Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Ommalle paikalle istuessaan Jenni oli melko varma, että hän oli tehnyt koko vaunon parhaan lippudeelin. Tartu sinäkin junantuomiin etuihin ja nappaa tarjoushintaiset junaliput kesäkohteisiin nyt. Kampanja on voimassa 24. toukokuuta asti. VR. Yhteisellä matkalla.
Late last year, I was at a DINA event and when I saw everybody there ready and having fun, I was like, whoa, I'm not going to be able to survive here.
You're listening to CrowdScience from the BBC World Service, the programme that's trying to overcome our social anxiety and work up a small amount of courage to answer your science questions.
Unfortunately, I couldn't talk to anybody because the person I went with also knew people there and he went right ahead to start talking to them and I was essentially left alone and I couldn't connect.
I'm Alex Laffbridge and today I'm trying to find out why talking to new people is rather difficult.
Everybody's already here, who am I going to talk to? I'm already in my mind, not knowing what to do next, yes.
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Chapter 2: What does it mean to be an introvert?
He even produces a radio show. So he's definitely putting himself out there. But at the end of the day, he says he's an introvert.
There's that need to sort of almost come back to my safe space and just recuperate.
It's so easy to confuse introversion with being shy or being antisocial. And they're not exactly the same, are they?
No, no, no, it's not quite right at all. And I think you've hit the spot on introversion, extroversion is on a different spectrum by itself. So there are all these different parameters. And since the 1800s, people have been asking these questions and trying to categorize it. And that's where these big five personality traits come from.
The Big Five personality traits are a staple of modern psychology. How do you break down the utter uniqueness of every single human being into cold hard data to be measured and analysed? Well, in the 1980s, psychologists narrowed it down to just five categories, five spectrums that they thought you could use to get a broad sense of anyone's personality. The Big Five.
Each one is a spectrum and you can score anywhere along it from one end to the other.
The introverted to extroverted spectrum is just one of them.
There's also openness. Then there's conscientiousness. So orderliness, think of it along that side. So that's three we've done now. The fourth is agreeableness. Easy to negotiate, easy to get along with, not really difficult to deal with.
And the final piece of the personality puzzle is neuroticism.
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Chapter 3: How do introverts and extroverts differ in social interactions?
Did someone say a personality test that can give me an insight into my character and turn 30 odd years of cultivation of who I am as an individual into quantifiable data points? Sign me right up. Two, one, let's go. So, worry about things. Very inaccurate. Make friends easily. Moderately inaccurate.
The Big Five model is pretty widely accepted across psychology, but it doesn't necessarily explain where these personality traits come from. And because it was developed primarily in Western cultures, these five categories may overlook personality traits that are important in non-Western societies, like here in Ghana. However, it's a useful lens for us to start to take a look ourselves.
All of these traits sit on a spectrum. Most people actually fall somewhere in the middle. So to all of those introverts out there, you might not be as introverted as you think. you probably have some extroverted qualities in there too. Moderately accurate. Okay, these are the last ones. Act without thinking. Very inaccurate. Okay, see results.
For extroversion and introversion, people who fall in the middle of the scale are called ambiverts. They like human company and also like being alone . Let's see where I score. It's all out of 120, neuroticism, 59, extraversion, 68, openness to experience, 93, agreeableness, 76, conscientiousness, 98. Huh. Your score on extroversion is low, indicating you are introverted, reserved, and quiet.
Your socialization tends to be restricted to a few close friends. So I score like mid-table on friendliness and gregariousness, but quite high in activity level and quite low on cheerfulness, which tracks. Yeah, this is actually entirely what I was expecting. I know I'm an introvert, but I actually do like being around people.
It's just that I get tired of it, and I like to go back home and hang around with my dog. So it turns out that Daniel, Thomas and I have something in common. We're all in jobs that require us to get out there and talk to people all of the time. But we're all deep down a little bit more introverted.
But what's actually going on in the brains of introverts like us that makes us so different from the extroverts? Back to Dr. Thomas Tago.
A large part of it will be how they process stimulation. Your neurotransmitters, the chemicals within the brain that are involved in communicating and so on. Things like your dopamine. You'll find differences between introverts and extroverts. They don't need as much to feel the same level of satisfaction as your extroverts.
