Psychology Question

[JackD]

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This has nothing to do with grad school, just something that i have been curious about. I first tried asking on yahoo questions psychology area but i found i knew more about psychology than the people there.

So one of the theories involving extroverted and introverted behavior has to do with the optimal level of arousal. As anyone here would very well know, according to that theory, it takes more stimulation for an extroverted person to reach their optimal level of arousal. Does that mean that more extroverted someone is, the more likely they are to consume stimulants or at least enjoy them more than an introverted person?

 

[positivepsych]

I think they might benefit more in terms of cognitive performance. I recall hearing about a study where caffeine improved performance on a math test in extroverts, but worsened performance in introverts. However, I know there are diurnal variations in how caffeine affect performance, based on the time of day, so its clinical applications are limited.

A further caveat, stimulant responsiveness may be idiosyncratic. You could be introverted but have ADD and thus still benefit from stimulants. Finally, not all stimulants are the same: caffeine affects different systems than the typical ADD drugs. The optimal theory of arousal is an interesting idea, but needs to be tempered with new neurochemical and clinical findings.

 

[JackD]

Well I test as someone who is extroverted and i know for me, two things get me feeling active and confident. I can either socialize a lot, in which case i will talk to as many people as i can and have high energy. Or, i can drink a bunch of caffeine and feel the same way. I figure, if the optimal level of arousal theory is correct, either socializing or stimulants are arousing my central nervous system to its desired level. Ignoring the addictive qualities of caffeine for a second, i wonder if i consume it regularly (one cup of coffee every morning) because it is easier than finding a bunch of people to socialize with.

There are a lot of assumptions there but it seems to make some sense.