Education World – Jim Paterson
“About a third of us are introverts, more than half because of genetics, sometimes from upbringing, and sometimes from “random events that are hard to quantify,” according to John Zewlenski, a psychology professor at Carleton College who has studied introversion. Traumatic events could cause it, or being thrust into a restrained role with family or friends. Psychologist Carl Jung coined the term in 1920, but experts since have more clearly defined it. They’ve seen its unique brain patterns and, to the relief of introverts, have distinguished it from shyness, a crippling anxiety over social interaction. Linda Silverman, director of the Gifted Development Center in Denver and author of Upside-Down Brilliance, says extroverts get energy primarily from others while introverts can become overloaded or drained by the outside world, and sometimes just don’t need or care about it.” (more)