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Why Does It Feel Good To Act Like an Extravert?
Author(s) -
Smillie Luke D.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
social and personality psychology compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.699
H-Index - 53
ISSN - 1751-9004
DOI - 10.1111/spc3.12077
Subject(s) - extraversion and introversion , psychology , phenomenon , perspective (graphical) , personality , affect (linguistics) , social psychology , cognitive psychology , underpinning , openness to experience , personality theory , big five personality traits , epistemology , computer science , communication , philosophy , civil engineering , artificial intelligence , engineering
Research into enacted personality provides a novel perspective on the tendency for extraverted individuals to experience high levels of positive affect. Several studies now show that behaving in an extraverted way – thereby enacting an extraverted ‘personality state’ – is sufficient for elevating levels of positive affect. A question that remains, however, is why extraverted behavior has this robust impact on affective experience. In this paper, I consider several potential explanatory mechanisms for this phenomenon, including reward‐ and goal‐related processes, as well as physical/bodily processes underpinning affective experience. Future research addressing these explanations may facilitate greater understanding of this intriguing phenomenon, along with its potential theoretical and practical implications.