85 (Sep 13, 2009)

*Really?*



To22 said:


> You lost me.


I figured you would know at least some of what I was talking about. What is it that you don't understand? Be honest, and I'll explain it to you. The best that I can.


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## To22 (Apr 6, 2012)

Gamer85 said:


> I figured you would know at least some of what I was talking about. What is it that you don't understand? Be honest, and I'll explain it to you. The best that I can.


I'll just address your other reply instead....

"I understand what your trying to do." 
- What am I trying to do?

"Being an introvert is like the new thing." 
- Ok

"What's going to happen when it goes out of style?" 
- I don't know and I don't care.

"Would you defend introverts and the way they are to other people? even people that you admire?"
- Defend? Defend how and defend why? No. Also, I admire no one 

"I dont mean this in a bad way. You should think about the outcome of what it is you're doing. "what comes next"?" 
- I should consider the outcome of making a poll on SAS? Or should I consider the outcome of clarifying the article? What comes next? Reading, voting, typing, something like that.


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## Gamer85 (Sep 13, 2009)

*OK*



To22 said:


> I'll just address your other reply instead....
> 
> "I understand what your trying to do."
> - What am I trying to do?
> ...


It seems like you're trying to categorize introverts into 4 different types. At least that seems like the point. That's a normal extraverted thing to do. It makes sense right? If you're a certain type of person there are things that you do. There is a way to dress, music that you're supposed to like, places that you're supposed to go and people that you're supposed to hang out with, etc. The fact that everyone knows all this is called the collective consciousness, it's all the things that everyone knows that you're supposed to do and be and act. And of course it breaks down into more specific attributes when it gets to smaller or more specific groups, but just about everyone has that need and desire to "fit-in".

and for extraverts if they like something they defend it, if they dont they talk crap and make it seem like its less than what it is.

It makes sense that you would move onto the next big thing that came along.

You sound like a child kid.

aaawwww

Yea, dont you have some kind of goal? Something in mind as to what you want to figure out? Or what this discovery would do for people with SA? It's just a question man don't get so defensive.


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## Mxx1 (Feb 3, 2015)

My score was
Social: 37%
Restrained: 41%
Anxious: 48%
Thinking: 41%


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## To22 (Apr 6, 2012)

Gamer85 said:


> It seems like you're trying to categorize introverts into 4 different types. At least that seems like the point. That's a normal extraverted thing to do. It makes sense right? If you're a certain type of person there are things that you do. There is a way to dress, music that you're supposed to like, places that you're supposed to go and people that you're supposed to hang out with, etc. The fact that everyone knows all this is called the collective consciousness, it's all the things that everyone knows that you're supposed to do and be and act. And of course it breaks down into more specific attributes when it gets to smaller or more specific groups, but just about everyone has that need and desire to "fit-in".
> 
> and for extraverts if they like something they defend it, if they dont they talk crap and make it seem like its less than what it is.
> 
> ...


No. You misunderstand. I'm sorry that I've given you these impressions. Social introversion is opposite to extroversion.


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## Cyclonic (Oct 25, 2012)

Social 41%
Restrained 31%
Anxious 30%
Thinking 36%


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## wrongnumber (May 24, 2009)

Social - 43 %
Restrained - 37 %
Anxious - 36 %
Thinking - 41 %


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## truant (Jul 4, 2014)

I'm not an introvert. I'm a broken extrovert.


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## Bbpuff (Sep 1, 2010)

Everything was really close for me.

Anxious - 42%
Thinking - 41%
Restrained - 40%
Social - 39%










"What type of introvert are you?" 
_*ALL OF THE ABOVE!!! B) *_


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## blue2 (May 20, 2013)

All types but doing the quiz made me think more so it scored highest :/


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## burgerchuckie (May 31, 2012)

Social: 39%
Restrained: 29%
Thinking: 47%
Anxious: 34% 

Pretty accurate. Dreamily imaginative Luna Lovegood <3


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## CruelExistence (Jul 5, 2015)

Social: 45%
Restrained: 34%
Thinking: 46%
Anxious: 46% 

Interesting... I thought I would be more of a thinker.


