User:Kasob/sandbox

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Extraversion, Introversion and Happiness

Extraverts are found to have higher levels of happiness and positive affect than introverts. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Possible reasons

Instrumental View

  • Personality trait as a cause of higher sociability

One explanation for greater subjective well-being among extraverts could be the fact that some personality traits help in the creation of life circumstances, which promote high levels of positive affect. Specifically, the personality trait of extraversion is seen as a facilitator of more social interactions [11][8][10] since the low cortical arousal among extraverts results in them seeking more social situations in order to increase their arousal. [12]

  • The social participation theory

According to the social participation theory, more frequent participation in social situations creates more frequent, and higher levels, of positive affect. Therefore, since extraverts are characterized as more sociable than introverts, they also possess higher levels of positive affect brought on by social interactions. [1][13][14][15][16][9][17][18] However, a variety of findings contradict the claims of the social participation theory. Firstly, it was found that extraverts were happier than introverts even when alone. Specifically, extraverts tend to be happier regardless of whether they live alone or with others, or whether they live in a vibrant city or quiet rural environment. [9][3] Secondly, it was found that extraverts only sometimes reported greater amounts of social activity than introverts, [15] but in general extraverts and introverts do not differ in the quantity of their socialization. [9] Thirdly, studies have shown that both extraverts and introverts participate in social relations, but that the quality of this participation differs. The more frequent social participation among extraverts could be explained by the fact that extraverts know more people, but those people are not necessarily their close friends, while introverts, when participating in social interactions, are more selective and have only few close friends with whom they have special relationships. [6]

  • The social reactivity theory

The social reactivity theory alleges that all humans, whether they like it or not, are required to participate in social situations. Since extraverts prefer engaging in social interactions more than introverts, they also derive more positive affect from such situations than introverts do. [1][15][9] However, it was also found that extraverts did not respond stronger to social situations than introverts, nor did they report bigger boosts of positive affect during such interactions. [7][11][18]

Temperamental View

Temperamental view is based on the notion that there is a direct link between people's individual differences and their sensitivity to positive and negative affects. [19][20][7][21][8][22][23][10]

  • The affective reactivity model

The affective reactivity model is based on Gray's reinforcement sensitivity theory, [24] which states that people with stronger behavioral activation system (BAS) are high in reward responsiveness and are predisposed to the personality trait of extraversion, while people with a stronger behavioral inhibition system (BIS) are lower in reward responsiveness and are predisposed to personality trait of introversion. [24][7][8][22][10][25] According to this model, levels of positive and negative affects are more or less fixed within each individual, hence, after a positive or negative event, people's moods tend to go back to the pre-set level. This pre-set level is higher for extraverts, consequently they report higher happiness level, compared to the amount needed for introverts, since they require less positive reinforcement in order to feel happy. [26][27]
Furthermore, extraverts have a temperamental predisposition to positive affects since positive mood induction has a greater effect on them than on introverts, thus extraverts are more prone to react to pleasant effects. [28][29][19][30][26][7][11][27][10]
Studies have also shown that extraverts are able to better regulate their affective states. This means that in ambiguous situations (situations where positive and negative moods are introduced and mixed in similar proportions) extraverts show a slower decay of positive affect, and, as a result, they maintained a more positive affect balance than introverts. [31]

  • Pleasure-arousal relation

A study by Kuppens (2008) showed that extraverts and introverts engage in different behaviors when feeling pleasant, which could be a potential explanation for underestimating the frequency and intensity of happiness exhibited by introverts. Specifically, Kuppens (2008) found that arousal and pleasantness are positively correlated for extraverts, which means that pleasant feelings are more likely to be accompanied by high arousal for extraverts. On the other hand, arousal and pleasantness are negatively correlated for introverts, resulting in introverts exhibiting low arousal when feeling pleasant. In other words, if everything is going well in one's life, which is a source of pleasant feelings, extraverts see such situation as an opportunity to engage in active behavior and goal pursuit, which brings about an active, aroused pleasant state. On the other hand, when everything is going good for introverts, they see it as an opportunity to let down their guards, resulting in them feeling relaxed and content. [25]

