Would introverts be better off if they acted more like extraverts? Exploring emotional and cognitive consequences of counterdispositional behavior.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Two randomized experimental laboratory studies
PubMed 21859197 · doi:10.1037/a0025169
What was done
Across two studies, participants were assessed for baseline dispositional introversion-extraversion and randomly assigned to behave in an introverted or extraverted manner. Investigators evaluated emotional outcomes (concurrent positive and negative affect) and cognitive costs measured by Stroop task performance.
What was found
The abstract reports no exact numeric values, effect sizes, or p-values. Directionally, acting extraverted increased positive affect and did not increase negative affect regardless of baseline personality disposition. Cognitive impairment on the Stroop task was observed only when dispositional extraverts were assigned to act introverted; dispositional introverts acting extraverted showed no such cognitive deficit.
Why it matters
The findings suggest that introverts may gain hedonic benefits from acting extraverted without experiencing immediate emotional or self-regulatory cognitive costs, while extraverts forced into introverted behavior may experience acute cognitive depletion.
Limits
The abstract does not disclose sample sizes, participant demographics, the nature of the behavioral manipulation, or quantitative statistics. It evaluates only immediate, short-term laboratory responses, leaving long-term sustainability, cumulative exhaustion, and naturalistic applicability unmeasured.
Cited by
- supports When people are instructed in experiments to act more extroverted, they report feeling more positive affect, regardless of their baseline level of introversion or extroversion.
- supports Both extroverts and introverts report feeling better over the course of a day when spending time with other people compared to when they are alone.
- supports Asking people to act extroverted and connect with others over a two-week period increases positive affect across all levels of the extroversion scale.