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## ByStorm (Oct 22, 2013)

45 Restrained
41 Social
41 Anxious
43 Thinking


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## indielife (Jun 17, 2015)

I'm not too fond of these kinds of tests as they usually only value how we think about ourselves (which can easily change day by day, or week by weak) and not how we ACTUALLY are.


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## Diáfanos (Feb 3, 2011)

Thinking and anxious. Too much... in my head. Lel.


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## 552569 (Oct 20, 2014)

Social - 45%
Thinking - 28%
Anxious - 45%
Restrained - 46%


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## Mikko (Jan 21, 2014)

Thinking 41%
Anxious 37%
Social 32%
Restrained 28%


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## lanzman (Jun 14, 2004)

Restrained: 37%
Social: 45%
Anxious: 38%
Thinking: 49%


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## mastercowboy (Sep 11, 2012)

According to this http://psychologytoday.tests.psychtests.com/bin/transfer?req=MTF8MTMxMXw5NzM1MjI1fDF8MQ==&refempt=

i am an ISTJ

http://www.humanmetrics.com/personality/istj


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## prairiedreamer (Mar 29, 2015)

Social: 30%
Restrained: 29%
Anxious: 29%
Thinking: 28%

I voted "I'm an extrovert, ya foo!" because these scores don't seem high enough to make me any kind of introvert


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## Brawk Shady (Jan 19, 2015)

Social 43%
Restrained 41%
Anxious 46%
Thinking 45%


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## Memories of Silence (May 15, 2015)

I did the poll before the test. Sorry.

Social: 43%
Thinking: 48%
Anxious: 41%
Restrained: 42%.


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## quewezance (Sep 9, 2013)

I'm an anxious introvert. Wow, I would've thought I'd be a social one.


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## ShatteredGlass (Oct 12, 2012)

My graph looks quite symmetrical.

Social: 39%
Thinking: 42%
Anxious: 42%
Restrained: 42

Rather interesting concept & test.


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## SD92 (Nov 9, 2013)

Probaby Anxious or Thinking. Definitely not Social.


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## binckie (Dec 4, 2015)

Does not work when I try to do it.
I can not click on "next" to fill in the other questions.


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## Batcat (Nov 19, 2014)

I think these tests often depend on what mood I'm in. Anyway here's what I got:

Thinking: 42%
Social: 39%
Anxious: 38%
Restrained: 35%


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## Donkeybutt (May 3, 2013)

Social- 43%
Restrained-30%
Thinking-39%
Anxious-47%


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## Jesuszilla (May 26, 2013)

Social 50%
Restrained 43%
Thinking 42%
Anxious 41%


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## pupdreams (Jan 7, 2016)

Thinking & Anxious: 46%
Social: 27%
Restrained 33%


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## Todd124 (Aug 31, 2015)

Social : 42
Thinking: 46
Anxious: 37
Restrained: 37

Tell me something I don't know quiz.


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

> My nervous system sometimes feels so frazzled that I just have to get off by myself.


tee hee

I got:

31% social
31% restrained
36% anxious
41% thinking


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## SplendidBob (May 28, 2014)

39% social
43% restrained
40% anxious
47% thinking


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## Skeletra (Aug 30, 2012)

I've posted results in this earlier, but now that I'm thinking about it, shouldn't there be at least 4 types of extroverts too?
Tried googling but didn't find anything. Just found that a little odd.


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## Ominous Indeed (Sep 6, 2015)

indielife said:


> I'm not too fond of these kinds of tests as they usually only value how we think about ourselves (which can easily change day by day, or week by weak) and not how we ACTUALLY are.


This, and there are way too few questions. I doubt anyone take them that seriously, I hope not at least

Anyway the test couldn't handle me, because I couldn't press next. I am not bothered enough to change browser


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## AllieG (Feb 20, 2014)

31% Social

36% Thinking

35% Restrained

42% Anxious


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## ScorchedEarth (Jul 12, 2014)

Right down the middle.


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## prictyl16 (Jan 13, 2016)

http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/06/apparently-there-are-four-kinds-of-introversion.html


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## Cheesecake (Feb 2, 2007)

Anxious: 40%
Restrained: 40%
Social: 42%
Thinking: 45%


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

Oh no you don't! If you wanna sample my secret sauce you're gonna have to go diggin through my trash.