  • Criticisms of the temperamental view

Studies have shown that extraversion is not necessarily the personality trait that is the most closely correlated with happiness. In fact, happiness has been found to be more closely associated with with scale variables that reflect fulfillment and life satisfaction than with extraversion [32] Also, low neuroticism was shown to be a greater predictor of life satisfaction and happiness than extraversion (meta-analysis of studies within last 30 years)[6] Furthermore, certain facets of extraversion, e.g. impulsivity, were actually found to be more closely related to low well-being. [33][34][35]

Problems with Definitions

  • Problems with definition of introversion

The lower level of happiness among introverts could be a result of the fact that introversion is often seen as series of deficits, especially as a lack of extraversion, rather than an orientation in its own right. Hence, if extraversion is associated with happiness, and introversion is seen as lack of extraversion, introversion is also associated with a lack of positive well-being. [36]

  • Problems with definition of happiness

In the majority of studies, positive affect is defined as a high-arousal state and is measured with scales assessing high arousal positive affect and high arousal happiness, e.g. widely used the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) or the Oxford Happiness Inventory. [37][38] However, a variety of sources point to the ability of gaining positive well-being also through low arousal, e.g. most religious experiences occur in solitude, yet religion is positively associated with happiness and well-being. [6][36] Studies have actually found that when types of happiness characterized by lower arousal were taken into consideration, a more positive association between happiness and introversion was observed, since introverts prefer pleasant yet low-arousal states [18][39] and enjoy their intense inner lives full of intellectual, musical or religious activities. [40] This calm and relaxed nature of introverts, combined with their vibrant inner lives gives them yet another advantage: they seem to be emotionally stable, and emotional stability has been found to be the strongest predictor of happiness and life satisfaction. [41][6]


