Do Extroverts Really Take More Risks?

Are you more likely to take risks if you are an extrovert or an introvert? Or do you just choose a different type of risk?

Let's look at examples of extroverts and introverts first.

Extroverts tend to seek information more through engaging with the outside world. Introverts tend to seek information more through observation and reflection. If you are an extrovert, you tend to relax by being around other people. If you are an introvert, you tend to relax by being by yourself.

One theory of risk-taking is that extroverts may be more likely to take risks because they are more comfortable engaging with the world around them. Here are three studies that find extroverts may have advantages over introverts in the area of risk-taking:

1. Children who scored higher on the Children's Scale for Courage were more likely to score higher on extraversion, openness/intellect, and lower on anxiety traits than their peers (Muris, Mayer, and Schubert, 2010).

2. Extroverts may take more risks in learning than introverts. When learning a second language, extroverts are more likely than introverts to join a language-learning group and use their language skills inside and outside of the classroom. It is thought that extroverts are more likely to engage in classroom participation, which involves risk-taking behaviors such as asking questions in class and meeting with one's teacher. Classroom participation is a key factor in the acquisition of a second language in a school setting (Zafar and Meenakshi 2012).

3. Surgeons who scored as "extroverted" were more tolerant of risk than their introverted peers. They scored as less likely to be reluctant to admit a mistake to a physician than those who were introverted (Contessa, Suarez, Kyriakides, and Nazdam, 2013).

However, according to Susan Cain, the author of Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking (2013), introverts are just as likely to take risks as extroverts - we just need to take a look at the type of risk.

Introverts are more likely to take calcuated risks than their extroverted peers. Calculated risks are ones in which a person steps back and looks at the pros and cons of a decision before taking action. Cain writes that introverts may be less likely to want instant gratification than extroverts, so they take the time to think through things thoroughly instead of jumping right in. They don't need a result or payoff right now. Introverts also tend to have more experience with self-reflection - this improves the odds for a good decision because you are looking at if any of your biases are impacting your decision. In many areas of life, such as in the business world, the risks you take must be calculated risks. Cain argues that you want introverts on your team when you are faced with big decisions.

So it's possible that extroverts and introverts take risks equally - just a different types of risk.

References

Cain, S. (2013). Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking. New York: Broadway Books.

Contessa, J., Suarez, L., Kyriakides, T., & Nadzam, G. (2013). The Influence of Surgeon Personality Factors on Risk Tolerance: A Pilot Study. Journal of surgical education, 70(6), 806-812.

Muris, P., Mayer, B., & Schubert, T. (2010). “You Might Belong in Gryffindor”: Children’s Courage and Its Relationships to Anxiety Symptoms, Big Five Personality Traits, and Sex Roles. Child Psychiatry & Human Development,41(2), 204-213.

Zafar, S., & Meenakshi, K. (2011). A study on the relationship between extroversion-introversion and risk-taking in the context of second language acquisition. International Journal of Research Studies in Language Learning,1(1).

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