The Lived Experiences of Introverts and Their Extracurricular Inv

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The Lived Experiences of Introverts and their Extracurricular

Involvement in a Four-Year University Environment
Maigan Wipfli
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University Environment" (2022). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 4019. https://dc.etsu.edu/
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The Lived Experiences of Introverts and their Extracurricular Involvement in a Four-Year
University Environment
________________________
A dissertation
presented to
the faculty of the Department of Higher Education Leadership and Policy Analysis
In partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership,
concentration in Higher Education Leadership
________________________
by
Maigan M. Wipfli
May 2022
________________________
Dr. Jill Channing, Chair
Dr. William Flora
Dr. James Lampley
Keywords: introvert, involvement, engagement, identity development

ABSTRACT
The Lived Experiences of Introverts and their Extracurricular Involvement in a Four-Year
University Environment
by
Maigan Wipfli
This qualitative, phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of introverts who were
involved in two or more passive or active extracurricular involvement opportunities during their
undergraduate experience at a four-year college or university. Eleven semi-structured interviews
were conducted via Zoom video conferencing with self-identified introverts who attended public,
four-year universities in the South, West, and Midwest regions of the United States. Participants
represented both medium and large institutions. The analysis of the data indicated common
themes from the participants including personality traits and common misconceptions of
introversion, cultural focus of extraversion, personal and professional development, opportunities
granted, and individual preferences for involvement and engagement on campus. The findings of
this study revealed the need for further research on the areas of personality and extracurricular
involvement. Additionally, the findings of this research study may be used to assist higher
educational professionals tasked with the creation and implementation of extracurricular
opportunities in creating a variety of offerings for students of all temperament and personality
types, including introverts.
2
Copyright 2022 by Maigan Wipfli
All Rights Reserved
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DEDICATION
To my great-grandmother who attended normal school in the early 1900s and was a grade
school teacher and principal in the mid-1900s. You succeeded in a time and place where women
did not hold leadership positions. Even though we never met, you have been an inspiration to me
in my educational career.
To my mother, the extravert. Thank you for allowing me to be myself growing up. While
I did not know I was an introvert back then, you never pushed me to be anything other than me.
Thank you for your unwavering support and unconditional love. Your dedication and
encouragement to my education is why I am here.
To my late father, the introvert. I get my personality from you, and mom admits it. You
showed me that there is power and strength in silence. Your kindness for all things, great and
small, taught me to be the compassionate person I am. I am proud to be you.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to thank the people who participated in this study. It has
been my honor to take your stories and use them to advocate for change within higher education.
Thank you to the people who assisted me along this adventure. To my upper administration,
thank you for allowing me to take this journey. I hope that I can be half the professional that you
all are. Thank you to my best friend for letting me talk your ear off about introversion, in the way
an introvert can talk someone’s ear off. ETSU Cohort 182- we won the cohort lottery when we
all started this endeavor and I appreciate you all more than words can express. Thank you to Dr.
Jim Lampley and Dr. Bill Flora for your suggestions and feedback throughout the dissertation
process. A special thank you to Dr. Jill Channing, my dissertation chair, for agreeing to be my
advisor and her commitment to me and this study.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................... 2
DEDICATION ................................................................................................................................ 4
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ 5
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................ 6
Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 10
Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................................... 13
Research Questions................................................................................................................ 13
Significance of the Study ....................................................................................................... 14
Definition of Terms ............................................................................................................... 16
Limitations and Delimitations ............................................................................................... 17
Overview of the Study ........................................................................................................... 18
Chapter 2: Review of Literature ................................................................................................ 19
Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 19
Conceptual Framework.......................................................................................................... 19
Identity Development ............................................................................................................ 20
Identity Development Theory ........................................................................................... 20
Developing Competence ............................................................................................... 20
Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships .......................................................... 21
Establishing Identity ..................................................................................................... 22
Developing Purpose ...................................................................................................... 23
Student Involvement Theory ................................................................................................. 24
Involvement Theory .......................................................................................................... 24
Student Retention .................................................................................................................. 25
Student Departure Theory ................................................................................................. 25
Co-curricular and Extracurricular Engagement on College Campuses ................................. 26
Components of Extracurricular Involvement ........................................................................ 27
Behavioral Engagement .................................................................................................... 28
Cognitive Engagement ...................................................................................................... 28
Affective and Emotional Engagement .............................................................................. 29
Social Engagement............................................................................................................ 29
Types of Extracurricular Involvement ................................................................................... 30
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Active Extracurricular Involvement ................................................................................. 30
Passive Extracurricular Involvement ................................................................................ 31
Effects of Extracurricular Involvement ................................................................................. 31
Well-being, Mattering, and Social Support ...................................................................... 31
Success and Persistence .................................................................................................... 33
Skills and Abilities ............................................................................................................ 34
Current Extracurricular Activity Literature ........................................................................... 35
Temperament and Personality ............................................................................................... 36
Personality Type .................................................................................................................... 37
Carl Jung Typology........................................................................................................... 37
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ............................................................................................ 38
Defining Characteristics and Factors of Extraversion and Introversion................................ 39
Stimuli and Energy ........................................................................................................... 39
Sociability ......................................................................................................................... 40
Positive Characteristics and Factors ................................................................................. 43
Negative Characteristics and Factors ................................................................................ 45
Current Introversion Literature .............................................................................................. 47
Chapter Summary .................................................................................................................. 48
Chapter 3. Research Method ..................................................................................................... 49
Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 49
Research Questions................................................................................................................ 49
Reflexivity and Researcher Perspective Statement ............................................................... 50
Qualitative Research Design ................................................................................................. 51
Phenomenology ..................................................................................................................... 52
Participant Selection .............................................................................................................. 53
Data Collection ...................................................................................................................... 54
Data Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 54
Credibility and Trustworthiness ............................................................................................ 55
Chapter Summary .................................................................................................................. 57
Chapter 4. Analysis of Data ...................................................................................................... 59
Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 59
Participant Profiles ................................................................................................................ 60
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Researcher Memos and Notes ............................................................................................... 65
Interview Results ................................................................................................................... 69
Research Question 1 ......................................................................................................... 70
The Why of Getting Involved- Making Connections ................................................... 70
The Why of Getting Involved- Influence...................................................................... 72
The Why of Staying Involved- Knowledge .................................................................. 74
The Why of Staying Involved- Having a Role ............................................................. 75
The Why of Staying Involved- Mattering and Belonging ............................................ 76
Opportunity to Engage with Others .............................................................................. 78
The Opportunity to Travel and Attend Conferences..................................................... 78
Career Opportunities and Advancement ....................................................................... 80
Leadership Opportunities .............................................................................................. 82
Hard Skills .................................................................................................................... 84
Soft Skills ...................................................................................................................... 87
Individual and Small Group Settings ............................................................................ 93
Connections and Relationships ..................................................................................... 95
Exhaustion and Energy ................................................................................................. 97
Guilt, Avoidance, and Pressure ................................................................................... 103
Pretending, Comparing, and Imposter Syndrome ....................................................... 105
Regret .......................................................................................................................... 107
Research Question 5 ....................................................................................................... 109
Tangible Changes........................................................................................................ 109
Changes in Perception and Knowledge of Introversion ............................................. 113
Chapter Summary ................................................................................................................ 118
Chapter 5. Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations ................................................... 119
Summary.............................................................................................................................. 119
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Recommendations for Practice ............................................................................................ 134
Recommendations for Research .......................................................................................... 135
Concluding Summary .......................................................................................................... 137
References ................................................................................................................................... 139
APPENDIX: Interview Protocol ................................................................................................. 162
VITA ........................................................................................................................................... 165
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Chapter 1. Introduction
Collegiate education, in the early years of American universities, concentrated on a
“social, religious, and political vision” (Thelin, 2004, p. 23). In 1828, with the introduction of the
Yale Report, President Jeremiah Day suggested that the classical curriculum that had been
followed be changed to involved “more useful studies” (Carnochan, 2002, p. 9). Within the
document, Day recommended that education change to bear students’ mental discipline at its
forefront (Herbst, 2004). This included the widening of subject areas students were taught.
Herbst (2004) indicated that “the choice of subject matter depended less on its present or future
use value… than on its suitability as an instrument for training the student’ mental powers” (p.
214). In addition to the change in curriculum, students gathered together to provide “a space to
learn skills such as collaboration, communication, and working together for a greater good”
(Rosch & Collins, 2017, p. 11). Rosch and Collins (2017) stated, “organizations have played a
significant role in fulfilling this civic mission even in the earliest of collegiate contexts” (p. 10).
The student organizations created took the shape of eating clubs, honor societies, varsity sports,
literary groups, Greek letter societies, and debate teams (Rosch & Collins, 2017; Thelin, 2004).
Organizations also provided avenues for public service, philanthropy and societal change, and
leadership opportunities (Rosch & Collins, 2017). While initially started as a “buffer to the
demands of coursework and examinations” (Thelin, 2004, p. 94), it also offered the chance to
create learning opportunities outside the classroom.
For years researchers, such as Astin (1985) and Pascarella and Terenzini (1991), have
examined the effects of social and physical involvement during a student’s college journey.
Theories have been written regarding college student identity (Chickering & Reisser, 1993), their
involvement processes (Astin, 1985), and student persistence and retention (Tinto, 1993). The
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research of these theories has created an intertwined, holistic view of how and why students get
involved on their campus, what keeps them involved, and the benefits of staying involved and
active on their individual campuses. Research provided by Tinto (1993, 2012) discussed the
success and retention of uninvolved students and what that may mean for their persistence in
higher education.
In Chickering and Reisser’s (1993) discussion regarding identity development, they
asserted that “development for college students…is a process of infinite complexity” (p. 34).
This process includes academic learning and learning about oneself and those around them.
Critical to the development of students during their college years is the topic of how they become
engaged in their institution. This engagement leads to discoveries about themselves and others
and learning opportunities regarding interpersonal communication and relationships. Identity
development also enables students to learn more about the skills and knowledge they require for
their upcoming careers (Chickering & Reisser, 1993).
Astin (1985) proposed that becoming engaged on campus, or involvement, “refers to the
amount of physical and psychological energy that the student devotes to the academic
experience” (p. 134). These energies, however, can and do take place outside the classroom.
Astin (1985) believed that the way to learn thoroughly was for students to become involved in
what they were learning. This involvement meant spending time on campus, participating
actively in student organizations, being involved with faculty and other students, and creating
plenty of time to devote to studying (Astin, 1985). While motivation is necessary, Astin (1985)
also posited that the behavioral component of involvement is what matters, and one needs to
partake actively in experiences in order to be involved.
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The experience of student engagement often leads to the success and retention of students
at their institution. Social support and engagement with peers, faculty, and staff are often
indicators that students will continue with their degree (Tinto, 2012). However, student success
and retention are often measured by academic success rather than by social success or
engagement and satisfaction of their students. One of those aspects of student satisfaction is the
concept of well-being. Psychological well-being is one of the effects of social engagement at an
institution. Students who feel they matter to the university, their peers, and their friends feel a
sense of community about their institution (Kampf & Teske, 2013). This sense of community or
mattering can ease students’ transitions from their pre-college lives to their college experience,
promote self-assurance, heighten knowledge of their peers and individuality, and help feelings of
attachment to their university setting (Tinto, 2012).
The individual psychological types of students can play a role in their sense of
community on campus. Jung (1921/1976) found “many individual differences in human
psychology” (para. 1). He noted two types that he labeled introverted and extraverted within
those differences. Since the creation of those definitions, researchers such as Katharine Briggs
and Isabel Briggs Myers, have studied the numerous differences between introversion and
extraversion. While many of those differences are discussed later in this dissertation, the most
important differences are the needs of introverts and extraverts. Students who identify as
extraverts and as introverts need different activities and options in terms of social engagement.
However, there is often a disconnect in understanding the needs of introverts and extraverts in
terms of their preferences of social engagement opportunities.
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Statement of the Problem
Because of the large-scale nature of programming and social opportunities on a university
campus, extracurricular activities are primarily designed for mass student audiences.
Involvement and engagement opportunities often include huge gatherings, loud live or recorded
music, and long lines of people waiting for food or free items. While getting involved in
extracurricular activities during their college years, introverts may need and want different or
additional experiences than their extraverted peers (Toma, 2015). With a current lack of research
regarding involvement opportunities by personality type, this research will inform student affairs
practitioners how to facilitate engagement for those who identify as introverts. As introversion is
often not considered while creating large-scale events and involvement opportunities, these
changes would assist those in facilitating events more conducive for all personality types.
The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to understand the lived
experiences of college students who were involved in extracurricular activities and who identify
as introverts. The population that I interviewed consisted of college students involved in two or
more extracurricular activities or experiences during their undergraduate studies and who self-
identified as introverts. The study participants were former undergraduates from public, four-
year institutions.
