Introverts and Competence
Because of American society’s biases in favor of extroverts, introverts may be at a disadvantage when it comes to being perceived as competent.
· Can Rob Smith change brakes on a Mercedes?
· Does Holly Worthen have what it takes to direct the school play?
· Do you think Mel Jackensprog can successfully argue a drunk driving case?
Such questions have to do with competence, the ability to execute certain tasks with skill and knowledge. The personality of the one being asked about shouldn’t matter in determining their competence. Yet according to some researchers, whether someone is extroverted or introverted does seem to affect the way others perceive and assess their competence.
According to Old Dominion University psychologist Mallory A. McCord, in the US, introverts often encounter mistreatment at work due to cultural stereotypes about their personality. Not only does that affect their physical and mental health, it influences their opportunities to get hired, retained and promoted. McCord writes:
“[Our] cultural preference for dominant, attention-seeking behavior places those who generally possess such characteristics (i.e., more extraverted individuals) into a higher-power social group that tends to enjoy greater social status and power. In contrast, those who do not engage in such socially valued behavior as often (i.e., more introverted individuals) fall into a lower-power group that is more likely to be stigmatized.”
McCord’s studies show that introverted employees tend to be rated lower in competence regardless of whether or not a particular job requires extroverted traits, such as social smoothness or enthusiastic warmth. Besides being unfair, this bias put introverts at a greater risk for bullying and ostracism, she notes.
What are the factors that contribute to this prejudicial workplace trend? Based on other studies, there appear to be three extroverted tendencies that come into play.
1. Assertiveness. Extroverts’ higher display of self-confidence and positive self-assessments definitely give them an edge in a typical job interview or job performance review. Introverts are less likely to share their accomplishments in a boastful manner. As a result, extroverts more readily come off as competent in a situation where those assessing them lack objective evidence of ability. Whether anyone’s actual performance lives up to the confidence they exhibit tends to become clear only over time, of course.
2. Verbal behavior. Plainly put, extroverts tend to be better bullshitters than introverts. A conversational style that is more fluent, more excited and more prone to careless exaggeration may be more persuasive than that of introverts. Introverts prefer to think through what they want to say instead of improvising on the spot or saying what they’d prefer to check first. This preference may lead them to appear less skilled or less familiar with relevant information.
3. Eagerness. Extroverts are the ones who jump into, say, a team building or brainstorming exercise with alacrity, while introverts may hang back before participating. High energy can create an illusion of competence, especially when it may take a while for ineptitude to become evident.
On the other hand, introverts may shine when expertise can be directly demonstrated and when the results of quiet competence have enough time to float to the surface. To make assessments of competence fair, many introvert advocates therefore recommend workplaces put less emphasis on first impressions in hiring and more on demonstrations of actual capacities.