# Difference between behavioral and cognitive extroversion?



## Soul Kitchen (May 15, 2016)

So how does one determine whether a person is cognitively extroverted when that person lives one day to the next in a mostly solitary existence, and when they draw inspiration from solitary pursuits?


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## Ixim (Jun 19, 2013)

That actually doesn't matter as long as you're not willing to go knee deep into it. Suffice it to say, most cognitive extraverts are also behavioral extraverts. This stems from a single point:

Behaviour is like a function of cognition. f(C) = B, if you get my meaning. Meaning, that the way a person acts actually greatly depends on what he notices and what he does not notice. Also, on how he sees those things. Could it be true that a cognitive extravert could be behaviourally introverted?

I tend to agree, yes. But then some outside influences are in play. And most often the cause of this is either stress, bad experiences in life with extraversion. These things will push you to focus on you more, less on others, no matter that the sacred bond with the object, how you feel about it, etc, in other words typical Extravert things, they are still SACRED to you. But something keeps pushing you down - out of fear of being hurt / fired / outcasted etc. Because behaviour doesn't merely consist of what you cognate, no it also consists of what your environ says even if you are highly defiant to it. In this way you are still acting upon your environ's suggestions, but contra them, in other words, you are acting net negatively upon the environ's standards. Think of behaviour like this:

B = Bext + Bint; where Bext = Social expectations, Bint = personal convictions, quirks etc.
(Do keep in mind that subtraction is actually a negative addition, so you could also write it as:
B = Bext - Bint, where Bcan end negative and you get various psychic malaises etc)

...all in all, it's quite a complex subject to be sure.


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## Prada (Sep 10, 2015)

Well, first of all, no one is 100% introverted or extroverted. Everyone needs time alone or time with others here and there regardless of their I/E.

Commonly, healthy people who draw energy mainly from solitary pursuits are introverted because their first and strongest function prefers to work internally. That's *why* they're cognitive introverts. There is causality not correlation.

As for a cognitive extrovert who draws energy from solitary activities, I can see that being possible if a mental problem is involved. Social anxiety, depression, etc. As for how to notice it, you don't. Typing correctly a person with mental issues (even if it's you) is like throwing darts while blindfolded. You may hit the target but it will be by pure chance.

If a healthy cognitive extrovert behaves like an introvert, it could be caused by other factors but the person will definitely be affected negatively by it. Extroverted function *need* to confront the world outside and someone leading with them will have a need to do so or feel like something is missing.

In other words, if someone claims to be cognitive extrovert and feels perfectly content with introverted life and prefers to do things alone then they're either in denial or not a cognitive extrovert. Pe-aux might often feel/look extroverted because their auxiliary has a strong desire to interact with the world. Compared to Je-aux which can be perfectly content with small groups and passive behaviour (Fe) or books and solitary knowledge collecting (Te).


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## Soul Kitchen (May 15, 2016)

Prada said:


> As for a cognitive extrovert who draws energy from solitary activities, I can see that being possible if a mental problem is involved. Social anxiety, depression, etc. As for how to notice it, you don't. Typing correctly a person with mental issues (even if it's you) is like throwing darts while blindfolded. You may hit the target but it will be by pure chance.


Mental health problems are indeed a contribution to cognitive inbalance, and I can see how a mental health problem such as social anxiety or depression could draw out an extrovert's auxiliary function a lot more.



Prada said:


> In other words, if someone claims to be cognitive extrovert and feels perfectly content with introverted life and prefers to do things alone then they're either in denial or not a cognitive extrovert. Pe-aux might often feel/look extroverted because their auxiliary has a strong desire to interact with the world. *Compared to Je-aux which can be perfectly content with small groups and passive behaviour (Fe) or books and solitary knowledge collecting (Te).*


What if it were the reverse? What if it were an ENxP with a strong Ji-aux function? Intuition feeds a lot of the more contemplative processes of the psyche, especially when combined with a Ji-aux function, thus making a mentally healthy ENxP look like an introvert, or even identify themselves as an introvert.