Research Questions
The central question guiding this study was: What are the needs of introverts in their
extracurricular, undergraduate experiences? The following additional questions guided the study:
Research Question 1. How do introverts describe their decision-making process about
involvement in extracurricular activities in college?
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Research Question 2. What opportunities from extracurricular involvement
do introverts perceive?
Research Question 3. What skills do introverts perceive they have developed as a result
of extracurricular involvement?
Research Question 4. How do introverts perceive that their preferences influence their
extracurricular involvement?
Research Question 5. What changes in extracurricular opportunities do participants
perceive as benefitting introverts?
Significance of the Study
It has been widely discussed that the “strongest single source of influence on cognitive
and affective development is a student’s peer group; the greater the interaction with peers, the
more favorable the outcome” (Foubert & Grainger, 2006, p. 169). Those outcomes include
educational persistence; more significant academic, cognitive, and developmental growth (Toma,
2015); and student satisfaction of their college experience (Edwards, 1989).
Out-of-classroom experiences are less researched and reported upon than those inside the
classroom. While in-class experiences provide some peer-to-peer interaction, most interaction
undergraduate students benefit from is extracurricular involvement. Terenzini et al. (1996)
discussed the holistic development of undergraduates where changes in one area of their lives
affect changes in other areas. A student cannot develop in-class and not develop out-of-class,
therefore, causing a ripple effect for both types of learning experiences. Rubin et al. (2002)
believed the idea that “extracurricular activities are a place where students look to utilize, and
perhaps refine and develop, their interpersonal skills” (p. 441).
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A student’s preference for how and why they get involved varies. Some students get
involved with recreational sports while others get involved with their campus’ fraternity and
sorority life. Some students do not join organizations but attend the social events campus offers.
An in-depth study on involvement “may shed further light on the variation in processes and
motives students have for becoming involved” (Toma, 2015, p. 1).
It is thought that introverts are uninterested in extracurricular involvement, as many
“…believe that introverts have to be by themselves to hide from social situations they’re fearful
of or unwilling to participate in” (Marfo, 2017, p. 13). Introversion, however, “is not the same as
shyness or having a withdrawn personality” (Laney, 2002, p. 20). Instead, introverts find that
their connections may be more intense than those of extraverts and expend more energy during
those connections than their extraverted counterparts (Bessette, 2014).
One of the most prominent indicators of introversion and extraversion is where a person
draws their energy from and how it is expended. The energy that introverts have and need to
maintain often deters people from truly understanding them (Cain, 2013; Granneman, 2017;
Laney, 2002; Rogers, 2003). Introverts often join extracurricular involvement opportunities
sparingly or not at all (Cain, 2013; Laney, 2002; Winstone et al., 2020).
With the use of Chickering and Reisser’s (1993) Theory of Identity Development and
Astin’s (1985) Theory of Student Involvement as a conceptual framework for this study,
involvement for those who identify as introverts is explored. This study will add to the current
research on involvement, in general, and will address the needs of introverts in various
involvement opportunities. In understanding the experiences of introverts who participate in
extracurricular involvement during their undergraduate experience, changes can be made to the
types of engagement opportunities created on university campuses. Student success and retention
15
can become a priority with a more thoughtful approach by those who plan extracurricular
involvement opportunities for students anywhere along the introversion-extraversion spectrum.
Learning “why and how students become involved will allow universities to foster and grow that
involvement, thus increasing graduation rates” (Guzman, 2019, p. 4).
Definition of Terms
For the purpose of this study, terms used consistently throughout this dissertation are
defined as follows:
Active extracurricular involvement: A commitment or membership to groups, clubs,
teams, or student organizations. These opportunities may include leadership organizations,
student government, fraternity or sorority life, athletics, honor societies, cultural or political
organizations, or service-learning organizations (Kulp et al., 2019).
Co-curricular involvement: “A co-curricular activity is one that requires a student’s
participation outside of normal classroom time as a condition for meeting a curricular
requirement” (Bartkus et al., 2012, p. 699).
Extracurricular: “not falling within scope of a regular curriculum or lying outside one’s
regular duties or routine” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.).
Extravert: “Extraverts are oriented primarily toward the outer world; thus they tend to
focus their energy on people and objects” (Briggs Myers et al., 1998, p. 6).
Introvert: “Introverts are oriented primarily toward the inner world; thus they tend to
focus their energy on concepts, ideas, and internal experiences” (Briggs Myers et al., 1998, p. 6).
Passive extracurricular involvement: Passive extracurricular involvement denotes that
there is no membership attached to the opportunity. Instead, these are engagement activities that
all students can enjoy. These opportunities may take the form of more social engagements such
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as movies, speakers, dances, socials, game nights, musicians, comedians, or large-scale events
(Kulp et al., 2019).
Limitations and Delimitations
Current literature on involvement or engagement practices is vast; however, very few
consider personality and psychological types. Even fewer broach the topic of introversion. Much
of the literature found for this study had no mention of psychological type. Those who did,
discussed in detail extraversion and barely discussed introversion. The lack of introversion in
involvement literature is a limitation for this study.
With the community-based nature of small, private institutions, I used public institutions
as an attendance criterion for respondents. This setting was a limitation because not all public
institutions can engage their introverted students in involvement opportunities.
As a delimitation, the population I interviewed consisted of college students involved in
two or more extracurricular activities or experiences during their undergraduate studies and who
self-identified as introverts. The study participants were former attendees of public, four-year
higher education institutions.
A limitation of this study was the volunteer nature of selecting participants. All
participants interested were asked to contact me by email. Additionally, purposive and snowball
sampling was used, creating a limitation. As participants volunteered for the study, a limitation
that presented itself was that of the 11 participants who offered to be interviewed, 10 were
female. There is a lack of research on preferences for involvement by gender (Foreman &
Retallick, 2016).
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Overview of the Study
As a brief overview of this research, Chapter 1 provided baseline knowledge regarding
student identity, involvement theory, and information regarding student retention. It also briefly
outlined the topic of introversion and the need for more research on the subjects combined.
Discussed is the importance of both involvement and personality in terms of university student
participation and retention. Chapter 2 contains an in-depth synthesis of the literature. Identity,
involvement, and student departure theories are all discussed at length. Additionally,
extracurricular engagement is discussed, along with a brief overview of current literature. A wide
array of information regarding introversion and extraversion, their positive and negative
characteristics, and defining factors are documented. I also overview the wide variety of recent
introversion personal growth books. Chapter 3 sets the framework for this study, including the
methodology used. Chapter 4 includes the presentation of this study’s findings and personal
accounts from participants. Chapter 5 concludes this dissertation with a discussion and the
opportunities that are available to higher education professionals as they embark upon the
inclusion of introverts in extracurricular involvement.
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Chapter 2: Review of Literature
Introduction
This chapter begins with a discussion regarding my conceptual framework. The literature
review includes a synopsis of student identity development, student involvement theory, and the
theory of student departure. A brief overview of the history of extracurricular involvement is
discussed. Next, the literature is presented regarding different types of involvement, effects of
involvement on student retention and persistence, psychological well-being, and the skills
acquired throughout involvement. The psychological types of extraversion and introversion are
then introduced from a theoretical perspective, including their defining characteristics and
positive and negative attributes. Recent literature regarding introversion and its place in popular
reading is also discussed.
Conceptual Framework
There is no central theory that encompasses introversion in either identity development
theory or involvement theory. For this study, I combined the two to create a conceptual
framework by which introverts develop throughout their college journey. Astin (1985) indicated
that student engagement was necessary for learning outside the classroom. Out-of-class
experience, not connected to a student’s major or courses, is known as extracurricular
involvement. Extracurricular involvement is most often where students can develop skills that
they will have throughout the rest of their lives. With these skills, students become who they are,
also known as identity development.
Many of the reasons students get involved in out-of-classroom experiences can be viewed
through the lens of Chickering and Reisser’s (1993) Theory of Identity Development. With the
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vectors outlined in this literature review, I proposed my research questions. Each question was
written with Chickering’s vectors in mind.
The following theories are essential to the discussion of extracurricular involvement in
order to understand the central research question of the needs of introverts. The literature is
minimal regarding introversion and non-existent in the correlation with extracurricular
involvement.
Identity Development
Identity Development Theory
Chickering and Reisser’s (1993) Theory of Identity Development is instrumental for the
personal growth of college students as it focuses on their lives, how they view themselves and
others, and how they perceive and encounter relationships. There are seven vectors encompassed
in Chickering’s Theory of Identity Development: Developing Competence, Managing Emotions,
Moving Through Autonomy Toward Interdependence, Developing Mature Interpersonal
Relationships, Establishing Identity, Developing Purpose, Developing Integrity (Chickering &
Reisser, 1993; Reisser, 1995). While it can be argued that all vectors are integral to a student’s
personal development throughout their college years, for this research, a concentration will be
made on four of the vectors. The chosen vectors directly relate to a student’s physical and
psychological involvement in the opportunities in which they engage. Those four vectors
include: Developing Competence, Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships, Establishing
Identity, and Developing Purpose.
Developing Competence
There are three types of competence discussed in Chickering’s Developing Competence
vector: intellectual competence, physical and manual competence, and interpersonal competence
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(Chickering & Reisser, 1993). Intellectual competence refers to the skills that students gain as
they begin to learn and use the information they acquire in an institution of higher learning
(Chickering & Reisser, 1993). Physical and manual competence refers to the use of athletic and
artistic abilities that a person has. Students often build skills during their leisure time hobbies that
they can cultivate over their lifespan. Chickering and Reisser (1993) identify these activities as
part of a person’s identity. The competencies can also foster health and wellness in students, both
physically and mentally (Reisser, 1995).
Important to this discussion is that of interpersonal competence. Interpersonal
competence involves a person’s ability to listen, cooperate, and communicate effectively, and
develop relationships (Chickering & Reisser, 1993). This vector encourages students to learn to
“trust their abilities, receive accurate feedback from others, and integrate their skills into a stable
self-assurance” (Chickering & Reisser, 1993, p. 46) as part of their growth experience in college.
These skills are both critical in that they include leadership and followership in group settings
(Reisser, 1995).
Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships
Developing mature interpersonal relationships contributes to college students’ growth
with others, both in an appreciation for difference and a capacity for intimate personal and
romantic relationships (Chickering & Reisser, 1993). Appreciation for difference, in this vector,
allows a student to learn about others in both an intercultural and interpersonal context. Students
may experience awareness and openness to those around them during this stage, especially those
different than themselves, reducing bias towards others and enjoying diverse friend groups
(Chickering & Reisser, 1993). An increased capacity for intimate relationships occurs throughout
this vector. Relationships with others form and grow, helping students to gain a balance between
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over-dependence or over-dominance in their friendships and relationships (Chickering &
Reisser, 1993). During this stage, students learn to be more accepting of others and find an
ability to create long-lasting relationships based on trust and depth that can “endure through
crisis, distance, and separation” (Chickering & Reisser, 1993, p. 48).
Establishing Identity
Establishing identity works interconnectedly with several of the other vectors. Chickering
and Reisser (1993) described it as a jigsaw puzzle, as it is dependent on competence, emotional
maturity, autonomy, and positive relationships. Identity includes many different aspects of
oneself: comfort with body and appearance; comfort with gender and sexual orientation; a sense
of who one is in a social, historical, or cultural context; the creation of self-concept; a sense of
self through relationships with others; self-acceptance and self-esteem; and personal stability
(Chickering & Reisser, 1993). Additionally, Chickering and Reisser (1993) revealed that
establishing identity is gaining personal clarity for the student and becoming comfortable in who
they are. Students become a master of their relationship-building process and take ownership of
their own emotions (Chickering & Reisser, 1993).
Reisser (1995) pointed out that college is a perfect time for students to explore who they
are and how their mind, body, feelings, beliefs, values, and priorities all fit with their sense of
self to create stability. During this time, “students try out the role of student, leader, participant,
or observer in different ways” (Chickering & Reisser, 1993, p. 197). While students are taking
part in these experiences in the change in their identity, they have the opportunity to solidly
define themselves (Chickering & Reisser, 1993).
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Developing Purpose
Developing purpose is the vector that speaks to a students’ future. Chickering and Reisser
(1993) wrote that “while they may have clarified who they are and where they came from, they
have only the vaguest notion of who they want to be” (p. 50). Often, students believe that their
time in college is merely a tool to prepare them for a specific job, career, or to prepare them for
additional schooling. They do not realize that it is also intended to help them build skills and
broaden their general knowledge. There are elements to developing purpose that Chickering and
Reisser (1993) discussed as priorities: vocational plans and aspirations; personal interests; and
interpersonal and family commitments. These priorities help students create intentional goals to
create a purpose for their future lives.
