The Gift of Introversion

The social reactivity theory alleges that all humans, whether they like it or not, are
required to participate in social situations. Since extraverts prefer engaging in social
interactions more than introverts, they also derive more positive affect from such
situations than introverts do. The support for this theory comes from work of Brian R.
Little, who popularized concept of "restorative niches". Little claimed that life often
requires people to participate in social situations, and since acting social is out of
character for introverts, it was shown to harm their well-being. Therefore, one way to
preserve introverts' well-being is for them to recharge as often as possible in places
where they can return to their true selves—places Little calls "restorative niches".
However, it was also found that extraverts did not respond stronger to social situations
than introverts, nor did they report bigger boosts of positive affect during such
interactions.
Affective Regulation
Another possible explanation for
more happiness among extraverts
comes from the
fact that extraverts
are able to better
regulate
their affective
states. This means
that in ambiguous
situations
(situations where positive and
negative moods are introduced and
mixed in similar
proportions)
extraverts show a
slower decrease of
positive affect, and, as a result,
they maintained a more positive
affect balance than
introverts. Extraverts may also choose activities that facilitate happiness (e.g., recalling
pleasant vs. unpleasant memories) more than introverts when anticipating difficult tasks.
The Set-Point Model a.k.a. Affect-Level Model
According to the set-point model, levels of positive and negative affects are more or less
fixed within each individual, hence, after a positive or negative event, people's moods
tend to go back to the pre-set level. According to the set-point model, extraverts
experience more happiness because their pre-set level of positive affect is set higher
than the pre-set point of positive affect in introverts, therefore extraverts require less
positive reinforcement in order to feel happy.
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