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## Prada (Sep 10, 2015)

Soul Kitchen said:


> What if it were the reverse? What if it were an ENxP with a strong Ji-aux function? Intuition feeds a lot of the more contemplative processes of the psyche, especially when combined with a Ji-aux function, thus making a mentally healthy ENxP look like an introvert, or even identify themselves as an introvert.


Depends. A lot of people say ENFPs are the most introverted of extroverts but I'm yet to see that. Maybe in terms of "doesn't spend every minute in large groups of people" but the same could be said about any extrovert. Honestly, every Pe-dom I know (regardless of their auxiliary) is MUCH more interacting with the world around than me. Te prefers collecting information, Ne and Se want to act (or talk). They collect information by interaction. They might not be extroverted by behaviour but they definitely live in the now. ESFPs more than ENFPs but ENFPs will brainstorm and see connections everywhere. Their perceiving functions work with the eternal world.

But this is honestly but to debate and differs from person to person. The important thing to note is not how often a person spends time with people that defines whether they're a cognitive extrovert but whether their main focus is on the internal or external world. If they encounter the unexpected, where do they look for answers?

To give you an example; Ne-Fi would brainstorm possible solutions and go with the one they consider right, while Fi-Ne would get an emotional reaction and then start brainstorming why the reaction is right. Also, ExFPs will have more of a desire to understand and look at the facts than IxFPs due to their higher Te.


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## reckful (Jun 19, 2012)

The idea that an introvert can be "cognitively extraverted" (or _vice versa_) is just a silly meme that gets passed around on internet forums, and I assume that it's mostly rooted in the equally silly notion that Jung's original concepts just had to do with — hrmm, hrmm (*strokes chin*) — really deeeeeeeeeeeeeep-down "cognitive" stuffs, and it was that silly Myers woman who added all those superficial _personality_ stuffs to the mix.

Here's Jung on extraverts and introverts:

[Extraverts and introverts] are so different and present such a striking contrast that their existence becomes quite obvious even to the layman once it has been pointed out. Everyone knows those reserved, inscrutable, rather shy people who form the strongest possible contrast to the open, sociable, jovial, or at least friendly and approachable characters who are on good terms with everybody, or quarrel with everybody, but always relate to them in some way and in turn are affected by them.​
Jung believed that extraversion and introversion were products of evolution, and had evolved to produce two contrasting sets of behaviors, with introverts hardwired to have "a hesitant, reflective, retiring nature that keeps itself to itself, shrinks from objects, is always slightly on the defensive and prefers to hide behind mistrustful scrutiny"; and extraverts hardwired to have "an outgoing, candid, and accommodating nature that adapts easily to a given situation, quickly forms attachments, and ... will often venture forth with careless confidence into unknown situations."

Jung viewed extraversion/introversion as the most fundamental division underlying his types, and spent more of Psychological Types talking about the personality characteristics he thought extraverts tended to have in common and introverts tended to have in common than he spent talking about all eight of the functions put together.

And not only is there no place in Jung's model for an introvert with a dominant extraverted function, there's also no place for a "cognitively extraverted" introvert in Myers' model — or in the personality models of Quenk, Thomson, Berens, Nardi, Beebe or any other reasonably well-known MBTI theorist I've ever read.

It's true that Jung assigned _too many_ aspects of personality to E/I, but he was right to view E/I as a multifaceted dimension, and Myers also recognized that — and any MBTI source that tells you that E/I is basically just about _where you get your energy, man_ is an MBTI source you should cross off your list.

For a longer introduction to E/I that does more justice to its multifacetedness, see this post.

And if you want to read the descriptions of the five E/I "facets" in the Step II version of the MBTI (from the Step II Manual), you can find those in this Abraxas post.

================================

As a final note: Although both spellings of "extraversion" can be found in the dictionary, Jung coined the term, and he spelled it with an "a" — and rightly referred to later "o" spellings as "bad latin." Isabel Myers also spelled it with an "a," and it's spelled with an "a" in all the most well-known MBTI sources, in virtually all the leading Big Five sources, and in most other academic-psychology sources.

CelebrityTypes is spelling it with an "o" for some reason (and when I asked them why, they said, "no reason"), and anybody's free to be a special snowflake if they want, of course, but it seems to me that there's at least some advantage to having a consistency of spelling for the main terms (at least) involved in a respectable field of study — particularly in the context of journals (and forums) devoted to discussions of that field.