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## To22 (Apr 6, 2012)

Skeletra said:


> I've posted results in this earlier, but now that I'm thinking about it, shouldn't there be at least 4 types of extroverts too?
> Tried googling but didn't find anything. Just found that a little odd.


That's a very interesting thought. We could reverse engineer 4 types of extroverts from the introvert types. The 4 extrovert types would be the opposite of the 4 introvert types, something like this:

1. Extrovert Socially
2. Extroverted Thinker
3. Histrionic Extrovert? (not sure about this one)
4. Outgoing Extrovert

The only problem is that your extrovert scores can't be determined by just subtracting your introvert scores from 100%, otherwise we'd all be mostly extroverted, which I'm sure the poll wasn't trying to imply. It's just probably a flaw with the scoring and quiz (assuming the person that created the quiz believes introversion and extroversion are opposites).

The thing is, though, 'Myers Briggs typology' already establishes 4 types when it comes to both extroverts and introverts, at least to some extent. Myers Briggs is based on a concept called "cognitive theory", or "cognitive functions" which are just extroverted or introverted types of "thought" or cognition. With Myers Briggs, they even have a "function" that's flat out called "extroverted thinking". It's pretty cool stuff, but it's widely misunderstood. The concepts could definitely benefit from some simplification.

http://personalitygrowth.com/cognitive-functions/

When it comes to both the nymag article and Myers Briggs; extroversion and introversion aren't simply manors of behaving, but they are manors of thought (which dictate the way we behave). For them, your thoughts are either introverted or extroverted, much like you're either using your left or right hand (usually). In determining how much of an extrovert you "are", you must find a way to estimate how often you think extrovertedly and in what way. The way you tend to, or prefer to socialize is just one of many clues when it comes to whether or not you tend to think outwardly (extrovertedly) or inwardly (introvertedly).

To help with this, I recommend researching cognitive functions and Carl Jung's writings on Extroversion, but I warn you, most people really never get it. It's pretty hard to understand and easy to dismiss as 'pseudoscience', despite being no less valid then extroversion and introversion in and of itself...
most people like to just stick to the basics, if you feel "energized" by interacting with large groups of people, if you tend to enjoy socializing with new people as opposed to being alone you can wager you're mostly an extrovert in at least some sense.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraversion_and_introversion


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## Skeletra (Aug 30, 2012)

Interesting read 
Yeah, the traits shouldn't be mirror opposites from the introvert traits. It's more it's own central dimension I'd say, as the article put it .

Maybe impulsive extrovert rather than thinking? Looking at Eysnecks choleric temperament. I've definitely seen many extroverts that are dominantly impulsive. I'm not saying that extroverts don't make good thinkers, but they do tend to be more impulsive than introverts, and usually when you are impulsive, you don't sit down and think. Being impulsive can be a good thing, as you're focuses in getting things done.
And maybe assertive instead of histrionic.
The assertive extrovert being more competitive and of course assertive. It says that extroverts are more sensitive to dopamine, making rewards feel more rewarding in itself. This may be the reason behind such a drive. They have a bold and aggressively confident demeanour that may be seen as attention seeking at times. And they do thrive on attention.


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## To22 (Apr 6, 2012)

Skeletra said:


> Interesting read
> Yeah, the traits shouldn't be mirror opposites from the introvert traits. It's more it's own central dimension I'd say, as the article put it .
> 
> Maybe impulsive extrovert rather than thinking? Looking at Eysnecks choleric temperament. I've definitely seen many extroverts that are dominantly impulsive. I'm not saying that extroverts don't make good thinkers, but they do tend to be more impulsive than introverts, and usually when you are impulsive, you don't sit down and think. Being impulsive can be a good thing, as you're focuses in getting things done.
> ...


Its own dimension, huh? That's strange, but it does make sense considering the quiz. Assertive and impulsive, wow, very well put. I'd say you're dead on, that seems like an accurate way to put things.


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## Pennywise (Aug 18, 2011)

I voted _restrained_ before taking the quiz, but according to the quiz I'm a think introvert. Go figure.


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## wmu'14 (Sep 17, 2010)

48% Thinking
39% Social
34% Restrained
38% Anxious

Weird, I feel like Anxious should be higher.

Cool post!


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