Extraversion
Extraversion describes how much you seek out stimulation, company and excitement, and how often you feel upbeat and energetic. It is one of the five broad traits in the Big Five model of personality. People low on the trait are often called introverts. It is a continuum, and many people sit in the middle.
What high and low scores look like
People who score high on extraversion tend to be talkative, outgoing and energetic. They enjoy groups and parties, speak up readily, like being busy and often feel enthusiastic and cheerful.
People who score low on extraversion tend to be quieter and more reserved. They usually prefer smaller groups or time alone, think before they speak, and need less outside stimulation to feel content. Introversion is not the same as shyness or social anxiety: many introverts are socially confident and simply prefer a calmer pace.
The six facets
The longer version of the test (the IPIP-NEO, built from the public-domain International Personality Item Pool) splits extraversion into six narrower facets:
- Friendliness: warmth and ease in making friends.
- Gregariousness: enjoying crowds and the company of others.
- Assertiveness: taking charge and speaking up.
- Activity level: a busy, fast-paced lifestyle.
- Excitement-seeking: a liking for thrills and stimulation.
- Cheerfulness: frequent positive feelings such as joy and enthusiasm.
How it is measured
Extraversion is measured with short statements such as "I am the life of the party" that you rate for how well they describe you. Your answers are averaged and compared with a large reference group to give a percentile. A score describes how you see yourself now, not how you must behave in every situation.
What research says
Sociability is not the whole story. In four studies, including participants from 39 nations, researchers found that what ties the parts of extraversion together is sensitivity to reward, and that the trait was strongly linked to pleasant feelings; sociability may follow from that.[1] The link between extraversion and positive mood remained even after accounting for how much time extraverts spend with other people.[2]
The same link holds within a person. When people reported their behaviour and mood every few hours for two weeks, they felt happier at times when they were acting more extraverted, and this held in an experiment too.[3]
At work, a review of job performance studies found that extraversion predicted performance in roles with a lot of social contact, such as management and sales, and performance in training.[4] More is not always better: in a study of 340 call-center sales staff, people in the middle of the range sold more than strong extraverts or strong introverts.[5]
Personality can change. A review of 207 studies found that interventions such as therapy were associated with changes in personality measures over about six months, and extraversion was among the traits that changed most.[6]
These are average patterns across many people. Neither end of the scale is healthier or more successful in general.
Living with your extraversion score
If you score high, you may thrive in roles with variety and people, and benefit from leaving space to listen and reflect. If you score low, protecting quiet time to recharge is not a weakness, and your capacity for focus and careful listening is valuable. If you are in the middle, you may be able to shift between talking and listening more easily than people at either end.
The free test takes about three minutes and shows your personality archetype, based on all five traits. A full report with your scores on each trait is available after the test.