And again, when it comes to the field of personality psychology generally (not just the MBTI), the "extraversion" spelling isn't just slightly favored; it's overwhelmingly favored.

Thanks for listening.


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## Soul Kitchen (May 15, 2016)

@reckful I didn't even realise that the whole "introverted but cognitively extraverted" thing was an idea passed around from forum to forum, and nor did I care if it was anyway. It was more a hypothesis I had that I thought might be worth investigating, so that's why I asked in order to find answers that might shed light on the topic, even though I did word my hypothesis in such a way as to appear as though I assumed it to be true. My mistake. Even though I base my understanding of typology on functions, I'm not dismissive towards the contributions of Myers and Briggs, and concede that the letters a person has are reflective of the preference of their functions, as well as whether these functions are focused inwards or outwards. If anything, I respect what Myers and Briggs have done for finding a simpler way of communicating to the layman what might otherwise be perceived as a more esoteric topic.

Introversion and extraversion is about how one bases the core foundation of one's understanding of the world via their dominant functions, either through judgement values or on one's responses to objects. In the case of introversion, Ji applies internally-derived subjective values determined either by logic or sentiment towards the world, and uses these values as a basis for understanding. Pi is focused on the subjective impressions the object of their attention has internally, be they sensory implications or symbolism and possibility.

I agree with what you said, although I'll also add that Jung himself said no one was 100% extraverted or introverted; and mental disorders can make an otherwise extraverted person *appear* introverted because their disorder makes them more adverse to objects than they otherwise would be. Yet that extravert is hurt by this because the objects they feel adverse towards are the very thing they draw their inspiration from. If an extravert has crippling social anxiety, they might appear to be an introvert for all intents and purposes unless you have the chance to dig inside their brains. Even in a healthy extravert, you still might not realise they're extraverted if you only see them indulging their more introverted aspects about themselves.

It was my spell checker that "corrected" the "a" into an "o", and I thought nothing of it at the time. I'll make it a point to remember the "a" for future reference.


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## niss (Apr 25, 2010)

@Prada - 

A couple of points:

I think it is a misnomer to label ENFPs as the most introverted of the extroverts. Instead, it makes more sense, and dovetails with my experience, to view them as the most reserved of the extroverts. However, this is a general tendency and individuals will vary.

As for being 100% introverted - I think I fit that bill, but it depends on how you interpret the data. Using myself as an example, I'm not avoiding people 100% of the time, as that is impossible. What I do have is a 100% preference for introverted pursuits and activities.


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## Prada (Sep 10, 2015)

niss said:


> I think it is a misnomer to label ENFPs as the most introverted of the extroverts. Instead, it makes more sense, and dovetails with my experience, to view them as the most reserved of the extroverts. However, this is a general tendency and individuals will vary.


I can definitely agree with this.



niss said:


> As for being 100% introverted - I think I fit that bill, but it depends on how you interpret the data. Using myself as an example, I'm not avoiding people 100% of the time, as that is impossible. What I do have is a 100% preference for introverted pursuits and activities.


100% introverted I meant not spending time with people at all. People are social creatures and they need others at least here and there so even if you could avoid people for however long you wanted, you would want to spend time with them at least 1% of it. Because that's how humans function. Which is what I was trying to say. But I agree that it's possible (since you can't avoid people) to have a 100% preference for solitary activities.


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## The Dude (May 20, 2010)

These are Jung’s attitudes of Extraversion and Introversion: 
-Extraversion – Our energy moves toward the outer world of people, places and things; the world outside of us.
-Introversion – Our energy moves toward the inner world of thoughts and ideas; the world inside of us 
See more at: Carl Jung & Psychological Types | MBTI® Type Today

It gets tricky with extraversion because somebody can move outwards towards people, places, and or things. A lot of test (mostly dichotomy based tests) focus solely on the social aspect, which leaves a lot of "introverts" mistyped and confused. It pretty much comes down to:


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## Soul Kitchen (May 15, 2016)

@The Dude Would you say that it's accurate to substitute the word "energy" with "inspiration"?


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