Vocational plans may not only mean a career. Chickering and Reisser (1993) additionally
described vocational plans as paid work, unpaid work, or both. They wrote that students discover
what is fulfilling and energizing, uses one’s talents, and furthers a student’s aspirations as a
calling (Chickering & Reisser, 1993) when enrolled in higher education. Rogers (2003) indicated
that participating in leadership and volunteer opportunities can also help students clarify their
goals and interests, as these experiences can lead to talent exploration they may not get inside the
classroom.
When students find their own interests, such as they often do in college, they can create
lives led with intentionality (Chickering & Reisser, 1993). It is during college that students need
to make commitments of their time and energy. These commitments may take the form of
classwork, but they also may include hobbies, friendships, and other priorities. Commitments
take shape in the form of purpose, increasing strength and clarity surrounding their major or
minor and the amount of time they devote to their studies (Chickering & Reisser, 1993). This
23
also manifests in the form of the purpose students have engaging “with other aspects of the
college experience” (Chickering & Reisser, 1993, p. 233). As Chickering and Reisser (1993)
suggested, the purpose does not have to be resolutely defined. Instead, there only needs to be a
plan in place of where that purpose will take the student until another purpose emerges. As we
often see, college students use their time to try out new things and find their way, such as
changing majors, personal style, and friendship groups.
Student Involvement Theory
Involvement Theory
One crucial aspect of the learning and development of students in college is that of
involvement. Astin (1985), a well-known researcher in the field of student development, created
a theory of involvement to explain how a student changes during their college years. Astin
(1985) wrote that “student involvement refers to the amount of physical and psychological
energy that the student devotes to the academic experience” (p. 134). Not only does involvement
refer to in-class participation, but it also refers to a person’s participation in student
organizations, time spent on campus, and interaction with other students (Astin, 1985).
Additionally, the idea of involvement refers to what the student feels about their participation
and what they do as a behavioral aspect of involvement (Astin, 1985).
Astin described involvement as occurring on a continuum. Students participate in
different types of involvement to different degrees, either general or specific (Astin, 1985).
Additionally, those degrees of involvement can occur at different times depending on the
students’ needs or wants. The differing degrees of involvement cause various learning and
personal development opportunities for each student. The amount of time that each person
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dedicates to their involvement is often directly associated with how much they learn from that
individual activity (Astin, 1985).
While students can be involved inside their classroom, one of the most essential elements
of involvement theory is that they are also involved in out-of-classroom activities. In an
interview given by Astin (2003), he stated:
the world’s problems are not going to be solved by math and science and technology;
they are human problems, problems of beliefs and values and feelings expressed, for
example by racism or nationalism or fundamentalism. It would behoove higher education
to begin to attend more to these aspects of students’ development, (p. 14)
Astin (1999) asserted that involved students were less likely to drop out if they spent time and
energy being engaged on campus. Astin (1999) also stated that a lack of involvement could
contribute to a lack of retention.
Student Retention
Student Departure Theory
An important aspect of a student’s retention in higher education is their ability and
willingness to persist in college. Many students who start college never finish. According to the
Report on the Condition of Education (2021), only two-thirds of students who began college in
2013 had graduated by 2019 (Irwin et al., 2021). Additionally, Tinto (1993) cited that almost
three-fourths of those students who leave never return to complete their degree.
Initially, when the issue of student retention arose in higher education research, it was
thought to be a reflection solely on the part of the student. This idea was that students were not
retained due to their own lack of motivation, individual abilities, and educational skills (Tinto,
2006). However, Vincent Tinto’s Theory of Student Departure (2012) is based on the belief that
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“student success is driven, in part, by what students expect of themselves” (p. 7). While many of
these expectations pertain to their academic focus, some of these expectations are social in
nature. As students become engaged in their academics, their social life, and the campus
community at their institution, they become more likely to succeed (Bergen-Cico & Viscomi,
2012; Tinto, 2012). Tinto (2012) reported that underprepared students tended to leave their
institution altogether when they believed they had lower academic and social support. When
students become more academically and socially engaged, they are more likely to persist and
graduate (Tinto, 2012). However, when students do not participate in involvement opportunities
or fail to create a sense of belonging on campus, they are more likely to leave the university
(Astin, 1999; Braxton et al., 2000; Edwards, 1989; Hoyt, 2021; Tinto 1993; Tinto, 2012).
Co-curricular and Extracurricular Engagement on College Campuses
Co-curricular and extracurricular activities at early American institutions are not well
documented. Early educational institutions such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton were meant for
wealthy settlers’ sons to obtain an education to become “Christian gentleman” (Thelin, 2004, p.
24). The academics taught at these institutions centered around religion. As institutions’
educational missions changed, so did the types of students who attended. Students were no
longer content to attend their institution and return to their family homes (Thelin, 2004). As
students began to attend institutions farther from where they were raised, they “often had to fend
for themselves, finding lodging off-campus in private homes or boarding houses” (Thelin, 2004,
p. 66). Similarly, these students often had to find their own meals. They formed eating clubs
which made way for the earliest social organizations (Thelin, 2004).
These organizations began to take hold in various institutions creating a campus life
structure. Groups were formed as a way to escape “the harsh discipline and boredom of a student
26
life regimen imposed by academic leaders” (Dalton & Crosby, 2012, p. 3). These groups
included: “literary societies, debating clubs, discussion groups, Greek-letter fraternities, secret
societies, honor groups, and even religious groups” (Thelin, 2004, p. 66). As it became more
widely acceptable, both co-curricular and extracurricular opportunities provided more social
opportunities than students had previously encountered (Dalton & Crosby, 2012).
Many of the earlier student organizations, such as literary societies or discussion groups,
can be considered co-curricular. Co-curricular involvement often refers to an opportunity that
may be connected to coursework. Bartkus et al. (2012) discussed the differences between co-
curricular and extracurricular involvement, as there is a fine line between the two. If participation
is not mandatory but closely associated with a class or major, Bartkus et al. (2012) saw the value
in naming that type of engagement, co-curricular.
Out-of-class experiences not connected to one’s major or coursework is known as
extracurricular involvement. On the opposite end of the involvement spectrum, these historical
organizations such as eating clubs, Greek-letter fraternities, and secret societies were more apt to
be extracurricular. Extracurricular involvement opportunities are generally voluntary and often
are social or philanthropic (Fares et al., 2015).
Components of Extracurricular Involvement
Researchers have described extracurricular involvement and engagement as having
several components or dimensions. Zhoc et al. (2018) described engagement as being multi-
dimensional, including the components of academic, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional
involvement. Similarly, Bowden et al. (2021) used the term pillars, which included four facets:
behavioral, cognitive, affective, and social. Each dimension, “when measured together, comprise
an invisible tapestry of engagement” (Bowden et al., 2021, p. 1218). Both report the
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connectedness between each dimension or pillar (Bowden et al., 2021; Zhoc et al., 2018). As
extracurricular involvement refers to out-of-class engagement, this dissertation will discuss the
dimensions of behavioral engagement, affective/emotional engagement, cognitive engagement,
and social engagement.
Behavioral Engagement
Behavioral engagement is defined as positive conduct, which may include participation
and effort (Zhoc et al., 2018). Students are motivated to put effort into activities they find
interesting (Deci & Ryan, 2000). By putting forth effort and participation, a sense of belonging is
created (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Additionally, Bean and Bogdan Eaton (2016) found that
behavioral engagement heightened a student’s social integration into the campus. Knifsend
(2020) indicated that students who spent greater amounts of time participating were able to
create opportunities to make friends, develop interpersonal skills, and create a sense of well-
being.
Behavioral engagement affects students in different ways. Some students gain self-
efficacy, self-esteem, positive self-worth, and goal-setting skills (Bowden et al., 2021). Often,
involvement in extracurricular activities may present the ability for students to learn life-long
skills or personal growth and development opportunities. Researchers believe that motivation for
a person’s behavior is that it will lead to the fulfillment of their personal goals and outcomes
(Deci & Ryan, 2000).
Cognitive Engagement
Cognitive engagement is described as an investment in learning and one’s ability to
create learning goals (Zhoc et al., 2018). Zhoc et al. (2018) stated that students’ cognitive
engagement showed the ability to achieve success differently from their academic engagement.
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Cognitive engagement often uses strategies to encourage transformative learning, knowledge
development, collaboration, skills, and competencies (Bowden et al., 2021). With involvement
comes gains in cognitive skill and intellectual development (Huang & Chang, 2004). Often,
cognitive growth is associated with understanding intellectual tasks and the ability to
demonstrate critical thinking skills (Bowden et al., 2021). In many cases, peers were found to
heighten a student’s cognitive development through personal interaction and the sense of
belonging (Bollen & Hoyle, 1990; Foubert & Grainger, 2006).
Affective and Emotional Engagement
Affective and emotional engagement in extracurricular involvement take shape as
belonging (Zhoc et al., 2018), positive attitude (Bowden et al., 2021; Zhoc et al., 2018),
emotional response (Denovan & Macaskill, 2017; Zhoc et al., 2018), personal enjoyment and
interest (Kahu, 2013), and well-being (Denovan & Macaskill, 2017). Along with cognitive
engagement, Foubert and Grainger (2006) described the sense of belonging as one of the
strongest sources of affective development for students involved in clubs and organizations. The
affect a student achieves when engaged emotionally can drive “feelings of optimism, pride, joy,
and enthusiasm” (Bowden et al., 2021, p. 1212). These feelings lead to students’ sense of
belonging and retention within their organization or at their institution.
Social Engagement
With the interrelatedness of affective or emotional engagement and social engagement,
both components have a high degree of the sense of belonging. Research indicates that a sense of
belonging is often the reason students join campus organizations (Nolen et al., 2020). Zhoc et al.
(2018) described socially connected students as having a more positive outlook on both
academics and other school activities. Social interactions and connections are opportunities for
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students to learn about themselves and continually develop their beliefs and values (Bowden et
al., 2021; Martin & Dowson, 2009; Sriram et al., 2020). Students are able to create a sense of
community and a sense of self while being involved (Kampf & Teske, 2013). This sense of
community allows students to form a support network with those around them and feel integrated
into the social life of their institution (Gerdes & Mallinckrodt, 1994).
Additionally, Doerksen et al. (2014) found that positive social activities improve both
well-being and students’ perceived quality of life. Well-being includes the feelings of social
integration, respect, and acceptance (Cicognani et al., 2008). Another dimension of well-being
includes that of stress relief. Bergen-Cico and Viscomi (2012) reported that on-campus activities
that are purely social allow for students to take time away from their stress and decompress.
Types of Extracurricular Involvement
As evidenced by the above literature, participation is positively related to success in
college (Edwards, 1989). However, there are many types of activities students can participate in
throughout their college careers.
Active Extracurricular Involvement
Kulp et al. (2019) described active extracurricular involvement as a commitment to a
group that requires membership, such as organizations, clubs, and teams. Examples of these
organizations would be fraternity or sorority life organizations, student government, athletic
teams, cultural or political organizations, religious organizations, honor societies, or hobby-type
groups. All of these groups require some element of time commitment. Also, they may require an
application ensuring the student meets eligibility and a commitment to attend meetings or
regularly participate (Kulp et al., 2019). Elkins et al. (2011) wrote that “students who participate
in student government, co-curricular clubs and activities, and fraternities and sororities can gain
30
a greater understanding of the larger society” (p. 103) showcasing the importance of active
extracurricular involvement throughout college. For those students who participate in campus
recreational sports clubs, Elkins et al. (2011) found that factors of stress and loneliness were
lower than that of their counterparts who did not participate.
Passive Extracurricular Involvement
Kulp et al. (2019) also described passive extracurricular involvement in what we in
Student Affairs consider events and activities. These opportunities are often campus-sponsored
and require no dedication or membership for participation. These are often the social
engagements provided by various campus entities such as movie nights, speakers, dances,
concerts, comedians, or recreational activities. These opportunities are unstructured, allowing
students to come and go as they please, without commitment at that time or for a long-term
duration. Additionally, Bergen-Cico and Viscomi (2012) pointed out that passive extracurricular
involvement opportunities “provide an opportunity to learn about a wide array of subjects in a
relaxed environment, or in the case of purely social activities, an outlet in which to decompress
from the stress of higher education” (p. 332). During a university’s Welcome Week, these events
often introduce students to college life, ways to get involved, or showcase campus resources
(Kulp et al., 2019), creating a students’ sense of belonging on campus. A students’ sense of
belonging is one of the most significant effects of extracurricular involvement.
