When and why is “extraversion” associated with social popularity?

Abstract

Examinations of the relationship between individuals’ personal characteristics and the social positions that individuals receive in everyday peer networks have often found an association between extraversion and popularity. This thesis assesses the conditions (when) and mechanisms (why) of this association.Four research questions focus on when the link between extraversion and popularity is present. The study examines whether extraversion is already associated with popularity among seven- to eight-year-olds (Study I), if extraversion is associated with popularity in a less talkative and more stereotypically introverted culture as well (i.e. in Finland; Studies I and II), whether the association is more reflective of the popularity of extraverts or the unpopularity of introverts (Studies II and III), and if the size of the surrounding social ecology is an important precondition of this association (Study III). In addition, the study considers two why research questions. Studies II and III examine if dyadic combinations of extraversion could serve as popularity particles that would explain why extraverts are ultimately more popular in the group, whereas Study I evaluates the mediating role of oral fluency between extraversion and popularity among children.The association between extraversion and popularity is found to be highly generalizable, as it is present among young and adult Finns as well as in social networks of varying sizes. In addition, the association is linear and unilateral: introverts are unpopular as much as extraverts are popular, and dyadic combinations of extraversion are not significant in explaining this phenomenon. Finally, the higher oral fluency of extraverts partially explains their popularity in middle childhood.The discussion focuses on the causality of this association and engages with the ontological status of trait extraversion throughout the thesis. The research also highlights the role of popularity and social networks in accounting for the coalescence of extraversion.

Are social support, loneliness, and social connection differentially associated with happiness across levels of introversion-extraversion?

“…Indeed, we find this even in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (Shokrkon and Nicoladis, 2021) and our own results show that extraversion is negatively correlated with loneliness, positively associated with social support, and positively correlated with having more close friends, spending more time with friends, participant's satisfaction with the number of friends they had, the time they spend with their friends over the previous week, and how much time they would like to spend with friends on a weekly basis. Although people with higher extraversion may very well have experienced a greater change in their social lives, relative to people with higher introversion, as a result of pandemic restrictions (Folk et al, 2020), our findings nevertheless demonstrate that higher extraversion is correlated with stronger social connectedness, more positive interpretation of their social situation, and greater perceived social support, which supports much of the extant work on this topic (Ilmarinen, 2018;Pollet et al, 2011;Roberts et al, 2008;Wang et al, 2021).…”

Popularity at first sight: Dominant behaviours mediate the link between extraversion and popularity in face‐to‐face and virtual group interactions

“…In accordance with previous research (Carlson & DesJardins, 2015;Ciarrochi & Heaven, 2009), we predicted a positive association between self-reported extraversion and other-rated popularity (H1). In addition, building on previous findings on cues of dominant behaviour (Back, Schmukle, & Egloff, 2011;Breil et al, 2020;Ilmarinen, 2018), we subsequently expected positive associations of extraversion and dominant behaviours (H2) as well as dominant behaviours F I G U R E 1 Hypothesized mediation model of the current study. Note: In both studies, we expected associations between self-reported extraversion and other-rated popularity (H1), between self-reported extraversion and observer-rated dominant behaviours (H2), and between observer-rated dominant behaviours and other-rated popularity (H3).…”

“…The association between extraversion and popularity has been consistently found in both laboratory (Carlson & DesJardins, 2015) and real-life settings (Back, Schmukle, & Egloff, 2011;Ciarrochi & Heaven, 2009;van der Linden et al, 2010), as well as across different age groups (e.g., children, adolescents, young adults; Carlson & DesJardins, 2015;Ilmarinen, 2018;Szczygiel & Mikolajczak, 2018;van der Linden et al, 2010). Whereas most of these studies used well-acquainted samples, such as college dormitories (Wortman & Wood, 2011) or school classes (Ciarrochi & Heaven, 2009;Ilmarinen, 2018;Szczygiel & Mikolajczak, 2018;van der Linden et al, 2010), the association between extraversion and popularity was also established in zero acquaintance settings. In two previous studies, university students with higher extraversion were rated as more popular by their fellow students after introducing themselves at their first lecture (Back, Schmukle, & Egloff, 2011) and when interacting in small groups (4-6 people) during free conversation or an ice-breaking game (Carlson & DesJardins, 2015).…”

“…Numerous studies found that people scoring high in extraversion, which generally refers to being outgoing and talkative in social situations (Soto & Jackson, 2013), are rated as more popular 1 (Back, Schmukle, & Egloff, 2011;Carlson & DesJardins, 2015;Ciarrochi & Heaven, 2009;Ilmarinen, 2018;Szczygiel & Mikolajczak, 2018;van der Linden et al, 2010) and more often emerge as leaders within social groups (Anderson et al, 2001;DesJardins et al, 2015). Theoretical models (Back, Baumert, et al, 2011;Back, Schmukle, & Egloff, 2011) assume that specific behaviours in social interactions mediate such associations between personality and the popularity of a person.…”

“…Theoretical models (Back, Baumert, et al., 2011; Back, Schmukle, & Egloff, 2011) assume that specific behaviours in social interactions mediate such associations between personality and the popularity of a person. Corroborating this view, initial empirical evidence suggests that dominant behaviours mediate the association between extraversion and popularity (Back, Schmukle, & Egloff, 2011; Ilmarinen, 2018). It remains an open question, however, which specific behavioural cues (i.e., body language, verbal content) are at work here.…”