I was reading Chastity’s blog post about a personality test she took.  She mentions that the results say she is an extrovert, which is not something she agrees with.  Although the test is not a completely serious one I decided to take it to see what my results are.  It also says that I am an extrovert.  The test is wrong.  I’ve have had to take some detailed personality tests when interviewing for jobs and I know that I am an introvert.

The words introvert and extrovert are often misunderstood.  When used in personality tests they usually refer to how a person gains their energy or motivation.  Does it come from within or from interaction with other people?

A lot of people think that someone who is an introvert is quiet and will avoid the spotlight whenever possible.  But actually it is very possible for an introvert to be comfortable in social situations and even to come across as the life and soul of the party.  They will, however, find that the experience drains them as they gain their energy from within.

My husband is often mistaken for an extrovert.  In company he is loud, noisy and entertaining.  But although he enjoys these social interactions he is an introvert.  And would, if you let him, spend hours and hours on his own without interacting with anyone at all.  He has a room in our apartment, which he calls his cave, where he spends a large part of the weekend.  I don’t disturb him as I know he needs to do this to remain happy.  It probably helps that I am also an introvert and that I am happy to spend a lot of time on my own.

I have tried a variety of personality tests but I think that the Myers-Briggs test is the best one for determining if you are an introvert or an extrovert.  I’m not sure what the best online one is but I took this one earlier this evening and it gave me the expected result.