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Just don't go overboard you introverts.  Both my parents are introverts, and they forced introverted behavior on me even though I'm naturally an extrovert.  This ended up causing significant behavioral and psychological problems which I'm still dealing with.

Ground them?

Okay, speaking as an introvert to the point of psychological disorder...  Most of those are NOT introvert responses to extroverts.  Most introverts don't object to people talking or dominating the conversation.  In fact, they usually appreciate it, because it takes the burden off of them.  What you are describing, I'm not sure what the psychological description would be, but it isn't simply introversion.

Net Wolf

... I will repeat: this is not introverted behavior.  Introverts do not teach introversion.  The very NOTION of an introvert attempting to force introversion on another denies the very idea of introversion, which is a focus on one's OWN mental life.

Also, so far as I know, most introverts do not consider their behavior "more proper" than extroverts.  Usually it is simply "How I am."

I do not deny there is some kind of psychological dysfunction going on, but what you are describing is not the result of simple introversion.  Your parents had some reason (be it valid or not) for trying to "contain" you, but these were not the actions of a mere introvert, who is more likely to simply 1) listen to you talk and say very little, or 2) tell you to go away and leave them alone.  Any normal introvert is NOT going to say to you the things you quoted.  Yes, following that advice would make you appear introverted, but it is NOT the act of an introvert to try to turn you into one, which was my point.  You were blaming their behavior on their introversion, but being an introvert would militate directly AGAINST trying to change someone this way, so there is something else at work.

In other words, you're blaming the problem on the wrong syndrome.  I would suggest to you that your parents would have pushed you to behave exactly like them regardless of whether they were introverts, extroverts, or perverts. 

Net Wolf

Net Wolf wrote:

I do not deny there is some kind of psychological dysfunction going on, but what you are describing is not the result of simple introversion.

I never claimed it was.  I said

1)  My parents are both introverts.

2)  They forced (although "pushed" would probably be a better term) introverted behavior on me.

If I thought 2) was the result of 1) my first statement would have been pointless.  Rather 2) results from general (though not universal) human behavior.  Since 2) has created so many problems in my life I felt the need to say what I did.

J.A.W.

You said, and I quote:

J.A.W. wrote:

Just don't go overboard you introverts.  Both my parents are introverts, and they forced introverted behavior on me even though I'm naturally an extrovert.  This ended up causing significant behavioral and psychological problems which I'm still dealing with.

Your first sentence implies that it was their introversion that was the cause of this behavior.  Your statement very clearly links the problem to your parents being introverted.  It was a basic "cause and effect" statement, which reads like, "My parents were introverted, and that caused them to treat me like this..."  Had you not intended these two statements to be united in this cause-and-effect manner, you should not have used the conjunction "and" to join them together.

Your assertion that, and I quote, "If I thought 2) was the result of 1) my first statement would have been pointless..."  is spurious reasoning at best.  For your comment to make any sense, you would have to point out that your parents are introverts, since you were telling introverts not to go overboard, and then pointing out that a pair of introverts (your parents) had gone overboard... thus leading us back to the whole cause-and-effect scenario, since you are warning introverts, and not society as a whole, not to mimic this behavior, thus implying that it is introversion that caused the problem, and not, as you later stipulate, "human behavior".

For an introvert to "go overboard" would, in fact, be for them to become a recluse... which I imagine would have been just fine with you, had that been what your parents had done, since then they wouldn't have given a rat's ass what you were doing one way or the other.

Net Wolf

I scored an 87.  The commentary read the same as Storymaster's.

Net Wolf

You're a quiet person, but not too quiet. You like your own company at times, but don't mind the company of others. Ideally, a few people is better than a lot in most situations. You'd be well suited to living in a small town and can easily handle living on your own. You know how to have a good time, but also know how to enjoy a good book. While a night on the town can be enjoyed, you don't like to go out all the time. One can get too much of a good thing. You can be irritated by extroverts sometimes. Especially if they talk a lot about non-consequential things or other people. You can sometimes be misunderstood for being grumpy and some extroverts find you a little aloof. You're probably relatively happy in who you are although something can always be improved upon.

While I have to admit I don't get NetWolf's viewpoint at all.  I admit that my original comment had been clearer if I had quoted the "Introverts of the world unit!" comment in the previous post.  In spite of what I've been told elsewhere I obviously need to do more quoting, not less.

As for the other comment -- would you interpret "He was sleeping, and wearing socks," as he was wearing socks because he was sleeping?  If so, how do you distinguish a coequal list from a causative link?  Personally, if I was indicating a causative I'd write something like "He was sleeping, and therefore wearing socks."  A simple "and" says nothing about causation to me one way or another.

Last edited by J.A.W. (2007-10-09 23:05:11)

This test confirms what I always thought. 87.

And the description, the same as Net's and Storymasters, is dead on. I regularly become grouchy BECAUSE my wife continuously asks me why I"m being grumpy when I'm not being grumpy, I'm just being quiet.

Can't wait to see what my wife scores on this test. I'm pretty sure my wife is an extrovert who plays at being an introvert because of OTHER issues: me being an introvert and her suffering from an anxiety disorder, which is a disorder, I guess, that could easily lead to being an introvert.

I don't know how I missed it before, but I just found this topic today.

Last edited by Jefferson (2007-10-10 09:22:02)

Also, does anyone feel bad that they didn't score 100?
I think I need a second opinion.

I THINK you'll find that people who hang out on the internet, whether in the Pub or elsewhere, are generally introverts.

If you think about it, Extroverts have friends to visit with, parties to attend and, generally, more important things to do, in their opinion anyway. This would probably include most people who write and post stories on the internet, whether porn or otherwise.

While the pub may attract more introverts, because of the comfortable environment and because they/we are more easily accepted here than on other sites, I think, in general, you would find people who "hang out" on the internet, like me, are largely introverts and yes, I think the "mask of anonymity" that the internet provides is part of the reason.

Damn that armchair psychologist in me keeps sneaking out. Back damned lecturer!!!