Effects of Extracurricular Involvement
Well-being, Mattering, and Social Support
The most vital link between the positive attributes of involvement is that of a students’
well-being. Involvement can affect psychological well-being in a students’ personal growth and
relationships with others (Chan, 2016; Doerksen et al., 2014; Farrell et al., 2018; Kilgo et al.,
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2016; Oosterhoff et al., 2017). Additionally, involvement can assist in the influence of students’
development and their in- and out-of-classroom learning (Astin, 1985; Dungy et al., 2004; Elkins
et al., 2011; Huang & Chang, 2004; Kilgo et al., 2016; Moore et al., 1998; Zhoc et al., 2018).
Cain (2013) suggested that “researchers have found that intense engagement in and commitment
to an activity is a proven route to happiness and well-being” (p. 259).
One aspect of a student’s psychological well-being is that of the theory of mattering.
Theorist Schlossberg (1989) wrote that “mattering refers to our belief, whether right or wrong,
that we matter to someone else” (para. 16). Mattering is thought to be an additional level to a
student’s social support, affecting their well-being (Flett et al., 2019; Rayle & Chung, 2007;
Tinto, 2012; Tovar, 2013). Mattering consists of two different categories, awareness and
relationship. Awareness mattering refers to the idea that a person, in this case, a college student,
exists (Elliott et al., 2004). Relationship mattering, the mattering more distinguishable to
students, is feeling important to others (Elliot et al., 2004). In addition to mattering, raising social
support, feelings of importance lead to higher self-esteem.
As students create their college identities, the feeling of mattering and the social support
of their peers is a large part of increasing retention, decreasing academic stress, and encouraging
them to become more integrated within their university (Rayle & Chung, 2007). Tinto (2012)
expressed that the groups or communities that universities provide their students are among the
most valuable student support resources and affect greater engagement in both curricular and
extracurricular involvement opportunities. Researchers have shown that when a student has even
one good friend, it is likely that they will be more engaged (Huebner & Mancini, 2003; Zhoc et
al., 2018). As many student organizations offer their members support and a sense of identity,
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these engagement opportunities can go a long way in assisting students with their sense of well-
being while in college.
Success and Persistence
Many studies have found that student persistence in college can be directly related to the
amount of student involvement on campus (Edwards, 1989; Guzman, 2019; Tinto, 2012; Toma,
2015; Tovar, 2013). One of the strongest influences of a college student’s time is their
interaction with their peers (Carruthers et al., 2010; Foubert & Grainger, 2006; Zhoc et al.,
2018). Persistence in college is at its height when combined with a student’s social interaction.
Poor social integration within a college setting contributes to a student transferring to another
institution or quitting college altogether (Astin 1999; Edwards, 1989; Tinto 1993). This
interaction is not limited to clubs and organization involvement but also involvement in
employment, athletics, residence life, and academic participation. Part-time work on-campus has
also been shown to be a significant factor in positive growth for students during their college
careers (Terenzini et al., 1996; Mayhew et al., 2016).
There is, however, a disconnect in positive growth in terms of involvement for students
who are part-time or commuters (Guzman, 2019; Jacoby, 2015; Tinto, 1988; Webber et al.,
2013). These students have different wants and needs than traditional, full-time, on-campus
students. Part-time and commuter students may not participate due to outside obligations such as
transportation, jobs, and familial needs. Other obligations severely limit part-time and commuter
students’ time to be involved on their campus (Darst, 1998). Their lack of involvement creates a
disconnect between those students and creates a sense of belonging on their campus. For these
reasons, campuses need to provide a wide array of opportunities for all types of students to get
involved.
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Skills and Abilities
The skills that students build during their time in extracurricular involvement are
numerous. Many of the most widely researched effects of participation in a student’s higher
educational journey are leadership, interpersonal skills, and abilities gained.
Participation and involvement have enabled students to learn a wide variety of leadership
skills from their time in student organizations (Tieu et al., 2010). Smith and Chenowith (2015)
found that students self-reported gaining leadership skills such as: chairing meetings, writing
reports, budgeting, networking, planning events, assessing, recruiting, fundraising, and
interviewing. Additionally, participating in student organizations assist in teaching skills such as
professional presentations (Carruthers et al., 2010); reflective thinking and learning (Millican &
Bourner, 2011); problem-solving, critical thinking, and analytical skills (Chan, 2016; Munadi et
al., 2021; Whitt et al., 1999); general and specific job-related skills (Holzweiss et al., 2007);
teamwork skills (Millican & Bourner, 2011; Munadi et al., 2021); and time management
(Munadi et al., 2021). Conflict resolution skills are also often associated with students who
participate in student organizations (Carruthers et al., 2010; Smith & Chenoweth, 2015). Several
researchers associated the ability to accept and understand constructive criticism and feedback
with students who participated in campus groups (Carruthers et al., 2010; Munadi et al., 2021).
Students who participate in both active and passive extracurricular offerings have been
shown to gain skills in interpersonal development (Huang & Chang, 2004; Millican & Bourner,
2011; Rubin et al., 2002; Whitt et al., 1999). Confidence, awareness, efficacy, knowledge, and
understanding of oneself are often associated in research with student participation (Foreman &
Retallick, 2013; Huang & Chang, 2004; Millican & Bourner, 2011; Munadi et al., 2021; Tieu et
al., 2010; Whitt et al., 1999; Zhoc et al., 2018). Students, additionally, learn effective forms of
34
communication through their student organization participation (Holzweiss et al., 2007; Huang
& Chang, 2004; Millican & Bourner, 2011; Smith & Chenoweth, 2015).
Developing, establishing, and clarifying one’s purpose has also been reported as one of
the effects of extracurricular involvement (Foreman & Retallick, 2013). Often, throughout
participation, students learn to set goals (Mahoney et al., 2003; Smith & Chenoweth, 2015);
career and lifestyle planning (Foreman & Retallick, 2013); political orientation and social
activism (Whitt et al., 1999); and service to others (Holzweiss et al., 2007). These skills often
occur through student organizations such as honor societies, religious groups, political student
groups, and service-learning opportunities on campus.
Many of the effects of involvement and engagement in student organizations and passive
extracurricular opportunities, such as speakers and cultural events, have positively affected
students. Students often learn more about those around them in cultural contexts such as
awareness of the world (Millican & Bourner, 2011); participation in cultures different than their
own (Foreman & Retallick, 2013); appreciation of diversity, cultural and social differences; and
humanitarianism engagement and understanding (Whitt et al., 1999).
Current Extracurricular Activity Literature
The literature surrounding extracurricular participation has been quite popular in recent
years. As students continue to get involved on their campuses, more and more people want to
learn what they can about engagement’s effects, student persistence, and the promise of
academic achievement.
Much of the recent literature surrounding extracurricular opportunities have included
studies on well-being and a sense of students’ feelings of belonging (Ahn & Davis, 2020; De
Sisto et al., 2021; Winstone et al., 2020; Wittrup & Hurd, 2021; Zhoc et al., 2018). While each of
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these studies discussed students’ feelings of social support on their campus, none of them
touched on whether participants were introverts. Some recent literature discussed extraversion,
such as Kulp et al. (2019), who researched grade point averages and persistence and retention in
extraverts.
Student success in terms of extracurricular activity has recently been researched;
however, it has been related to academic outcomes (King et al., 2021; Pollard, 2021). While
academic outcomes are essential extracurricular research, this dissertation centers around the
personal outcomes that someone achieves during their engagement. Chen and Chan (2020) and
Munadi et al. (2021) discussed moral reasoning and skill development, respectively, but did not
broach the subject of introversion and student engagement participation.
Temperament and Personality
Psychologists believe temperament and personality are different (Cain, 2013). Together,
however, these different aspects create all of the dimensions of one’s personality type.
Temperament is believed to be something people are genetically born with (Cain, 2013;
Granneman, 2017; Rothbart et al., 2000). Rothbart et al. (2000) reported that temperament
“influences and is influenced by the experience of each individual” (p. 122). It assists a person in
organizing their approach to the world (Granneman, 2017). Bridges and Schendan (2019)
identified temperament as processes relating to both reactivity and regulation, which included
arousal and attention orientation. Rothbart et al. (2000) believed that “understanding
temperament is central to understanding personality” (p. 122). It is from where personality
develops and emerges (Rothbart, 2007).
Personality is often shaped by circumstances (Granneman, 2017), experiences (Cain,
2013; Granneman, 2017), and cultural influence (Cain, 2013). It is a “set of personal
36
characteristics that determine an individual’s perception and reaction to the situation” (Ariani,
2015, p. 180). Personality includes a variety of behaviors that are attributed to how a person
thinks, feels, and acts (Ariani, 2015; Bridges & Schendan, 2019; Burtăverde & Mihăilă, 2011;
Forsman et al., 2012).
Along with temperament, it is believed that “knowing our own personalities, attitudes,
and feelings is an important aspect of mental health and social adjustment” (Farah & Atoum,
2002, p. 149). Personality theorists have created models to discern the elements essential to
personality (Lucas & Diener, 2001). It is believed that by understanding commonalities of
personality traits, theorists could learn more about an individual’s personality through the use of
personality type inventories and questionnaires (Lucas & Diener, 2001).
Personality Type
Carl Jung Typology
Jung (1921/1976), one of the most well-known theorists to discuss introversion and
extraversion, saw differences in each person’s psychology. Jung (1921/1976) described the two
personality differences as extraversion being an “outward movement of interest towards the
object and in the other a movement of interest away from the object to the subject and his own
psychological processes” (para. 4) as introversion. Jung used the term mechanisms to describe
introversion and extraversion. While everyone can utilize both mechanisms, one will be
predominant over the other, determining what he called type (Jung, 1921/1976). He defined
psychological type as a “habitual attitude in which one mechanism predominates permanently,
although the other can never be completely suppressed since it is an integral part of the psychic
economy” (Jung, 1921/1976, para. 6). Jung cited that the mechanisms of introversion and
37
extraversion were character traits; therefore, people could switch their introversion or
extraversion on or off when needed.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Isabel Briggs Myers and Katharine Briggs created the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in
1962 to make Carl Jung’s Theory of Psychological Development accessible to people for use in
their lives and careers (Briggs Myers et al., 1998; Center for Applications of Psychological Type,
n.d; The Myers & Briggs Foundation, n.d.). The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator consists of 16
types, each made up of four preferences. These preferences refer to what a person likes over
other choices. While these may not be what people are expected to want or do, the Myers-Briggs
Type Indicator (The Myers & Briggs Foundation, n.d.) helps people understand their
preferences, style of communication, and how their preferences affect themselves and those
around them. The types are determined based on a person’s responses to common questions.
Preferences occur on a continuum of the types: Extraversion or Introversion, Sensing or
Intuition, Thinking or Feeling, and Judging or Perceiving. These options lay on opposite ends of
a spectrum. A preference is determined for each person who takes the Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator. As these are a person’s preferences, it does not define their capability of using the
other functions (Rogers, 2003). People can have traits opposite their determined type, which is
especially true with introversion and extraversion. While all people can be both introverted and
extraverted, those preferences cannot coexist simultaneously but may alternate based on the
person’s needs (Edwards, 1989).
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Defining Characteristics and Factors of Extraversion and Introversion
Stimuli and Energy
One of the most often cited differences between extraverts and introverts is their response
to physical, social, and emotional stimuli (Fishman et al., 2011; Lucas & Diener, 2001; Meira et
al., 2015). Stimuli, or arousal as often referred to when discussing extraversion and introversion,
is relied upon by both temperaments (Trofimova & Robbins, 2016). Researchers believe that
introverts have more reactivity in the cortical pathways in their brains (Derryberry & Rothbart,
1988). With their heightened cortical reactivity, introverts may experience their stimulation peak
at lower levels than extraverts, causing them to seek less or different types of stimulation
(Derryberry & Rothbart, 1988).
Researchers have found that lower amounts of stimuli may be unpleasant for extraverts,
and higher amounts of stimuli may be unpleasant for introverts (O’Connor et al., 2016).
Extraverts “are energized by the external world- by activities, people, places and things” (Laney,
2002, p. 20). According to Laney (2002), extraverts enjoy being where the action is and
participating in it. Without these things, they are understimulated (Laney, 2002). On the opposite
side, introverts “are energized by the internal world- by ideas, impressions, and emotions”
(Laney, 2002, p. 21). For this reason, that introverts may tend to regulate the over-stimulation
they come in contact with to conserve their energy (Laney, 2002).
This energy is one of the highlighting factors between extraversion and introversion. If a
person’s energy lies on a continuum, introversion is at one end, and extraversion is opposite
(Laney, 2002). Laney (2002) wrote that “people on the more introverted end of the continuum
focus inward to gain energy. People on the more extraverted end of the continuum focus outward
to gain energy” (p. 7).
