9.4 Am I Extrovert Or Introvert?

 Two words from the field of psychology frequently make it into our daily dialogues. We use the words 'introvert' and 'extrovert' as labels to quickly convey our perceptions of how we see ourselves.  Like many labels we use in our language, these two words tend to be verbal shorthand in communicating quickly and efficiently a part of who we are.   Counselors are often interested in hearing from clients the processes they used in determining the descriptive labels one has chosen.  This process of selecting self-descriptive words for ourselves can be very informative to better understand that person. A counselor can be asked: "Am I an introvert or extrovert?" The most accurate response is that we usually are both and neither.  This type of response is one reason why persons who prefer to frame the world in binary options of 'either-or' can become so frustrated interacting with psychologists.