Power OF INTROVERTS || Quiet | By Susan cain

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

About Author:

Susan Horowitz Cain (born 1968) is an American writer and lecturer, and author of the 2012 non-fiction book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, which argues that modern Western culture misunderstands and undervalues the traits and capabilities of introverted people. In 2015, Cain co-founded Quiet Revolution, a mission-based company with initiatives in the areas of children (parenting and education), lifestyle, and the workplace. Cain's 2016 follow-on book, Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts, focused on introverted children and teens, the book also being directed to their educators and parents.

Summary of Book:

Cain demonstrates that Western culture is dominated by the “extrovert ideal”. The ideal self is a social, alpha self that craves the spotlight. This ideal dates back to the industrial era in the late 19th century where massive urbanization and the appearance of very big companies, among others Led to a culture of personality where perception is more important than truth. This changed everything from who we are to who we look up top to what is asked from us during job interviews to how we find a suitable mate and raise our children. This book defines introversion using a stimulation axis, extroverts prefer more stimulating environments, introverts prefer less stimulating environments. It also explains how linking personality traits like shyness to introversion is plain wrong. Introverts are not scared of social interactions, they just don't need them. Introversion is a personality type, not a personality trait. 

It defines a lot in one's life; sadly introversion is misunderstood which leads to introverts acting like extroverts, giving up on their own strengths. Cain investigated places that embrace the "extrovert ideal" she noticed how introverts their felt bad and stressed out. This leads us to the workplace where brainstorming and other forms of group work are popular. The book explains that collaborative work favors vocal extroverts who are more likely to be heard not because of their better ideas but because of their more gregarious personality. Something the work culture forgets is that solitude is an important part of creativity. She (Cain) says that there are introverts and extroverts in every other animal species and also that which side of the spectrum you're on can be determined as early as childhood. It depends on both your nature and nurture. Introverts appear to be less responsive to dopamine than extroverts (dopamine is the chemical that governs the reward response), introverts are governed by the neocortex, the part responsible for decision making and thinking. 

After all this you might think Cain is calling for an introvert ideal But that is not the case what she wants is balance she wants our culture to acknowledge that big ideas and great leadership can come from either personality types Introverts are not superior. Solitude is not "the way to be" or something but what we need is diversity to make the world a richer place Basically a culture where both personality types are appreciated for the different skillsets they bring To sum things up: Western culture has an “extrovert ideal” that defines how we are expected to behave, talk and more whether you are an introvert or an extrovert is mostly defined by your preference for more or less stimulating environments. The workplace is very biased towards extroversion. There are physiological differences between introverts and extroverts and finally, what we need isn’t an introvert or extrovert ideal, but balance so that we can use the abilities of both personality types.