  1. ^ a b c Argyle, M., & Lu, L. (1990). The happiness of extraverts. Personality and Individual Difference, 11, 1011-1017.
  2. ^ Emmons, R. A., & Diener, E. (1986). Influence of impulsivity and sociability on subjective well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 1211-1215.
  3. ^ a b Diener, E., Sandvik, E., Pavot, W., & Fujita, F. (1992). Extraversion and subjective well-being in U.S. national probability sample. Journal of Research and Personality, 26, 205-215.
  4. ^ Furnham, A., & Brewin, C. R. (1990). Personality and happiness. Personality and Individual Differences, 11, 1093-1096.
  5. ^ Headey, B., & Wearing, A. (1981). Australians' priorities, satisfaction, and well-being (Monograph in Public Policy Studies No. 4). Melbourne, Australia: University of Melbourne.
  6. ^ a b c d e Hills, P., & Argyle, M. (2001). Emotional stability as a major dimension of happiness. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 1357-1364.
  7. ^ a b c d e Larsen, R.J., & Ketelaar, T. (1991). Personality and susceptibility to positive and negative emotional states. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 132-140.
  8. ^ a b c d McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (1991). Adding Liebe und Arbeit: the full five-factor model and well-being. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17, 227-232.
  9. ^ a b c d e Pavot, W., Diener, E., & Fujita, F. (1990). Extraversion and happiness. Personality and Individual Differences, 11, 1299-1306.
  10. ^ a b c d e Zelenski, J. M., & Larsen, J. R. (1999). Susceptibility to affect: A comparison of three personality taxonomies. Journal of Personality, 67, 761-791.
  11. ^ a b c Lucas, R. E., Le, K., & Dyrenforth, P. S. (2008). Explaining the extraversion/positive affect relation: Sociability cannot account for extraverts greater happiness. Journal of Personality, 76, 387-414.
  12. ^ Eysenck, H. J. (1967). The biological basis of personality. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
  13. ^ Campbell, A., Converse, P., & Rodgers, W. (1976). The quality of American life. New York, NY: Sage.
  14. ^ Clark, L. A., & Watson, D. (1988). Mood and the mundane: Relations between daily life events and self-reported mood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 296-308.
  15. ^ a b c Diener, E., Larsen, R. J., & Emmons, R. A. (1984). Person x situation interactions: Choice of situation and congruence response models. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 580-592.
  16. ^ Eysenck, H. J., & Eysenck, M. W. (1985). Personality and individual differences. New York, NY: Plenum Press.
  17. ^ Snyder, M. (1981). On the influence of individuals on situations. In N. Cantor & J. Kihlstrom (Eds.), Personality, cognition and social interaction(pp. 309-329). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
  18. ^ a b c Srivastava, A., Angelo, K. M., & Vallereux, S. R. (2008). Extraversion and positive affect: A day reconstruction study of person-environment transactions. Journal of Research in Personality, 42, 1613-1618.
  19. ^ a b Depue, R. A., & Collins, P. F. (1999). Neurobiology of the structure of personality: Dopamine facilitation of incentive motivation and extraversion. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 22, 491-569.
  20. ^ Elliot, A. J., & Thrash, T. M. (2002). Approach-avoidance motivation personality: Approach and avoidance temperaments and goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 804-818.
  21. ^ Lucas, R. E., Diener, E., Grob, A., Suh, E., & Shao, L. (2000). Cross-cultural evidence for the fundamental features of extraversion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 452-468.
  22. ^ a b Tellegen, A. (1985). Structures of mood and personality and their relevance to assessing anxiety, with an emphasis on self-report. In A. H. Tuma & J. D. Maser (Eds.), Anxiety and the anxiety disorders (pp. 681-706). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
  23. ^ Watson, D., & Clark, L. A. (1997). Extraversion and its positive emotional core. In R. Hogan, J. Johnson, & S. Briggs (Eds.), Handbook of personality psychology (pp. 767-703). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
  24. ^ a b Gray, J. A. (1994). Personality dimensions and emotion systems. In P. Ekman & R. Davidson (Eds.), The nature of emotions: Fundamental questions (pp. 329-331). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
  25. ^ a b Kuppens, P. (2008). Individual differences in the relationship between pleasure and arousal. Journal of Research in Personality, 42, 1053-1059.
  26. ^ a b Gross, J. J., Sutton, S. K., & Ketelaar, T. (1998). Relations between affect and personality: Support for the affect-level and affective reactivity views. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 279-288.
  27. ^ a b Rusting, C. L., & Larsen, R. J. (1995). Moods as sources of stimulation: Relationships between personality and desired mood states. Personality and Individual Differences, 18, 321-329.
  28. ^ Carver, C. S., Sutton, S. K., & Scheier, M. F. (2000). Action, emotion and personality: Emerging conceptual integration. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 741-751.
  29. ^ Davidson, R. J. (1998). Affective style and affective disorders: Perspectives from affective neuroscience. Cognition and Emotion, 12, 307-330.
  30. ^ Gable, S. L., Reis, H. T., & Elliot, A. J. (2000). Behavioral activation and inhibition in everyday life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 1135-1149.
  31. ^ Lischetzke, T., & Eid, M. (2006). Why extraverts are happier than introverts: The role of mood regulation, Journal of Personality, 74, 1127-1162.
  32. ^ Hills, P., & Argyle, M. (1998). Positive moods derived from leisure and their relationship to happiness and personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 25, 523-535.
  33. ^ Costa, P., & McCrae, R. (1980). Influence of extraversion and neuroticism on subjective well-being: happy and unhappy people. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 668-678.
  34. ^ Emmons, R. A., & Diener, E. (1986). Influence of impulsivity and sociability on subjective well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 1211-1215.
  35. ^ Moeller, F. G., Barratt, E. S., Dougherty, D. M., Schmitz, J. M., & Swann, A.C. (2001). Psychiatric aspects of impulsivity. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 1783-1793.
  36. ^ a b Huta, V.(2011). Do extraverts always have greater well-being than introverts? It depends on how one measures extraversion, introversion, and well-being. Manuscript in preparation.
  37. ^ Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of Positive and Negative Affect: The PANAS Scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063-1070.
  38. ^ Argyle, M., Martin, M., & Crossland, J. (1989). Happiness as a function of personality and social encounters. In J.P. Forgas & J.M. Innes (Eds.), Recent advances in social psychology: An international perspective (pp. 189- 203). Amsterdam: North Holland, Elsevier Science.
  39. ^ Tsai, J. L., Knutson, B., & Fung, H. H. (2006). Cultural variation in affect valuation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 288-307.
  40. ^ Storr, A. (1988). Solitude: A return to the self. New York, NY: Free Press.
  41. ^ DeNeve, K., & Cooper, H. (1998). The happy personality: A meta-analysis of 137 personality traits and subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 124, 197-229.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Kasob/sandbox&oldid=481277504"