Why the World Needs More Introverts

The trade-off theory of evolution and why having a planet full of bold personalities is probably not a good idea.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

You see a preference for the extrovert personalities on TV and in the workplace — at least in America. Having a bold behavior is seen as attractive and admirable but that doesn’t mean it is better than introversion.

Research psychologist, Dr. Elaine Aron, and biologist David Sloan Wilson believe that introverts and extroverts in the animal kingdom exist because they have different survival strategies. Each survival strategy pays off differently at different times.

This is known as the trade-off theory.

The trade-off theory

The trade-off theory of evolution says no trait is all bad or all good but a mixture of pros and cons whose survival value varies. What is a pro in extrovert behavior is a con in introvert behavior.

On the flip side, the cons in extrovert behavior, the introvert behavior balances by turning their own weaknesses into strengths.

Here are a couple of trade-offs:

• Extroverts have more sex partners which are good for population growth but they commit more adultery and divorce rates are more…