Quiet
by Susan Cain
Crown Publishers (e-book)
Quiet champions introverts, the personality type Carl Jung described as drawn to inner worlds of thought and feeling, and able to recharge by being alone. Anyone who has taken a Myers-Briggs personality test, based on Jung's ideas, will know to which category they belong, and, writes Susan Cain, psychologists tend to agree that a distinguishing point is the level of outside stimulation one needs to function well. Societies favour the 'extrovert ideal', which is 'gregarious, alpha, and comfortable in the spotlight'. Readers who can sit still with a book and prefer their own company to that of others will probably be introverted, or at least closet introverts who fool themselves about their true nature. But, unlike what Cain says is true of the 21st century, they may not be seen as having a 'second-class personality trait' or feel they need to conform to the standard of being extroverted. Cain has trained people in negotiation skills but here she is far from convincing. Extroverts may be preferred party guests but imagine a gathering at which everyone vies to be heard.
