Happiness Depends on Who’s Defining the Concept—and How

As an introvert, you likely have your own definition of what constitutes happiness—and that’s as it should be.

Over the last several decades, researchers have established an apparently clear link between higher levels of extroversion and greater levels of happiness.

The more extroverted you are, the conclusion goes, the happier you are in life.

And thus the less extroverted you are—i.e., the more introverted you are—the less happy you are in life, which in turn potentially sets you up for more struggles, psychological and otherwise.

Of course, we’re talking about huge generalities here; everyone is different, after all.

But my question with this admittedly fascinating body of research has always been:

“Happier” according to whom, and according to what criteria?

Introverts’ Views on Happiness

Turns out I’m not the only one asking such things.

In 2011, University of Calgary applied psychology student Laura Thomas conducted extensive interviews with nine self-identified introverts for her enlightening master’s degree thesis entitled “Introverted Perspectives on Happiness: A Phenomenological Inquiry.”

All nine of the study participants scored higher than 17 out of 21 on the extraversion-introversion scale of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), confirming, Thomas notes, their “clear preference on the scale for introversion.”

Thomas set out to address two research questions in her study, one of them being:

“How does an introverted individual define happiness or well-being?”

After thorough analysis of the transcribed interviews, Thomas found that the participants’ views of what constitutes happiness fell into five intriguing themes:

Happiness as peace and 
contentment—“maintaining a peaceful emotional state,” Thomas notes, “rather than effusive emotional expression.”

Happiness as independence—making one’s own decisions, and having “freedom from external expectations” where one’s introversion is concerned.

Happiness as close relationships—valuing quality over quantity in one’s relationships.

Happiness as self-acceptance—having “a strengths-based perspective” on one’s introversion.

Happiness as thriving despite extroverted pressure—finding one’s own ways to feel good as an introvert, given “social challenges to be more extraverted.”

Happy Is Relative

I can’t, and won’t, speak for all introverts, and Thomas herself cautions against making blanket statements based on her study’s relatively small number of participants.

But … these findings—these definitions of happiness—make utter and complete sense to me.

For most of my 57 years now, I’ve wondered not so much about my own definition of happiness but rather my own concept of the closely related idea of fun.

What constitutes fun?

Well, it hasn’t been too hard to figure out that what’s fun to me—taking a solo walk in the woods … holing up in my bedroom listening to Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” album … reading a 13-year-old, unpublished master’s thesis and highlighting the hell out of it—isn’t generally (extroverted) society’s notion of fun.

I find it comforting, and inspiring, to now see that both fun and happiness are relative.

So have fun—and be happy—your own way, fellow introvert.