Four Types of Introverts

It has been estimated that over 75% of accountants are introverts. This compares to the general population which has a 50/50 split between introverts and extroverts (the 1998 Myers-Briggs study in the USA found 50.7% of the general population are introverts and 49.3% are extroverts).

The four types of introverts are:

1. Social introversion – they prefer solitude and find their energy drained by social interactions. They would rather be alone or part of a small group rather than being around lots of other people.
2. Thinking introversion – tend to be very thoughtful and introspective and often spend a lot of time using their imagination and self-reflecting. Frequently very creative and can think outside the box.
3. Anxious introversion – they prefer to be alone. They are shy, feel awkward in social situations, and tend to worry about what has already happened or what might go wrong in the future.
4. Inhibited introversion – they prefer to think before doing almost anything. They often do things more slowly than other people and don’t react immediately when presented with opportunities to speak, make decisions, or act.

Of course, every introvert is different and will not display all the personality traits listed above. Interestingly, nearly every species on Earth has both introverts and extroverts, even flies!