What Is The Extraversion Personality Trait?

By Olivia Reed •

Extraversion is one of the five core dimensions that make up the widely-accepted Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality, also known as the Big Five. The Big Five traits - Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism - describe broad aspects of personality that emerge in our characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving.

So what exactly is Extraversion? Let's take an in-depth look at this dimension of personality.

Definition and Key Characteristics

Extraversion describes individual differences in the degree to which people are outgoing, energetic, and oriented towards the outer world of people and activity. Highly extraverted people are sociable and gregarious, excitement-seeking, assertive, and talkative. They are energized by social interaction and tend to be cheerful, optimistic, and upbeat. In contrast, introverted people (low in Extraversion) are more reserved and solitary, even-paced, quiet, and relatively passive in social situations. They need more alone time to recharge their batteries.

Extraversion encompasses several important facets or components:

  • Gregariousness and Sociability: Extraverts genuinely like people and crave social stimulation. They find the company of others pleasurable and rewarding. Introverts, on the other hand, are more content being alone and often find too much social interaction draining or taxing.   
  • Assertiveness: High scorers on Extraversion tend to be dominant, forceful and socially ascendant. They are comfortable expressing their opinions and taking charge in groups. Introverts tend to be more passive, compliant, and content letting others take the lead.
  • Excitement-seeking: Extraverted people are often sensation-seekers who crave excitement, stimulation and novelty. They may enjoy loud music, bright colors, lively parties and other intense sensory experiences. Introverts have a lower threshold for excitement and sensory stimulation. They are more easily overstimulated.
  • Positive emotionality: Extraversion is associated with an overall sense of high-spirited optimism, energy and joie de vivre. Extraverts tend to frequently experience positive emotions like joy, enthusiasm, and excitement. While introverts are not necessarily unhappy, they are usually more subdued in their experience and expression of positive emotion.

So in essence, Extraversion captures our degree of outward energy, need for social and sensory stimulation, and capacity for joy. It describes differences in how outgoing, enthusiastic and assertive people are. Extraverts are energized by the external world while introverts are drained by too much of it.

Origins and Stability

Like other traits, both genetics and environment contribute to differences in Extraversion. Twin studies estimate the heritability of Extraversion at around 50%, suggesting genes play an important role but still leave substantial room for environmental influence.  

Extraversion shows a pattern of increasing stability over the lifespan. While it is moderately stable in childhood, consistency increases through adolescence and peaks in adulthood. By middle adulthood, individual differences in Extraversion are mostly stable and enduring. However, some change is still possible at all ages.

In terms of how Extraversion changes over time, it tends to increase in adolescence, reaching a peak in the late teens or early 20s. It then declines slightly through adulthood, with people becoming less extraverted with age on average. However, these age differences are modest and individual patterns vary.

Outcomes and Implications  

Research has linked Extraversion to a range of important life outcomes:

  • Social network size and quality: Not surprisingly, extraverted people tend to have larger social networks and more friends. They build connections quickly and easily. The relationships of extraverts also tend to be more intimate and supportive on average.
  • Occupational interests and performance: Extraversion predicts interest and success in jobs that involve social interaction, such as sales, management, teaching and politics. Extraverts also tend to emerge as leaders in both formal and informal settings.
  • Positive affect and well-being: Because of their upbeat, energetic personalities, extraverts typically experience more frequent positive emotions like joy and enthusiasm. This emotional positivity translates to higher average levels of happiness and subjective well-being.
  • Romantic attraction and satisfaction: Extraverted behaviors like smiling, engaging in conversation, and disclosing personal information tend to promote romantic attraction at the early stages of relationship formation. Extraverted partners also tend to be more satisfied with their relationships over time.

In sum, Extraversion is a key dimension of personality that captures our social engagement, energy level, and propensity for positive emotion. It relates to a wide range of important life outcomes in areas like relationships, work, and psychological well-being. While extraverts sometimes dominate social situations and can be attention-seeking, their energy and people skills are often great assets. And while introverts may occasionally feel drained by the social demands of an extraverted world, their more cautious and reflective style has its own merits. The key is to find the social environments and roles that fit your style and allow your best self to shine through. 

Explore other Big Five personality trait models: 

References:

Wilt, J., & Revelle, W. (2009). Extraversion. In M. R. Leary & R. H. Hoyle (Eds.), Handbook of individual differences in social behavior (pp. 27–45). The Guilford Press. 

Wilmot, M. P., Wanberg, C. R., Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D., & Ones, D. S. (2019). Extraversion advantages at work: A quantitative review and synthesis of the meta-analytic evidence. Journal of Applied Psychology, 104(12), 1447–1470.

Steel, P., Schmidt, J., & Shultz, J. (2008). Refining the relationship between personality and subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 134(1), 138–161.