DEFINITION:
The term “extraversion” (also spelled “extroversion”) refers to a personality trait characterized by feeling a deep need for, and taking intense pleasure in, social interaction.
In behavioral terms, extraversion manifests in a variety of psychological propensities, such as animation, talkativeness, gregariousness, stimulation-seeking, and enjoying both being part of a team and being the center of attention.
In present professional usage, the term is used as part of a dual concept, along with the term “introversion” (see Glossary entry introversion). The two terms are conceived of as opposite poles of a continuum representing the mental trait of sociability.
ETYMOLOGY:
The term “extraversion” (as well as “introversion”) was introduced into the medical literature by the Swiss psychiatrist Carl G. Jung (1875–1961) in his book Psychologische Typen [Psychological Types], published in 1921.
The English noun “extraversion” is taken over directly from Jung’s German term, Extraversion. (Note, however, that German also used the term Extravertiertheit; as in English, these and related German words may also be spelled with an “o” in place of the “a.”)
In English, as in German, “extraversion” consists of two elements, namely, the prefix “extra-“ and the noun “version.” The etymologies of these elements are as follows:
(1) The English prefix “extra-,” as well as related adjectival, nominal, and adverbial forms, are all attested from around the turn of the nineteenth century. They all ultimately derive, via Middle French and Medieval Latin, from the Classical Latin adjective externus, meaning “outside” or “external.”
(2) The English noun “version” is attested from the sixteenth century. It derives, via Middle English and Middle French, from the Medieval Latin word, versio, versionis, meaning “act of turning” (and by extension, a translation of the Bible)—which, in turn, derives from the Classical Latin past participle versus of the verb verto, vertere, meaning “to turn.”
DISCUSSION:
The term “extraversion” (like “introversion”) originates in the work of the Swiss psychologist Carl G. Jung (1875–1961), in his 1921 study, Psychologische Typen [Psychological Types].
However, in its present meaning, “extraversion” has been heavily influenced by the theoretical use ascribed to it by the German-born, British psychologist Hans Eysenck (1916–1997) in his 1947 book Dimensions of Personality.
In Eysenck’s work, the concept of personality is characterized by two principal axes representing continua or spectra of mental traits and behavioral propensities.
One of these axes represents the trait of sociability, with “extraversion” lying at the positive pole and “introversion” at the negative pole. (The other axis represents the trait of modifiability, with “neuroticism” at the pole of greater modifiability and “stability” at the pole of less modifiability.)
Eysenck’s model of extraversion/introversion has been hugely influential, being included in almost all contemporary personality theories, such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) or the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
“Extraversion” is one of the Big Five personality traits.