quiet-the-power-of-introverts-in-a-world-that-cant-stop-talking-susan-cain
philosopher, the extrovert as fearlessleader? The introvert as poet or sciencenerd, the extrovert as jock or cheerleader?Aren’t we all a little of both?Psychologists call this the “personsituation”debate: Do fixed personalitytraits really exist, or do they shift accordingto the situation in whichpeople find themselves? If you talk toProfessor Little, he’ll tell you that despitehis public persona and his teachingaccolades, he’s a true blue, off-thechartsintrovert, not only behaviorallybut also neurophysiologically (he tookthe lemon juice test I described inchapter 4 and salivated right on cue).This would seem to place him squarelyon the “person” side of the debate:Little believes that personality traits exist,that they shape our lives in profoundways, that they’re based onphysiological mechanisms, and that582/929
they’re relatively stable across alifespan. Those who take this viewstand on broad shoulders: Hippocrates,Milton, Schopenhauer, Jung, and morerecently the prophets of fMRI machinesand skin conductance tests.On the other side of the debate are agroup of psychologists known as theSituationists. Situationism posits thatour generalizations about people, includingthe words we use to describeone another—shy, aggressive, conscientious,agreeable—are misleading. Thereis no core self; there are only the variousselves of Situations X, Y, and Z. TheSituationist view rose to prominence in1968 when the psychologist WalterMischel published Personality andAssessment, challenging the idea offixed personality traits. Mischel arguedthat situational factors predict the583/929
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philosopher, the extrovert as fearless
leader? The introvert as poet or science
nerd, the extrovert as jock or cheerleader?
Aren’t we all a little of both?
Psychologists call this the “personsituation”
debate: Do fixed personality
traits really exist, or do they shift according
to the situation in which
people find themselves? If you talk to
Professor Little, he’ll tell you that despite
his public persona and his teaching
accolades, he’s a true blue, off-thecharts
introvert, not only behaviorally
but also neurophysiologically (he took
the lemon juice test I described in
chapter 4 and salivated right on cue).
This would seem to place him squarely
on the “person” side of the debate:
Little believes that personality traits exist,
that they shape our lives in profound
ways, that they’re based on
physiological mechanisms, and that
582/929
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