<p>The lexical approach may assist. The lexical hypothesis states that, ‘All aspects of human personality, which are or have been of importance, interest or utility, have already become recorded in the substance of language’(Cattell, 1943) and, ‘When an idea is important, people are likely to have a word for it … the more important something is, … the more words there are likely to be’(Miller, 1996). The atlas of personality, emotion and behaviour uses a lexical approach to visualise words using the axes of affiliation and dominance (Mobbs, 2020).</p>
<p>Synonyms are:</p>
<p><strong>Extrovert</strong>: affable, companionable, cordial, demonstrative, exhibitionist, expansive, extroverted, exuberant, friendly, genial, good-humoured, gregarious, lively, outgoing, show-off, showman, sociable, social, socialite, socializer, uninhibited, unreserved.</p>
<p><strong>Introvert</strong>: introspective, introverted, loner, private, recluse, remote, reverse, secret, secretive, shrinking violet, solitary, standoffish, unobtrusive, wallflower.</p>
<p>The visualisation of extrovert and introvert according to the atlas approach is shown below:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/j1jDZ.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/j1jDZ.png" alt="Extroversion and Introversion according to the Atlas of personality, emotion and behaviour (Mobbs, 2020)" /></a></p>
<p>Therefore, the empirical, measurable, objective differences between extroverts and introverts are:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Both introversion and extroversion are neither dominant or submissive behaviours.  Dominance is roughly equivalent to agency for those familiar with Bakan's definition.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Introverted behaviours are those which isolate the individual from others.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Extroverted behaviours are those which connect the individual to others.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Note: The extroverted behaviours occupy a single cell of the atlas whereas the introverted behaviours occupy two cells.  I would interpret this as an opportunity for improved classification in future editions of the atlas.</p>
<p><strong>References</strong></p>
<p>Cattell RB. The description of personality: basic traits resolved into clusters. J Abnorm Soc Psychol. 1943; 38: 476–506. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054116" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054116</a></p>
<p>Miller GA. The science of words. New York: Scientific American Library; 1996.</p>
<p>Mobbs AED (2020) An atlas of personality, emotion and behaviour. PLoS ONE 15(1): e0227877. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227877" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227877</a></p>
<p><strong>Declared interest</strong>: I am the author of the atlas paper.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-24T08:25:40.103Z
2020-07-24T08:25:40.103Z
Tony Mobbs
<p>What are the empirical, measurable, objective differences between extroverts and introverts?
I'm not interested in self-report studies, only objective measurements.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-26T21:12:22.060Z
Well, this depends on your definition of objective measurements. There exists a variety of psychodiagnostic questionnaires e.g. NEO-FFI, MBTI which measure factors like extraversion and introversion.
holistic
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-27T09:08:15.870Z
For objective measurements I'm talking about non-self report. Most psychological tests are based on self-report, which doesn't really teach us much on how to recognize personality types at a distance.
Berit Larsen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-01T21:19:13.547Z
Try wikipedia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraversion_and_introversion#Biological_factors
CuriousIndeed
<personality><introversion><extraversion>
Objective differences between extroverts and introverts
Berit Larsen
# Objective differences between extroverts and introverts

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-12-28)

What are the empirical, measurable, objective differences between extroverts and introverts?
I'm not interested in self-report studies, only objective measurements.

**Tags:** personality, introversion, extraversion

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Well, this depends on your definition of objective measurements. There exists a variety of psychodiagnostic questionnaires e.g. NEO-FFI, MBTI which measure factors like extraversion and introversion.  
> **username_0**: For objective measurements I'm talking about non-self report. Most psychological tests are based on self-report, which doesn't really teach us much on how to recognize personality types at a distance.  
> **username_2**: Try wikipedia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraversion_and_introversion#Biological_factors  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-07-24. Score: 1

The lexical approach may assist. The lexical hypothesis states that, ‘All aspects of human personality, which are or have been of importance, interest or utility, have already become recorded in the substance of language’(Cattell, 1943) and, ‘When an idea is important, people are likely to have a word for it … the more important something is, … the more words there are likely to be’(Miller, 1996). The atlas of personality, emotion and behaviour uses a lexical approach to visualise words using the axes of affiliation and dominance (Mobbs, 2020).

Synonyms are:

**Extrovert**: affable, companionable, cordial, demonstrative, exhibitionist, expansive, extroverted, exuberant, friendly, genial, good-humoured, gregarious, lively, outgoing, show-off, showman, sociable, social, socialite, socializer, uninhibited, unreserved.

**Introvert**: introspective, introverted, loner, private, recluse, remote, reverse, secret, secretive, shrinking violet, solitary, standoffish, unobtrusive, wallflower.

The visualisation of extrovert and introvert according to the atlas approach is shown below:

[![Extroversion and Introversion according to the Atlas of personality, emotion and behaviour (Mobbs, 2020)](https://i.sstatic.net/j1jDZ.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/j1jDZ.png)

Therefore, the empirical, measurable, objective differences between extroverts and introverts are:

* Both introversion and extroversion are neither dominant or submissive behaviours. Dominance is roughly equivalent to agency for those familiar with Bakan's definition.
* Introverted behaviours are those which isolate the individual from others.
* Extroverted behaviours are those which connect the individual to others.

Note: The extroverted behaviours occupy a single cell of the atlas whereas the introverted behaviours occupy two cells. I would interpret this as an opportunity for improved classification in future editions of the atlas.

**References**

Cattell RB. The description of personality: basic traits resolved into clusters. J Abnorm Soc Psychol. 1943; 38: 476–506. <https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054116>

Miller GA. The science of words. New York: Scientific American Library; 1996.

Mobbs AED (2020) An atlas of personality, emotion and behaviour. PLoS ONE 15(1): e0227877. <https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227877>

**Declared interest**: I am the author of the atlas paper.


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