Skip to content

20th century Quote by Susan Cain

“To some extent, we've always had an admiration for extroversion in our culture. But the extrovert ideal really came to play at the turn of the 20th century when we had the rise of big business.” quote by Susan Cain — Download Open image

“To some extent, we've always had an admiration for extroversion in our culture. But the extrovert ideal really came to play at the turn of the 20th century when we had the rise of big business.”

About This Quote

Source Book: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain, 2012

Society values extroversion, especially after industrialization, overlooking introverted strengths.

In simple terms: Culture favors extroverts, especially after big business rise.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and value introverted contributions.

Themes

culture personality business history

Mood

reflective analytical

Type

sociological observational

When to use this quote

workplace dynamics
education
leadership
team building

Key Concepts

introversion social norms industrial era

Questions to Reflect On

How does introversion benefit innovation?
What policies support introverts?

A Different Perspective

Extroversion bias can limit diverse perspectives.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 2.1 out of 5 (3 ratings)

More by Susan Cain

“Proverbs from the East: The wind howls, but the mountain remains still. Even though I make no special attempt to observe the discipline of…

Image

“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,…

Image

“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…

Image

“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…

Image

“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…

Image

“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…

Image

“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…

Image

“Potential clients would walk out of Charlie’s office scared”

Image

“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…

Image

“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…

Image

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.

Image

“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…

Image

Explore all 428 Susan Cain quotes

More 20th century quotes

I think the inhabitants of the past are fighting hard to keep the rents they acquired in the 20th century.

Image

Corporate America is a 20th-century dinosaur, trembling on the edge of extinction, and the only way for you to have a genuinely secure future…

Robert Kiyosaki

Image

America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free. We sent a generation to college. We cultivated the most educated workforce…

Image

The 20th century has been marked by cynicism, selfishness, greed, and the desire to please, all without changing the status quo. In the 21st…

Image

I've studied the lives of the 20th century's great businessmen and concluded self-confidence was instrumental in all their success.

Image

Universal literacy was a 20th-century goal. Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people.

Image

The great wars of the 20th Century made it into the worst Century ever.

Stephen Ambrose

Image

That is very different from how it used to be in the 20th century. Media was very one way. There's a small little industry.…

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Image

If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…

Image

Up to the 20th century, we can say that this whole period was an Earth epoch, 'Earth' meaning the riches of the earth, simple…

Image

I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…

Image

If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…

Image

Browse all 672 20th century quotes