39
Extraverts give and receive energy from socializing with others in group settings (Cullen-
Lester et al., 2016). When energized by this type of social interaction, extraverts continue to seek
out similar interactions to keep up the energy momentum (Cullen-Lester et al., 2016). Introverts
draw their energy from their inner life, thoughts, ideas, and concepts (Farrell, 2017; Rogers,
2003; Wood, 2014). However, the concentration of energy is not solely how it is focused but also
how it is recharged or regained. For introverts, that recharging can often only occur with a
balance of alone or quiet time (Bessette, 2014; Laney, 2002). Laney (2002) described extraverts
as similar to solar panels, needing “to be out and about to refuel” (p. 20).
While both extraverts and introverts may enjoy personal interaction, the frequency for
introverts may be less than that of extraverts (Liu & Csikszentmihalyi, 2020; Tuovinen et al.,
2020). Instead, introverts may find themselves doing solitary activities on a more frequent basis
(Liu & Csikszentmihalyi, 2020).
Sociability
Cain (2013) wrote that extraverts may be more sociable because their brains can handle
the stimuli of others. Extraverts are considered dominant, charismatic, outgoing persons with
numerous acquaintances who may enjoy talking things through before thinking about them
(Edwards, 1989; Rogers, 2003; The Myers & Briggs Foundation, n.d.). Extraverts often seek
exciting atmospheres and people, avoiding boredom (Aron & Aron, 1997). They may be
considered more talkative and are often more likely to seek social interaction and social
situations, forming more relationships with others (Feiler & Kleinbaum, 2015). Due to their
sociability, extraverts may be more likely to be found in the middle of teams in a school or
workplace setting (Cullen-Lester et al., 2016).
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With the overabundance of stimuli for introverts with people and places, the social
preference of introverts often includes small-scale gatherings, with close friends and colleagues,
for a shorter duration (Cain, 2013; Toma, 2015). Many introverts do not dislike socialization, but
instead, they are social in different ways than extraverts (Bessette, 2014; Cain, 2013;
Granneman, 2018). Introverts also tend to have excellent social skills with those closest to them
or with whom they share common interests (Condon & Ruth-Sahd, 2013; Laney, 2002). Their
social skills allow them to create deep connections (Bessette, 2014; Toma, 2015). Due to their
closer relationships with others, introverts may create a high level of empathy with others (Hills
& Argyle, 2001). They may also prefer lower-key environments most of the time, which may
lower an introvert’s amount of stimulation. However, the noise itself may or may not be the
defining factor. For example, there is no expectation to talk to someone next to you at a concert,
whether you know them or not (Toma, 2015). This setting may be calming to introverts if their
stimulation limit is not noise but is the expectation to carry on a conversation.
It is important to note that shyness is distinct from both introversion and extraversion
(Afshan et al., 2015). Shyness stems from discomfort in social situations or a fear of the
disapproval of others (Afshan et al., 2015; Cain 2013). Barry et al. (2013) described those who
disliked social interaction due to fear and anxiety as shy, whereas those who withdrew from
social situations without anxiety or fear as those with low sociability. Those who fear social
situations may also feel physical ailments, such as anxious breathing, blushing cheeks, or
shaking hands (Granneman, 2017).
Additionally, solitude is different from either introversion or extraversion. This
preference is objective, with someone focusing on their inner, private world (Edwards, 1989).
Solitude, however, does not suggest that people dislike being in social situations or are unwilling
41
to engage in social interaction. Solitude may be the only way for some to recharge their energy
or minimize the distraction caused by the stimulus of others. It also may allow people to spend
more time reflecting, allowing introverts to focus on their thoughts rather than on the stimuli
around them (Burger, 1995; Granneman, 2017). Feist (1998) discussed creativity, and often for
those who enjoy creative pursuits, solitude is required. While social activities may generate ideas
for creativity, such as a book, music, or a work of art, Feist (1998) wrote that “one cannot write a
novel, compose a symphony, or paint a painting when socializing” (p. 300). This may lead to
both introverts and extraverts choosing solitude when the situation requires it.
In their engagement preferences, extraverts may tend to seek involvement opportunities
that heighten their social interaction and stimulation, whereas introverts can feel overwhelmed
by involvement (Winstone et al., 2020). Researchers believe that because of the amount of social
activity, there is a correlation between extraversion and greater engagement within a campus
community (Winstone et al., 2020).
Harris et al. (2017) found that extraverts might be more likely to become engaged on
their campus due to their motivation to be more active, sociable, and outgoing. As extraverts
enjoy social situations, they tend to place themselves where there are a lot of people and
activities where they can engage with others (Harris et al., 2017). As people who have more
extensive social networks, extraverts are believed to be more popular and more satisfied with
their friendship groups (Harris et al., 2017). Researchers have shown that people may choose
others with similar extraversion and introversion levels as their friends (Feiler & Kleinbaum,
2015; Nelson & Thorne, 2012). Additionally, it is suggested that friendships and social
experiences can affect well-being. As extraverts are prone to more social activities, they may be
42
viewed as happier than their introverted counterparts (Costa & McCrae, 1980; Harris et al., 2017;
Hills & Argyle, 2001).
However, it has been found that introverts are as happy as extraverts and spend as much
time with others as extraverts (Fleeson et al., 2002). Introverts may join groups or organizations
on their own terms. They often look carefully at the options of activities, choose sparingly, and
then participate as their preference allows, often only for short periods (Cain, 2013). Introverts
may choose leisure activities that are more solitary or small group focused (Hills & Argyle,
2001). Introverts may not seek out opportunities that include high levels of experiential
involvement (Toma, 2015). In these scenarios, introverts may prefer student organizations where
they can choose an informal group role. They may also choose to participate in passive
extracurricular involvement, where their membership is not required, and they can come and go
at events as they please on their timeframe.
Introverts enjoy friendships built on deep and meaningful conversations, often making
life-long friendships (Toma, 2015). These connections are often built slowly with each deep
conversation. They may also be more likely to open up to their friends, compared to extraverts.
Introverts find making online friends exciting, as they believe they can be themselves (Cain,
2013) from the privacy of their home, exploring interests, and using their preferred
communication mode of writing (Granneman, 2018). However, introverts are often comfortable
being alone without the feeling of loneliness.
Positive Characteristics and Factors
The positive characteristics and factors surrounding extraversion are vast. Researchers
have found extraverts to be sociable (Feiler & Kleinbaum, 2015; Harris et al., 2017; Liu &
Csikszentmihalyi, 2020; Saklofske et al., 2012), outgoing (Cullen-Lester et al., 2016; Feiler &
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Kleinbaum, 2015; Harris et al., 2017; Rogers, 2003), assertive (Feiler & Kleinbaum, 2015; Grant
et al., 2011; Liu & Csikszentmihalyi, 2020; Reichard et al., 2011), talkative (Grant et al., 2011;
Reichard et al., 2011), active (Liu & Csikszentmihalyi, 2020; Saklofske et al., 2012), energetic
(Reichard et al., 2011), and friendly (Rogers, 2003). It is believed that extraverts are more often
seen as socially attractive and effective communicators due to their communication style (Opt &
Loffredo, 2003).
Cain (2013) found that students who are extraverts received better grades in elementary
school, as they tackle their assignments quickly and are comfortable multi-tasking and taking
risks within their homework or tests. Eysenck (1981) wrote that this performance in elementary
school children often goes until age 13 or 14. As group learning has become more popular, “our
classroom desks are increasingly arranged in pods to foster group learning” (Cain, 2013, p. 6).
Additionally, to the classroom experience of extraverts, leadership is also highly associated with
extraverts and extraverted qualities (Grant et al., 2011; Reichard et al., 2011; Rogers, 2003).
Introverts also possess a wide variety of positive characteristics and factors. An
introvert’s skills in listening and processing lend themselves to be able to analyze and reflect on
situations thoroughly and find a proper solution (Farrell, 2017; Rogers, 2003). Their slower
reaction than their extraverted counterparts is often due to their attentive listening skills and their
thoughtful approach to their responses (Bessette, 2014). Introverts often have excellent written
and verbal communication skills due to processing large amounts of information.
Introverts do well with independence and autonomy in both school and workplace
settings (Rogers, 2003). Their persistence and discipline in their goals make them extremely
valuable on personal and group projects (Cain, 2013). Studies find that many of the traits that
leaders need are those that introverts possess (Agarwal, 2018; Cain, 2013). Listening to all who
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may report to them, either in group work or in the workplace, introverts implement the
suggestions of those around them, helping to motivate others (Cain, 2013; Spark et al., 2018).
Introverts often craft detailed and thoughtful responses. These traits can help introverts excel at
decision-making (Farrell, 2017).
Introverts’ ease in being alone also assists in performing well academically. Their interest
in concepts and ideas helps them learn one-on-one rather than in group-type settings (Edwards,
1989), which may lead them to stray away from study sessions with their peers (Toma, 2015).
Cain (2013) found that “introverts outperform extraverts in high school and college” (p. 167).
Eysenck (1981) wrote that introverts learn better in traditional, structured classrooms. However,
with the advent of online learning, research indicates that online classrooms may be effective in
introvert participation (Carnevale, 2003). Harrington and Loffredo (2010) discovered that a
significant number of introverted participants preferred online classes compared to extraverted
participants, who preferred in-person classes.
Negative Characteristics and Factors
While the exact population breakdown of temperament traits is unknown, studies report
that there is often a 3 to 1 ratio of extraverts to introverts (Briggs Myers & Myers, 1992; Rogers,
2003, Wood, 2014). While both temperaments have positive characteristics, they both also
portray negative characteristics.
Cain (2013) wrote that extraverts tend to think less and act faster, which can cause them
to make rash decisions and say things to others they may not mean to say. With their prevalence
for sociability and talkativeness, extraverts may also be seen as overly assertive or dominant
(Cullen-Lester et al., 2016). On teams, or in classrooms, they may overpower discussions, and
give the perception that they are unwilling to listen to others (Cullen-Lester et al., 2016). Due to
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their gregariousness, they may often be thought to be “‘shouting the loudest’” (Cullen-Lester et
al., 2016, p. 1015). Also, with their sociable style, extraverts can be thought to be attention-
seeking or prefer being the center of attention (Grant et al., 2011). Extraverts may gain influence
and leadership positions within teams or organizations, due to their dominance. Anderson and
Kilduff (2009) wrote that people with more dominant personalities “achieve influence because
they tend to appear competent to others, even when they actually lack competence” (p. 491).
Because of this dominance, leadership has been highly associated with extraversion (Grant et al.,
2011; Reichard et al., 2011; Rogers, 2003; Spark et al., 2018).
Introversion also comes with surmised negative characteristics and factors. Introverts
may be perceived as weird or weak (Bessette, 2014), undesirable (Rogers, 2003), shy (Agarwal,
2018; Bessette, 2014; Farrell, 2017; Liu & Csikszentmihalyi, 2020; Reichard et al., 2011), rude
or aloof or anti-social (Bessette, 2014; Granneman, 2017), withdrawn (Granneman, 2017; Hills
& Argyle, 2001; Laney, 2002; Mccaulley, 1990; Rogers, 2003), depressed (Granneman, 2017),
and isolated (Hills & Argyle, 2001; Rogers, 2003); because of this, they are also misperceived as
unwilling to participate (Marfo, 2017). In not seeing leaders with similar temperament traits in
leadership roles, introverts often do not view themselves as being or becoming leaders (Rogers,
2003).
Research has shown that imposter syndrome, or imposter feelings, may also be related to
the introvert psychological type (Crouch et al., 1991; Langford & Clance, 1993). Langford and
Clance (1993) indicated that introverts may feel they need to keep themselves hidden from the
world, creating a separation to their outward representation. They indicated that pressure to live
up to societal standards might create feelings of incompetence, unworthiness, and the feeling of
being exposed (Langford & Clance, 1993). While both introverts and extraverts may experience
46
imposter feelings, this phenomenon may impact introverts more so than extraverts (Crouch et al.,
1991; Langford & Clance, 1993).
Current Introversion Literature
If a person walked into a bookstore, they would find a section dedicated to self-
improvement or personal growth (Bergsma, 2008; Wilson & Cash, 2000). According to McLean
(2013), thousands of self-help books have been written, and millions of people choose to read
this book genre. “Individuals who enjoy reading and feel competent at it are…more interested in
reading self-help books” (Wilson & Cash, 2000, p. 125). Additionally, Wilson and Cash (2000)
found that college students who related the readings to their own thoughts, feelings, emotions,
and behaviors enjoyed self-help books. Books labeled self-help center around two distinct
categories, personal growth and “Who Am I?” (Bergsma, 2008, p. 344). Personal growth frames
knowledge more practically, discussing self-improvement, while Who Am I? discusses insight
and self-understanding (Bergsma, 2008).
