Hello everyone and welcome back to savvy psychologist I'm Dr Ellen Hendrickson and every

week I'll help you meet life's challenges with evidence-based research, a sympathetic ear, and

zero judgment. A few weeks ago I saw a cute online cartoon titled Introvert Starter Kit and it had drawings of

fuzzy pants, a cup of herbal tea, a stack of books and a cat. And I searched for an extrovert equivalent but none

were to be found. Why is this? Well in my humble opinion the introvert revolution

for all its good has unfortunately negatively

stereotyped extroverts as fast-talking spotlight hogging party animals and my

guess is that no one wants a cartoon of an extrovert starter kit featuring a bullhorn, one of those double-barreled beer can hats and a red plastic solo cup.

So do these stereotypes hold? Is it true that extroverts have shallow relationships and draw energy from others like a vampire?

Not so fast. This week we will round out our two-part series on the myths of introverts and extroverts by busting four

myths of extroversion. So let's get right into it. Myth number one is extroverts have many shallow relationships.

Okay, if the introvert movement has proudly proclaimed that still waters run deep,

the side effect is that extroverts are, by contrast, as shallow as puddles.

But this myth presents a false choice.

You don't need to be an introvert to get close to someone, nor do you need to be an extrovert to have a large network.

Now, it is true that extroverts do tend to have larger social circles.

And this happens for a couple of reasons.

First is the simple fact that extroverts tend to initiate social interaction and spend more

time socializing than introverts and this greater frequency and

duration naturally leads to more chances to form friendships. Next there's a

phenomenon called extrovert homophily, which is the tendency for extroverts to associate with extroverts.

Similar people choose to enter similar situations, which increases their opportunity to connect.

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