Screening Capacity
While the Jungian description of dynamics associated with the Extravert and Introvert types is by far more widely known and used than the Eysenck description, there are some important insights to be gained from what Eysenck has to say. Without getting into all of the technical (and some would say misleading) terminology and analyses offered by Hans Eysenck, we can say that in essence, the Extravert has the capacity to screen out incoming, often noisy, stimuli. Given this capacity to screen, the Extravert is able to plunge into a very busy daily schedule without being overwhelmed by the vast incoming stimuli (information, interactions, environmental shifts). Contrasting with the Extravert’s capacity to screen is the Introvert’s vulnerability to stimulus overwhelm. Things can easily get loud, demanding, and confusing in the contemporary world of what many psychologists have called a “saturating” world (e.g. Gergen, 2000).
At the end of the day, the Introvert must find a way to recover from the overstimulation; whereas the Extravert is “just fine” with the rich body of stimuli they have received and screened, leaving them with the screened information, relationships, and shifting environmental conditions to recall and savor. Another way to describe the outcomes of Introversion and Extraversion at the end of the day is portrayed as levels of “cortical arousal.” Because the Introvert can’t screen very well, their level of cortical arousal at the end of the day is quite high. They don’t need any more stimulation. Conversely, the cortical arousal level of the Extravert may be quite low, since they can do such a good job of screening. The Extravert might need to find additional stimulation if they are to reach an optimal arousal level. So, it’s back to the late-night meetings or to the bar or dance floor.
If we combine Jung with Eysenck (which neither of them probably would prefer), then we might speculate that the General, as an Introvert, needs to concentrate and can’t do so from in front of the tent. Furthermore, the General gets easily tired when “entertaining the troops.” Their Aide, after all, can do a much better job of motivating the “rabble” out in front of the tent. If the General is an Extravert, then the “rabble” doesn’t bother them at all. They can easily tune out the shouting, applauding and messages coming from inside the tent. Like some political figures with which we are all familiar, the General can even ignore the messages coming from the Aide and the words of disagreement coming from those gathered in front of the tent (especially the reporters~!!).
With this brief exposition of the theories offered by Jung and Eysenck, we are ready to consider how the differing attitudes, preferences, and screening capacities of the Extravert and Introvert play out in the interactions of these two personality types with other people living in their world.