This book genre may appeal more to introverts due to our culture’s prevalent population
of extraversion. Introverts may read more self-improvement books because they are interested in
understanding more about themselves or their relationships (McLean, 2013). Additionally, “self-
help books may appeal to persons with skills and interests in the self-regulation of their emotions
and behaviors” (Wilson & Cash, 2000, p. 125).
Current bestselling books surrounding introversion at home, in the workplace, and in
relationships are abundant (Scott, 2016). Popular blogs about introversion, similar to Jenn
Granneman’s Introvert, Dear (https://introvertdear.com/), are abundant among personal-growth
sites. This particular author is also active on both Facebook
(https://www.facebook.com/introvertdearblog) and Instagram
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(https://www.instagram.com/introvertdear/). These online knowledge communities are perfectly
geared towards introverts, as they often prefer asynchronous communication and information
(Bessette, 2014). Additionally, Cain (2013), Granneman (2018), and Smith et al. (2021) all
discuss the prevalence of introvert’s activity online, indicating that they enjoy internet
socialization and smaller, more intimate niche knowledge groups.
Recent educational research surrounding introversion focuses on the use of social media.
Smith et al. (2021) discussed that “social networking sites such as Instagram or Snapchat provide
support through various indirect and direct messaging options which presumably create a
friendlier and less risky environment for interactions to occur” (p. 19). Additionally,
Panagiotidou (2020) stated that social media is shown to be a communication tool that may be
more applicable to those who have undeveloped in-person social skills.
Chapter Summary
The preceding literature review included identity, involvement, and student retention
theories. As the authors suggest, these themes are integral for all students, no matter their
temperament or personality type. A comparison of the defining characteristics and positive and
negative factors of both extraversion and introversion was introduced, in addition to information
on current literature surrounding introversion. For those who identify as introverts, higher
education can be a place where they can learn to be themselves, grow, and thrive as students and
in their social spheres. As described in the literature, introverts have much to offer colleges and
universities both as students and as involved community members. The following research can
offer more information on the integration of introverts into a university’s extracurricular
opportunities.
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Chapter 3. Research Method
Introduction
experiences of college students who were involved in extracurricular activities during their
undergraduate experience who also identify as introverts. This phenomenological study was
designed to understand the experiences of how and why introverted students become involved
within their respective college campuses. This understanding of introversion and extracurricular
involvement may inform further practices by student affairs professionals regarding the
involvement and retention of self-identified introverts.
Research Questions
The central question guiding this study was: What are the needs of introverts in their
extracurricular, undergraduate experiences? The following additional questions guided this study
to address the how and why introverts chose to get involved in college, as well as their
experiences of being an introvert throughout their extracurricular journey.
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Reflexivity and Researcher Perspective Statement
In qualitative research, reflexivity is a researcher’s perpetual internal dialogue, self-
evaluation, and recognition and acknowledgment that their position on the topic studied may
affect the research process and outcomes found (Berger, 2015). Using reflection, both integrity
and trustworthiness are integrated into their research (Finlay, 2002). The following serves as my
statement regarding my position and reflections.
I reflected on what I had learned and heard throughout my interviews. Phenomenology
focuses on common experiences shared by those interviewed (Creswell, 2007). Due to this,
reflection was vital to distinguish the themes identified by the participants, especially to be able
to distinguish them from that of my own experiences. As a Midwestern, middle-class, white
female, I acknowledge that my personal positions have the potential to influence my research.
I am also an introvert. As such, my perspective is as one who was highly engaged in high
school and throughout my college years. Additionally, as a higher education professional with
more than 20 years of experience in various realms of student affairs, I believe in the importance
of extracurricular involvement in shaping college students as they go through their years at a
higher education institution. As a student affairs professional, I know the challenges of creating
and maintaining a wide variety of student engagement opportunities. Having worked at several
universities in various divisions, I have first-hand knowledge of the creation, implementation,
and results of a vast number of both small-and-large programs, events, and both passive and
active involvement opportunities.
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Qualitative Research Design
For this study, I chose a qualitative, phenomenological research method. As
phenomenology is the study of lived experiences (Adams & van Manen, 2008), this method was
used to help explore the meanings that introverted students had regarding their time in
undergraduate extracurricular involvement opportunities.
Due to the holistic nature of qualitative research, most of the topics discussed were semi-
structured in nature to leave ample space for the participants to share their thoughts and
perceptions on each subject. During the initial interview, follow-up and clarifying questions were
asked, and several subsequent email follow-ups with participants expanded upon initial topics.
A qualitative research method fits the lived experiences of introverts well in that it uses
frameworks that are centered by the participants of the study (Creswell, 2003). The researcher
builds a relationship with the participants, seeking a rapport with those interviewed. Pezalla et al.
(2012) described the researcher as an additional instrument in the study because they become
active in the research process. Additionally, as an instrument, the researcher also creates a
conversation space comforting to the participants (Pezella et al., 2012). Using the researcher as
an instrument can also encourage quality and depth from the data formed from the interviews
(Xu & Storr, 2015). As qualitative research is continually evolving, the questions asked during
an interview may evolve with it. Creswell (2003) noted that “research questions may change and
be refined as the inquirer learns what to ask and to whom it should be asked” (pg. 181). This
leaves the possibility for open-ended discussions to forge new directions of questions as the
interviews continue.
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Phenomenology
Creswell (2003) identified phenomenological research as “the ‘essence’ of human
experiences” (p. 15), using a small number of subjects to make meaning and develop patterns
regarding the subject (Creswell, 2003). It is a collection of the experiences from the participants
who have a commonality in the phenomenon being researched (Creswell, 2007; Creswell et al.,
2007). This type of qualitative design is often chosen due to the interest in the subject and its
experiences by those who have lived it (Englander, 2012). This is the precise reason
phenomenology was chosen for this dissertation. Phenomenology is a proven design to research
the lived experiences during passive and active extracurricular involvement opportunities of
those who identify as introverts.
In phenomenology, a participant’s perception is not doubted, as it is considered a primary
source of knowledge (Moustakas, 1994). Due to phenomenology being the lived experiences of
each individual, this type of study is self-reflective for both the participants and the researcher
(Adams & van Manen, 2008). A researcher spends “extensive and prolonged engagement”
(Creswell, 2003, p. 15) with a small number of participants. Then, the researcher combines each
similar experience to create a “universal essence” (Creswell, 2007, p. 58) of those experiences.
The essence of each type of experience is clustered by significant statements in order to write
descriptions of the participants’ experiences (Creswell, 2007).
With introvert’s individual differences and experiences being vast, phenomenology is
essential in understanding what they felt while in their extracurricular involvement. There is no
singular answer as to how introverts may have perceived their experience, leaving personal
interviews as the best way for us to learn more about their thoughts and perceptions.
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Additionally, as an introvert, I was able to act as both an instrument and a researcher. Creswell
(2007) wrote:
How we write reflects our own interpretation based on cultural, social, gender, class, and
personal politics we bring to research. All writing is ‘positioned’ within a stance. All
researchers shape the writings that emerge, and qualitative researchers need to accept this
interpretation and be open about it in their writings. (p. 179)
As a researcher, this reflection may be able to assist in helping future generations of student
affairs practitioners develop a deeper understanding of introverts throughout their involvement
and inform policies and practices (Creswell, 2007).
Participant Selection
In qualitative research, purposeful sampling is often used, meaning “that the inquirer
selects individuals… for study because they can purposefully inform an understanding of the
research problem and central phenomenon in the study” (Creswell, 2007, p. 125). As all
participants must have some experience with being an introvert while participating in
extracurricular opportunities at the university level, criterion sampling was used. This ensured
that all cases met the criterion, including participation in at least two or more extracurricular
opportunities while an undergraduate student self-identifying as an introvert. Criterion sampling
was conducted using snowball sampling. This sample for this study was established by using
colleagues in higher education who knew involved students who identified as introverts.
Colleagues were asked to send the call for participants to anyone they knew who might have
been interested in this study. Participants interested in learning more contacted me with any
questions before they were given the informed consent letter outlining the research. Zoom video
conferences were scheduled after the participants agreed to an interview.
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Participants were also asked to take a free, online personality questionnaire from IDRlabs
(Personality Type Test, n.d.). IDRlabs’ test is similar to that of the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator
and the Jung Type Indicator (Personality Type Test, n.d.). According to their website, it has been
tested in several countries (Personality Type Test, n.d.). They have conducted statistical analyses
of their test to assure both accuracy and validity (Personality Type Test, n.d.). The test was
created by researchers who work with both personality and typology testing (Personality Type
Test, n.d.). After taking the test, each participant shared their results with me before our
interview.
Additionally, all participants were given a copy of the interview protocol prior to the
interview. The interview protocol was designed to encapsulate each participants thoughts and
perceptions on their joining involvement experiences, opportunities they received from that
involvement, skills and abilities formed, and personal preferences for involvement.
Data Collection
Data were collected through semi-structured open-ended questions. I recorded the
interviews with the permission of the participants using Zoom in an informal and interactive
dialogue. Recording each interview was beneficial for my repeated viewing and interpretation.
Additionally, video conferencing software had the capability of voice-to-text transcription.
Voice-to-text transcription allowed me to listen to what the participant said and read their
response as well.
Data Analysis
Using the recordings and the transcripts, I analyzed data and any notes taken during the
interviews. Before coding I read and reread each interview to clarify their thoughts and
perceptions. I took analytical memos during my reading of each interview. Analytical memos
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can be used similarly to that of a researcher journal (Saldaña, 2021). As outlined by Saldaña
(2021), I wrote analytical memos as to what was in my mind while reading the transcripts and
later determined where it fit into the emerging themes and patterns. From the analysis, I used my
memos and the participants’ significant statements to develop meaningful clusters into themes
from the interview responses as patterns emerged (Creswell, 2007). I wrote descriptions based on
the participants’ experiences, using these patterns and themes.
Each line of the transcription was coded manually with several stages of coding to
identify themes, synthesize connections between themes, and relate them back to introversion
and extracurricular involvement.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
Naturalistic inquiry, the type of research under which phenomenology and many other
qualitative methods fall, differs from quantitative inquiry in that it uses credibility,
transferability, dependability, and confirmability instead of internal validity, external validity,
reliability, and objectivity, respectively (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Due to the differences between
qualitative and quantitative methods, trustworthiness needs to be addressed. Lincoln and Guba
(1985) developed four questions on how to discern trustworthiness: how can one establish ‘truth’
of the findings; how can one determine applicability; how can one determine consistency; and
how can one ensure the findings are free from bias?
The first way is to establish credibility. To establish credibility, a researcher needs “to
carry out the inquiry in such a way that the probability of findings will be found to be credible”
(Lincoln & Guba, 1985, p. 296) and “to demonstrate the credibility of the findings by having
them approved by the constructors” (Lincoln & Guba, 1985, p. 296). Having findings approved
by the constructors, or study members, is also known as member-checks. Many researchers use
55
member-checks as one of the main ways they ensure what was said was what the participant
intended (Creswell, 2003; Lincoln & Guba, 1985).
Member-checks are also used often by researchers to conduct triangulation. Shenton
(2004) described triangulation as “the use of different methods, especially observation, focus
groups and individual interviews” (p. 65). Four different types of triangulation can assist in
securing credibility and trustworthiness. Patton (2002) laid out the following types: methods
triangulation, triangulation of sources, analyst triangulation, and theory/perspective triangulation.
Also, Patton (2002) pointed out that using one or more types of triangulation adds credibility to
the findings and reduces any skepticism that may arise with single method studies.
In addition to triangulation, thick, rich description is vital to ensuring the trustworthiness
and credibility of qualitative inquiry. Patton (2002) wrote that “description forms the bedrock of
all qualitative reporting” (p. 438). Creswell (2003) reported that this could lead to findings
creating a shared experience for both readers and participants. It can also create an understanding
of the shared culture (Darwin Holmes, 2020).
Another way to establish credibility is the use of bracketing. Bracketing is a continual
process that assists in a researcher understanding their own stream of consciousness, emotions,
and experiences (Tufford & Newman, 2012). Ahern (1999) created a list of tips for reflexive
bracketing, where she indicated that it was not possible for qualitative researchers to be
completely objective, as it is not in human nature. Instead, Ahern (1999) created a list of how to
reflexively bracket a researcher’s experience to ensure validity. Many of the tips discussed by
Ahern (1999) are similar to that of keeping a reflexive journal or memoing.
Birks et al. (2008) described memo as an acronym that stands for “mapping research
activities; extracting meaning from the data; maintaining momentum; and opening
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communication” (p. 70). Memos can take shape as theoretical notes regarding the research
process, notes surrounding methodology, and comments about what a researcher has observed
(Tufford & Newman, 2012). In these memos, researchers can explore the data and find its
meaning (Birks et al., 2008). Memos may also play a role in the sequence in which decisions are
made in a researcher’s process (Birks et al., 2008).
