The Extrovert Bias

"For the kids who prefer to go off by themselves or just to work alone, those kids are seen as outliers often or, worse, as problem cases. And the vast majority of teachers report believing that the ideal student is an extrovert as opposed to an introvert, even though introverts actually get better grades and are more knowledgeable, according to research," says Susan Cain in her TED Talk, "The Power of Introverts."

"...When it comes to creativity and to leadership, we need introverts doing what they do best. A third to a half of the population are introverts. A third to a half. So that's one out of every two or three people you know. So even if you're an extrovert yourself, I'm talking about your coworkers and your spouses and your children and the person sitting next to you right now—all of them subject to this bias that is pretty deep and real in our society. We all internalize it from a very early age without even having a language for what we're doing."

"Now, to see the bias clearly, you need to understand what introversion is. It's different from being shy. Shyness is about fear of social judgment. Introversion is more about, how do you respond to stimulation, including social stimulation... So the key then to maximizing our talents is for us all to put ourselves in the zone of stimulation that is right for us."

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