Can Reading More Books Make You Less Introverted?
Reading books increases empathy and affects personality.
Reading is the go-to activity for many introverts who want to escape into a world of their own without the presence of other people. Reading allows you to be alone, but not lonely. You could follow the characters in your stories around without leaving your bedroom, and find pockets of peace in a world filled with stress and chaos.
Many introverts worldwide can relate to the universal love for reading, including me. I wasn’t always like this, though. It wasn’t until I started university that I became a huge reader. Not only did my coursework require reading, but I also started working as a writer and would regularly read non-fiction and fiction books to gain inspiration. Surprisingly, I fell in love with reading and was going through an average of a book about every 5–6 days at one point in my freshmen year.
I didn’t think much of it at the time, but I did question whether or not my newfound interest in reading was a beneficial one or not. Sure, reading more books sounds great in theory, but realistically, as a full-time college student and while working a full-time job, I questioned if it was the best use of my limited time.
Was immersing myself in imaginary worlds filled with imaginary characters on a page a huge waste of my day? Or, would my time be better spent on my studies and building my personal and professional network?
I took these questions into consideration, and really sat down and thought about how reading more books has effected me in a short amount of time. I concluded that reading fiction novels allows me to get out of my own head, and live through the characters on the page. When reading, I would almost feel like I was becoming these characters and living as someone else. This has given me a different perspective on the way people act in my personal life and has allowed me to anticipate the actions of others based on the characters in my books.
Reading non-fiction books allows me to experience different cultures, different parts of the world, and learn about interesting facts almost instantaneously. Knowing more means that I have more to say in my everyday conversations.
Weighing out the pros and cons of reading and trying to answer the question of whether or not it was actually affecting my behavior and making me less introverted led me to another thing that introverts worldwide are known for — research. I scoured studies and spoke to experts with knowledge on human behavior and psychology to find the answers I was looking for.
Personality is not set in stone
Before I could tackle the question of whether or not reading can change, or at least affect one’s personality, I had to first address the outdated myth, that remains firmly in place, that says that your personality is fixed by the time you reach adulthood, and does not significantly change anytime throughout your life. Even some scholars still believe this, and some say that your personality is pre-determined by genetics.
What about those of us who aren’t 100% fine with our current personalities? Some manage to find the magical balance, but for the majority of us, we end up being a bit further left or right on the spectrum than we’d like to — and this is totally fine.
“What we know about personality, is that traits can be flexible, especially when the person who holds them is motivated to challenge them,” says Julie Garner, doctor of clinical psychology. “For example, an introverted person can become less introverted and an extroverted person can become less extroverted so as well with the right influence and motivation.”
The average person has a few things about their personality that they would like to change or tweak. The same way we want anything else in life, wanting to “better” your personality is nothing to be ashamed of and doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with the way you are.
Especially for those of us with particularly difficult personality traits. For example, the tendency to feel anxiety and/or sadness, is something that affects people on a daily basis who are high in neuroticism. You can see how this can make daily life difficult for someone living with this. In addition, introversion, while not necessarily a negative personality trait, comes with negative side effects.
“The personality trait of introversion may have significant benefits, but introverts may also have difficulty advancing in a professional world that rewards its opposite, extraversion,” says Susan Krauss Whitbourne Ph.D. in an article for Psychology Today.
This works reversely with individuals who would consider themselves extraverts. They are sometimes known to be overly agreeable, which can lead to them being taken advantage of and pushed around by people who they consider peers.
How reading can affect personality
University of Toronto researchers Maja Djikic and Keith Oatley (2014) wanted to explore the link between reading and changing personalities. This field of research is vastly emerging, and in this incredible review Djikic and Oatley propose that reading can keep readers engaged in ways that “enhance important personality qualities.”
The first of these personality qualities that can be enhanced through reading, specifically fiction, is empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand someone else’s emotions. Some would say to empathize with someone is to “feel their pain”, so it’s no surprise that empathy is tied into our basic ways of relating to each other.
It’s also related to the feeling of being open to trying new things and experiencing the world from a different point-of-view that connects to your own in some way.
The conclusion that Djikic and Oatley came to, is that reading fiction allows you to gain a better understanding of people’s emotions. In turn, this creates a bond between two individuals that wouldn’t have otherwise been present if they both did not possess the same personality trait — empathy.
Why introverts should read on
Introverts, at this point you’re probably jumping for joy as you’ve just discovered that your love of fiction isn’t pointless, and is actually a tool that you can use to better your personality. Let’s look at just what reading does for introverts and personality traits in general:
Fiction increases empathy and puts us in the minds of others
Have you ever felt like you were literally lost in a novel? The words started to come off the pages, you forget that you existed in the real world, and you became so immersed in the lives of the characters in your book. When we read, we create complex mind simulations, and actually trick our brains to make it feel as if we actually are experiencing the things we’re reading about.
This gives us social expertise.
The same way that reading a history or an academic textbook allows us to gain knowledge and insight on those things, reading fiction allows us to gain insight on other human beings — or more specifically, their minds and the way that they think.
We become better at decision-making
It’s no secret that fiction is often ambiguous, which in turn introduces us to situations and experiences that aren’t common in our everyday lives. Experiencing the reactions of our characters, and analyzing why they made those decisions, allows us to feel more comfortable with the inherent uncertainty of life. We will be able to make tough decisions more quickly, and also be capable of anticipating problems and potential threats from other people. Reading also fills us with knowledge, which means we have more to say, and can make meaningful connections in the real world.
Reading makes us better at communicating
Being alone is commonly associated with being introverted. This doesn’t erase the fact that human interaction is still an essential part of living a life thats both healthy and fulfilling. As introverts, we don’t miss an opportunity to take advantage of the time we get to be alone, but if we don’t find the balance of wanting alone time, and avoiding human interaction, we can start to feel a sense of loneliness.
Reading improves communication both through speaking and writing.
The most obvious reason for this is that when we read more, words begin to work with us. We are better at formulating sentences and our vocabularies expand when we read actively. Building your vocabulary leads to you being able to take advantage of more situations when words are the best form of communication.
You will have the tools and the knowledge to express yourself and forge meaningful connections with others.
Additionally, reading about something is almost the same as experiencing it for yourself, so the more you read, the more you have to draw from when trying to empathize and connect with someone.
So, introverts unite! Never feel like there is anything wrong with you for being an introvert. Introverts are just folks who prefer to engage with small groups of familiar people or to have a deeper connection with one other person.
Being introverted doesn’t necessarily mean someone is shy, and it isn’t an inherently negative trait — quite the opposite!
So, read on. Have more experiences. Go out. Stay in. Make meaningful connections. Do what makes you happy, and never stop reading.