Bracketing, memoing, and keeping a reflexive journal all assist a researcher in identifying
their personal preconceptions and assumptions, what the research means to them, and what
conflicts may arise in the research (Tufford & Newman, 2012). Through memoing, a researcher
may also learn what values they hold throughout their process (Tufford & Newman, 2012).
To ensure the trustworthiness of this research study, I conducted member checks, asking
each participant to verify their transcript for accuracy or to add any additional information that
they may have overlooked in our discussion. Additionally, I jotted short memos regarding the
interviews, so that I had common themes or ideas to refer to when I began the analysis of data.
As the data included the lived experiences of the introverts involved, I kept their quotes intact to
ensure that thick, rich descriptions were available in the coding process and the use of analysis
for the subsequent chapter.
Chapter Summary
Chapter 3 reintroduced the research questions. Also discussed was my statement as the
researcher and the role of reflexivity in my data. This chapter outlined the research design and
methods used for surveying, sampling, and interviewing the participants. It also included the
coding measures used to find patterns and themes among the statements from those who were
interviewed. Lastly, I addressed credibility and trustworthiness in qualitative research. The
57
following chapter will discuss the interviews, including the description of the participants, all
responses to the questions, and the themes gathered from their statements.
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Chapter 4. Analysis of Data
experiences of college students who were involved in extracurricular activities and who identify
as introverts. The population I interviewed consisted of college students involved in two or more
extracurricular activities or experiences during their undergraduate studies and who self-
identified as introverts. The study participants were former undergraduates from public, four-
year institutions.
Introduction
Using semi-structured interviews, I sought the lived experiences of introverts who were
involved in extracurricular opportunities during their undergraduate experience. I gathered their
impressions regarding their involvement opportunities, the opportunities they were given
throughout their experiences, the skills and abilities they formed while involved, their friendships
made through involvement, and their thoughts surrounding introversion.
The following research questions guided this study.
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All participants were identified based on purposive and snowball criterion sampling. The
participants volunteered to be interviewed, agreeing to share their thoughts and perceptions
regarding introversion and involvement. Each interview was recorded via Zoom, and a transcript
was taken from the software’s recording. I reviewed the transcripts for voice-to-text accuracy.
The transcripts were then emailed to the participants, as member checks, requesting their review.
All participants agreed to the accuracy of their transcript, and several participants added
additional thoughts and details. Transcripts were read multiple times prior to theming and coding
for accuracy. Analytical memoing was used during initial reading processes to create a reflection
regarding emerging patterns, categories, themes, and concepts (Saldaña, 2021). Using member
checks and analytical memoing, recurring themes and categories emerged from the participants,
creating triangulation.
Confidentiality was insured through the use of a participant key. Each person interviewed
was given a participant number in the order in which they were interviewed. Their current or
former job titles, locations, and institutions were not used within these findings. All identifying
factors have been generalized for their confidentiality.
Participant Profiles
Eleven participants took part in this study. I used my personal Facebook page as a call for
participants and asked colleagues to share it with their networks as well. Through my call for
participants, I was familiar with seven of the volunteers. Of the remaining four, one was a
snowball participant through one of the volunteers, and the additional three were unknown to me.
Each participant had been enrolled in a public, four-year college or university at some point
60
during their undergraduate experience. One participant transferred to a two-year vocational
college for graduation. One participant transferred from a two-year vocational college to finish
their undergraduate degree at a four-year institution. One participant transferred from one public,
four-year institution to another, where he graduated. The remaining eight participants graduated
from the institution they began at during their undergraduate experience. Ten of the 11
participants were female; one participant was male. One participant was a nontraditional student
returning to the classroom in her 30s as a wife and mother. The remaining 10 participants were
all traditional aged students.
Participant 1 attended and graduated from a large public, four-year institution (Carnegie
Classifications, n.d.) in the South Atlantic Division of the South Region (Geographic Levels,
n.d.) immediately after graduating high school. She defined her upbringing as from a small town
with conservative values and felt very overwhelmed by attending a large institution. She was
involved in a sorority, student government, and a co-curricular student organization that was
aligned with her intended major. She self-identified as a shy introvert while she was younger, but
now identifies as an outgoing introvert. Upon taking the IDRlabs (Personality Type Test, n.d.)
test, she scored a 73% on the introversion scale.
Participant 2 attended one large public, four-year institution (Carnegie Classifications,
n.d.) in the Mountain Division of the West Region (Geographic Levels, n.d.) immediately after
graduating high school for one and a half years. He transferred due to changing his major. He
attended and graduated from a medium public, four-year institution (Carnegie Classifications,
n.d.) in the West North Central Division of the Midwest Region (Geographic Levels, n.d.). He
graduated from that institution. He described himself as having grown up in a small town, a
homebody, and as someone who spent much time focused on getting into a professional school
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once he graduated with his bachelor’s degree. He was involved in student activities and student
government. He self-identified as a shy introvert. Upon taking the IDRlabs (Personality Type
Test, n.d.) test, he scored a 91% on the introversion scale.
Participant 3 attended one medium-sized public, four-year institution (Carnegie
Classifications, n.d.) in the East North Central Division of the Midwest Region (Geographic
Levels, n.d.) immediately after graduating high school for two years. She transferred and
graduated from a medium, public two-year vocational institution because a friend was also
transferring. The friend opted not to transfer after all, however Participant 3 remained at the two-
year institution. She was involved in a co-curricular student organization that was in line with her
intended major and an intramural team. She described herself as from a small town, mostly quiet
and very self-conscious. She self-identified as a shy introvert. Upon taking the IDRlabs
(Personality Type Test, n.d.) test, she scored an 82% on the introversion scale.
Participant 4 attended one medium-sized, public two-year vocational institution, which
has since been renamed, in the East North Central Division of the Midwest Region (Geographic
Levels, n.d.), as a nontraditional student in her 30’s. She transferred and graduated from a
medium, public four-year institution (Carnegie Classifications, n.d.) in the East North Central
Division of the Midwest Region (Geographic Levels, n.d.). She was involved in a co-curricular
student organization that was aligned with her intended major and participated in several passive
extracurricular activities. She described herself as not knowing what she wanted to do when she
returned to education, once her children were school-aged. She had taken Myers-Briggs Type
Indicators tests in college and scored as an extravert, but always on the border, which she
indicated changed with understanding herself more. She identified herself as a non-social
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introvert. Upon taking the IDRlabs (Personality Type Test, n.d.) test, she scored an 82% on the
introversion scale.
Levels, n.d.) immediately after graduating high school. She was involved in her residence hall
council, residence hall government, student government, an educational simulation student
organization, and as an orientation leader. She described herself as a headstrong person who
worked really hard and had a lot of ambition. She also described herself as not understanding she
was an introvert during college. Upon taking the IDRlabs (Personality Type Test, n.d.) test, she
scored a 64% on the introversion scale.
Participant 6 attended and graduated from a medium-sized public, four-year institution
(Carnegie Classifications, n.d.) in the East North Central Division of the Midwest Region
(Geographic Levels, n.d.) immediately after graduating high school. She was involved in theater
arts; however, it was not co-curricular as it did not pertain to her major. She was also involved in
a co-curricular student organization that was in line with her intended major, and a member of
the campus tours department. She described herself as a shy introvert who does not enjoy much
attention, particularly in larger group settings. Upon taking the IDRlabs (Personality Type Test,
n.d.) test, she scored a 91% on the introversion scale.
Participant 7 attended and graduated from a medium-sized public, four-year institution
(Carnegie Classifications, n.d.) in the East North Central Division of the Midwest Region
(Geographic Levels, n.d.) immediately after graduating high school. She described herself as an
outgoing introvert who was very heavily involved in student government. She also participated
in a leadership seminar group, student activities, a career services student organization, and as a
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leader in their welcome week program. Upon taking the IDRlabs (Personality Type Test, n.d.)
Levels, n.d.) immediately after graduating high school. She was involved with the study abroad
program, was a resident assistant, and multiple types of diversity education programming. She
described herself as having grown up in a small town, and as a social introvert who likes to
process things aloud, like an extravert. Upon taking the IDRlabs (Personality Type Test, n.d.)
Classifications, n.d.) in the East South Central Division of the South Region (Geographic Levels,
n.d.) immediately after graduating high school. She described herself as coming from a small
town and small high school, where she knew everyone. She described herself as always keeping
her true self hidden but didn’t know that she was an introvert. She was involved in a sorority, a
philanthropic student organization, and as an orientation leader. Upon taking the IDRlabs
(Personality Type Test, n.d.) test, she scored a 100% on the introversion scale.
Levels, n.d.) immediately after graduating high school. She described her hometown as small,
being at least half the size of the college she attended. She believed she was shy in college but
had been shyer in high school. She participated in her residence hall council, residence hall
government, a residence hall honor society, national student exchange, and study abroad. Upon
taking the IDRlabs (Personality Type Test, n.d.) test, she scored a 55% on the introversion scale.
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Levels, n.d.) immediately after graduating high school. She described herself as a shy introvert
who was so nervous about attending college that she cried for a week, beforehand. She
participated in residence hall council, residence hall government, a residence hall honor society,
and a state-wide honor society executive board. Upon taking the IDRlabs (Personality Type Test,
n.d.) test, she scored a 100% on the introversion scale.
Researcher Memos and Notes
I kept reflexive notes throughout the interviewing process and completed notes and basic
analytical memoing during one of my readings of each interview. All interviews took place via
Zoom. All participants, except Participant 3 kept their cameras on for the interview. I did not
require cameras to be on during the interview, and Participant 3 did not ask whether she should
or should not turn on her camera. During one portion of the interview, Participant 3 said, “If I
can do meetings like this, with no video, I like that better.” Not wanting the camera initiated
indicated to me that had our interview been in person, Participant 3 may not have volunteered.
During my read-through of each interview transcript prior to coding, I took notes on ideas
and quotes that especially stood out to me. My notations assisted in my analytical memoing of
the patterns and themes that emerged. As I continued into the coding process, those patterns and
themes came to fruition throughout many of the interviews. While not all participants had the
same word choices or phrases that emerged, the patterns indicated that similar themes were all
present.
All interviews were conducted with semi-structured questions. The interview questions
were sent to each participant ahead of time. Each participant was asked the same set of
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questions; however, if they did not understand what I was asking, I rephrased for clarity. As
some participants were more succinct, I asked more probing questions to ascertain whether their
experiences or feelings were similar to others’. I believe that all participants were candid with
their thoughts and responses to my questions. No questions were declined; however, several
participants had to revisit questions later in their interview. Participant 3 had the shortest
interview at 29 minutes. Participant 7 had the longest interview at 1 hour and 2 minutes. All
other interviews were between those times, averaging approximately 46 minutes.
During both the interviews and the memoing and coding processes, I related to many of
the experiences that the participants had. I used these thoughts to create some of the memos that I
revisited when coding. I also used many of these memos to begin to shape the themes for this
chapter.
When asked about their introversion, most of the participants categorized their type of
introversion. Two participants believed they were outgoing introverts, one categorized herself as
a social introvert, and six participants said that they were shy introverts. All participants seemed
to understand of what type of introvert they considered themselves. Participant 1 indicated that
she believed introversion and extraversion happen on a scale. Participant 4 said that in the past
she believed that someone who was an introvert was the “opposite of a social butterfly,” but now
she understands that there is more to introversion than the social aspect. Participant 9 admitted
that “Introverts can be really energetic and great and fun people… however, a lot of times it just
takes a bit more to get to know them and they don’t always feel comfortable being themselves.”
All of the participants discussed introverted personality traits at some point during their
interviews. One of the more common phrases used by several participants was the word
“perfectionist” or “perfectionism.” Participant 1, along with her repeated word of perfectionist,
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also indicated that she was sometimes a little inflexible, however she also discussed widely how
she always considers the views of others, another common phrase or term used in the interviews.
Participant 2 also indicated that he was a perfectionist. Participant 9 stated that she was a
perfectionist who cared about image and what other people thought. While Participant 7 did not
use the phrase perfectionism, she did admit that she “worked really hard…had a lot of
ambition… was headstrong…and always right.” Participants 1, 2, and 7 were all interested in
going into judicial areas after college; however, none of them ended up in that field. While
memoing, I found it intriguing those three participants all intended to focus on a career in law; in
the end, none did.
Another repeated phrase regarding traits the participants had was “observing” or
“observe.” Several participants indicated that they often played the role of the observer in their
personal or professional lives. Participant 6 said, “I tend to be more observant in a quiet sense, at
first, until I assess. I like to be on the periphery and be able to observe and people watch.”