Dopamine is one of our brain's reward chemicals, it basically makes us feel rather good, but extroverts and introverts process it a little differently. For people who are more extroverted, their brains respond more strongly to external rewards, socialising, noise, new experiences, so they might seek out busy environments to get that hit.
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Chapter 4: What challenges do introverts face in their careers?
It's not a big high, just calm and content. This is what introverts naturally go towards. And while these differences are hardwired into us, They're not set in stone.
There's definitely a strong genetic basis where people are more predisposed to one end of the spectrum or the other. But what's even more interesting is that it's not fixed, right? There's a very large environmental element to it, meaning based on the experiences, the culture, the place where the individual finds themselves, they may end up expressing themselves in one way more than the other.
They adjust and they become comfortable in that space. It's one of the beauties and flexibilities that we have as human beings that based on what the demand is, we can meet it. Now, of course, the problem comes when the demand is higher than what we can meet. And that's when, you know, people get stressed.
So what would you say to people like listener Daniel or crowd science listeners out there who think that they're at a disadvantage in life because they're introverted?
Okay, so first thing, I have a PhD and I say you are wrong. You are not disadvantaged in life. It's easy to think that, you know, you are disadvantaged because you're introvert, because unfortunately, the world seems to have been built around extroverts. But there's nothing that suggests that it's true.
Throughout all the data, it shows that the benefits of being an extrovert are equally matched by the benefits of being an introvert. Someone who's introverted is more likely to also be conscientious. You know, they bring in some order. They bring in some thoughtfulness. They're probably very good listeners. They can really pay attention. They'll also be maybe more empathetic. All right.
If you come to the extrovert side of it, someone like that may be more agreeable. So each seems to have its own benefits, depending on where you are. To put it down straight. Daniel, being an introvert is not a disadvantage. You have the perks that extroverts lack and it's about playing to your strengths.
Okay, Daniel, this is pretty good news. Being an introvert definitely doesn't mean you're doomed to a life of feeling awkward at parties. It's more about where you get your energy from and how much external stimulation your brain needs to tick along at its best. But Daniel, your question was about work. In the fast-paced world of employment, could being an introvert be holding you back?
This weekend, elite athletes from around the world are descending on Las Vegas, where they'll compete with the aid of performance-enhancing drugs. That's right, steroids and growth hormones, drugs that are normally barred in professional sports. I'm Asma Khalid, and I host the Global Story podcast from the BBC.
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Chapter 5: What are the advantages of being an introvert?
The workers were assessed according to those big five personality traits, using quizzes similar to the one I did.
The extroverts performed better relative to the others. They are able to get more sales per worker. But interestingly, something like openness and agreeableness didn't come out quite strongly. So in that case, extroverts are seen to be performing better in this regard. Why do you think that is?
Well, that is because if you have somebody who is extrovert, he wants to be with people, he's outgoing, he knows how to convince people and so on, then you expect that you will get more sales. But if you have what it takes to convince people by you are introvert, and you are not able to express yourself, get people to know how good your product is, then it will stay where it is.
Extroversion correlated with a 7-9% increase in sales, which is pretty impressive hustle for extroverts. I wanted to get a sense of just how important extroversion is to people who have to talk all day. I've come to Makala Market here in Accra, where the back and forth between buyers and sellers never seems to stop, and they sell everything. Onions and peppers, they got you.
Six bolts of fabric for your cousin's traditional wedding, right there. Designer sunglasses and trainers for a suspiciously low price. Walk 100 meters down the road from the guy selling mangoes. Everyone here is trying to make a sale. So I asked them, what kind of character do you need to stand out?
You have to be bold and brave. If you are shy, you can't. Because you meet a whole lot of people. You need to talk to them. Try to convince them for them to buy. So if you are shy, you can't. I am rough. I'm free. I can do things that you cannot do it.
Like what?
Oh, like enjoyment, you know. Life, life. I'm enjoying, enjoying, enjoying. That is my character. For this particular job, you don't have to be shy. With the personality that you are, you are putting up there, bold and smart. Yeah. I have children. They are shy. So if you are shy, you can sell this thing. But me, I'm not shy, no. If you give me pure water, I will sell it. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.
Having now seen Makula first hand, it's time to go back to Professor Boateng and his much quieter office of economics. In their study, extraversion wasn't the only personality trait that had a strong correlation. Neuroticism, or emotional instability, had a negative impact.
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Chapter 6: How does personality affect workplace performance?
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