Shyness is the fear of social disapproval or humiliation, while introversion is a preference for environments that are not overstimulating. Shyness is inherently painful; introversion is not. — Susan Cain Copy Share Image
“Studies show that the fear of public humiliation is a potent force. During the 1988-89 basketball season, for example, two NCAA basketball teams played eleven games without any spectators, owing to a measles outbreak that led their schools to quarantine… — Susan Cain Copy Share Image
“Proverbs from the East: The wind howls, but the mountain remains still. Even though I make no special attempt to observe the discipline of… — Susan Cain Copy Share
“where we fall on the introvert-extrovert spectrum. Our place on this continuum influences our choice of friends and mates, and how we make conversation,… — Susan Cain Copy Share
“I worry that there are people who are put in positions of authority because they’re good talkers, but they don’t have good ideas,” he… — Susan Cain Copy Share
“He believes, as most of us do, that venting anger lets off steam. The “catharsis hypothesis”—that aggression builds up inside us until it’s healthily… — Susan Cain Copy Share
“Soft power is not limited to moral exemplars like Mahatma Gandhi. Consider, for example, the much-ballyhooed excellence of Asians in fields like math and… — Susan Cain Copy Share
“Events like this don't give me the sense of oneness others seem to enjoy; it's always been private occasions that make me feel connected… — Susan Cain Copy Share
“Social anxiety disorder”—which essentially means pathological shyness—is now thought to afflict nearly one in five of us. The most recent version of the Diagnostic… — Susan Cain Copy Share
“So when introverts assume the observer role, as when they write novels, or contemplate unified field theory- or fall quiet at dinner parties- they’re… — Susan Cain Copy Share
“Osborn’s theory had great impact, and company leaders took up brainstorming with enthusiasm. To this day, it’s common for anyone who spends time in… — Susan Cain Copy Share
Extroversion is an enormously appealing personality style, but we've turned it into an oppressive standard to which most of us feel we must conform. — Susan Cain Copy Share
“But as the word satyagraha implies, Gandhi’s passivity was not weakness at all. It meant focusing on an ultimate goal and refusing to divert… — Susan Cain Copy Share
“The Extrovert Ideal has been documented in many studies, though this research has never been grouped under a single name. Talkative people, for example,… — Susan Cain Copy Share
“introverts prefer to work independently, and solitude can be a catalyst to innovation. As the influential psychologist Hans Eysenck once observed, introversion “concentrates the… — Susan Cain Copy Share
“People who tend to [suppress their negative emotions] regularly,” concludes Grob, “might start to see the world in a more negative light.” — Susan Cain Copy Share