Participant 8 said that even though she tends to process externally, more like an extravert, she
observes, listens, and saves her comments and thoughts in many situations. Participant 9
discussed a change in herself after going to college.
I acted as an observer, and that was very different for me because [of] being from such a
small school. I got really quiet, all of a sudden. I noticed myself observing more and
seeing where I fit in and who I fit in with. That’s not an experience I had ever had
because I [had] never transitioned from one school to another.
In addition to the phrase “observe” or “observer”, the word “listener” was also used frequently as
a trait the participants believed they had.
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All of the participants discussed the common misconceptions other people have regarding
introversion. Participant 1 shared that people often misperceive introverts as not liking to meet
people or build relationships. Participant 3 indicated that there is a misconception that introverts
are “always quiet” and said that “We’ve just got to give them time on their own… on their own
schedule.” Similarly, Participant 7 discussed that people often think introverts cannot have
conversations as a common misconception. Participant 4 said that a misconception about
introverts is that there are conceited because they are quiet. Participant 9 was mislabeled often as
“stuck-up,” “judgey,” and “bitchy,” because of her introverted qualities.
Even the participants who did not describe themselves as shy indicated that a common
misconception about introverts was shyness. Participant 2 indicated that there is a difference
between shy and not shy. He said that “Just because you’re shy doesn’t necessarily mean you’re
an introvert.” Participant 7 believed that “A lot of people get confused about what extravert and
introvert are versus what’s outgoing and what’s shy,” as she referred to herself often in her
interview as an outgoing introvert.
Another theme that came forward in many of the interviews was the idea of extraversion
being a focus in our culture. Several participants felt as if things were focused on extraverted
qualities, such as in meetings, in the workplaces, and in friend groups. With the feeling of an
extravert focus, many participants used phrases such as “I thought something was wrong with
me” or “What am I doing wrong?” Participant 5 talked a lot about her feelings of letting herself
down because she “wasn’t more extraverted.” Participant 9 remembered that she felt out of
place, as many other people around her were vocal, and she was unsure of when to speak up.
Participant 11 indicated she felt “worthless” at times.
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Several participants used words such as “prove,” “pressure,” and “force,” As they felt
like they had to try to fit in differently than they preferred. Participant 7 said:
I think, as an introvert, I felt like I had to prove myself more because extraverts naturally
need to be around people. They are naturally social, outgoing. I had to prove myself, just
because I need to decompress for an hour, but I can match the energy level. I always felt
like I had to overdo it or match what my extravert friends could do. I learned I can’t
function like this.
Participant 8 felt the need to “put on a hat” metaphorically, to be able to be extraverted.
Participant 5 constantly pushed herself to do more things in college because she
“Thought that’s what you were supposed to do.” She put a lot of pressure on herself to walk
other people’s paths of being extraverted. Additionally, Participant 5 indicated that she felt like
she let herself down when she wasn’t more extraverted. Participant 3 often had to force herself to
go out in groups of people. Participant 11 said that she often pushed herself so hard to do things
with her extraverted friends that her anxiety would rise and she would not be able to do anything
with anyone.
Interview Results
The responses received from this semi-structured, phenomenological study were coded
and themed according to this study’s research questions. This section includes the findings from
those interviews that have been informed by the conceptual framework of both Astin’s Theory of
Involvement (1985) and Chickering’s Theory of Identity Development (1993). This framework
provides the background that involvement consists of time spent on campus, interaction with
other students, and participation in student organizations and out-of-class activities in addition to
in-class activities (Astin, 1985). As participation is a behavioral aspect of one’s involvement, this
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framework centers around the feelings students had from their time doing active and passive
extracurricular opportunities, as well as co-curricular student organizations. Chickering’s Theory
of Identity Development (1993) goes hand-in-hand with Astin’s Theory of Involvement (1985)
as many of the vectors coincide with the process of a college student during their development.
Both the research questions and the interview questions were written with Chickering’s Theory
of Identity Development in mind as I explored four of the seven vectors: Developing
Competence, Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships, Establishing Identity, and
Developing Purpose through the lens of being an introvert while involved in extracurricular
opportunities.
In this chapter, direct quotes and thick, rich description support the categories and themes
discovered during the coding process. Saturation of data is included as many participants had
similar experiences while being involved as introverts.
Research Question 1
How do introverts describe their decision-making process about involvement in extracurricular
activities in college?
The Why of Getting Involved- Making Connections
During the coding process of each interview one of the themes that emerged from the
reason why the participants became or got involved became apparent. Several of the participants
indicated that they wanted to make connections as they ventured through their college career.
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Participant 1 indicated that she came from a small town and that she was excited to leave
for college. She said:
However, when I got there, I found it very intimidating and there was not very many
people from my hometown who went there. I kind of didn’t know many people at all, and
as an introvert that’s pretty overwhelming. Getting involved with extracurriculars was
one way to make the school feel a little smaller.
Participant 5 also said that she was looking for connections with other people. She stated:
As I’ve mentioned, social interaction is something I’ve always struggled with my entire
life and feeling included was something that was really important to me. I wanted to feel
included. I wanted to build the ability for myself to feel at home.
Participant 6 had similar feelings. She indicated that she got involved even prior to going to
college.
When you signed up for housing in college, they asked…what community you wanted to
be a part of. I had signed up for the theatre housing community because they went to
performances, and I liked going to performances. That really forced me to make those
connections with people. [It] kind of spoon-fed those connections for me because I was
living on the same floor with people who were involved in theatre. That’s what they were
all doing, and I knew, when I was a college freshman, that I had to socialize like it was
my job. I had to really step outside my comfort zone and make those connections.
Participant 10 agreed as to why she became involved and said, “I think part of it was having the
college experience at first.” However, she felt that once she got involved, her experiences
broadened from the various opportunities.
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The Why of Getting Involved- Influence
In addition to many of the participants wanting to make connections, many of them
indicated that the reason they got involved was due to someone else’s influence. Participant 11
got involved because she lived in the residence halls and got a flyer on her door. She said, “I
showed up and it was good.” Participant 1 knew a few people who were getting involved with
sorority recruitment and family members who had been in sororities when they were in college.
Participant 7 got involved because:
Like all campuses, there was an involvement fair… but again that is super overwhelming
introverts. I always would go for maybe an hour. I also, fortunately, had my older brother
attend my undergrad. He was also very involved in student government. He’s like ‘Of all
the clubs, at least check out this one.’
Participant 1 also had friends encourage her:
They were like, ‘You really should come and check this out because this is your major,
you’re interested in this kind of stuff. Come with me and you can see if you like it. Here’s
their informational meeting.’ I really appreciate that I had folks. There was always a
connection to the stuff that I got involved in. I found that to be more meaningful than
cold showing up.
Two of the most interesting stories the participants told were both about people’s encouragement
to get involved before they got to college. Participant 8 told me:
When I was in seventh grade, I went to camp for the first time. It was a camp on a college
campus. That was the first time I really interacted with people who were into the stuff
that I was into. I came from a really small town. I think I just didn’t have a lot in common
with people my age, but these were people my age who wanted to talk about Citizen
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Kane with me. I remember being at camp and my RA, as a 12-year-old, I thought she was
the coolest person I ever met. At the age of 12, I was like ‘I will be you.’ I remember my
second year there, the RA I had told me all about when she went [on study] abroad, and I
was like ‘I will also do that.’
Participant 5 had a similar story, except a friend was the one to encourage her most.
There were two moments in my memory that I can reflect on where I was like ‘Well,
that’s why I got involved.’ One was when I was about to enter college. I was talking to a
friend of mine from high school, who was a year older than me and had just finished up
his freshman year of college. I was confessing to him that I was really nervous about
going away to college and meeting all of these new people. His advice to me was to ‘Say
yes, within reason. If it seems dangerous, obviously not. If somebody invites you to an
event in those first couple weeks, go with them. Somebody invites you for dinner, go
with them. If someone invites you to a meeting, even if you don’t join that club, go do the
things. Jump in and you’ll find your place.’
She took that advice and Participant 5 went to many of the welcome activities when she arrived
on her campus. She stated, “It felt honestly to me, like I was at summer camp. I went to summer
camp every year, for 15 years prior. I always loved camp.” Her resident assistant also invited her
to go to a hall council meeting, the catalyst for a lot of Participant 5’s involvement. She also had
another story of an orientation leader encouraging her to get involved:
I went during my freshman orientation, so even before I got to campus, I had met an
orientation assistant who was a Political Science major and I was an incoming political
science major. He was really excited that I was incoming political science, he said ‘When
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you get to campus you should join (club name redacted).’ So, I went and I joined (club
name redacted).
The Why of Staying Involved- Knowledge
Many of the participants discussed their preference for being high achievers. Good grades
were a common theme among each interview. In addition to the enjoyment of their studies,
several of the participants discussed the enjoyment of the topics they learned about while
involved. Participant 10 talked about her enjoyment of finding a niche where she could create
programs for her residence hall in hall council and her love of working with the other students
around her.
Participant 1 discussed the difference she felt from her upbringing:
My parents were both very educated and certainly supportive of me, as a woman, but my
hometown upbringing was very traditional and [had] conservative values. Nobody had
ever asked me, ‘What do you think about politics?’ or ‘When you have this difficult
situation, how do you solve it?’ I found that the questions that we were dealing with in
student government were very interesting and the way that people around me were able to
talk about complex topics and to express their viewpoints and to disagree with one
another without being ugly, I thought that was really interesting.
Participant 8 had additional intellectual reasons for staying involved:
It feels good to be a part of things that are bigger than yourself. I think once you start, it’s
kind of addictive. When you’re working in different roles on campus or involved in
different things, you know what’s going on behind the scenes more, and if you stopped,
you would lose that. It’s just cool to know what’s going on and if you weren’t involved,
you lose that line of communication.
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Participant 7 similarly enjoyed being in-the-know:
I have to always be doing something, always… know what’s going on as well. [In student
government], if I didn’t know what was going on, I would be caught off guard. I always
made sure I was aware of things and knew things that were coming down the pipeline. I
remember… [I] always wanted to know what was going on and being well-connected
with everybody on campus.
The Why of Staying Involved- Having a Role
One of the most important aspects of being in and staying involved on a campus is the
work that is involved with the organization. Several of the participants enjoyed the role they
played within their student group.
Participant 8 talked in depth about all of the leadership roles that she had and why she
enjoyed them.
I liked having a voice and, especially back then, I really liked being in charge. I liked
when my ideas were the ones that got implemented. I also really liked implementing
other people’s ideas. I think that’s where I really shone. I could take somebody’s idea and
make it a thing. I really enjoyed doing that.
Participant 2 was the person who most discussed needing and having a role during their
interview.
I felt like I had a purpose as someone who was a listener, and processor, and could help
in terms of planning and making things happen. I found a role and having that role is very
important to me. There’s a whole reason I went and found (name redacted) event. I
probably wouldn’t have continued if it would have gone the same [as other clubs] where
we had a lot of people talk past each other in a meeting, and then we went home.
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In one of his other extracurricular opportunities, Participant 2 also indicated his role was
important.
It was a commitment to doing something. I really appreciated… that I had something to
do on a Friday night. That didn’t require me [as an introvert] to put myself out there. I
wasn’t going up and talking in front of a bunch of people or doing stuff like that. I had a
job to do, which was really nice. That was a really positive thing for me and had me kind
of interested in some event planning.
The Why of Staying Involved- Mattering and Belonging
The most common theme among the participants was their discussion surrounding the
people they were in contact with during their co-curricular, and active and passive extracurricular
opportunities. Participant 2 indicated that after they finished their events, they would go out to a
diner afterwards and hang out.
Participant 1 enjoyed her time in student government because of the people she met:
[I] made a number of really valuable and fun connections there, friends I really respected
as community members and friends as peers… we really encouraged each other to do
really interesting things. My involvement increased and I just really liked the people that
were there.
Participant 8 indicated that there were always faculty and staff members around to encourage her
and give her new ideas. Similarly, Participant 7 said that she stayed involved due to the others
around her:
They really poured a lot into me and then, eventually, I got mentored by my advisors and
the older students in the organization. They took me under their wing and got me
involved in committees. I felt more connected to that organization. I think just think that
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it was such a great experience that I’m like ‘Why stop now while I’m just getting the tip
of the iceberg.’
In addition to the faculty and staff, participants talked about the community they built through
their extracurricular opportunities. Participant 8 said that it felt so nice to be a member of her
communities.
Participant 5 said:
I made some of my closest friends that way. I married my husband from having met in
(club name redacted). We’re still friends with some of the people we did (club name
redacted) with. Some of my closest friends, now, are still folks that I lived with… who
were part of hall council with me. My friend (name reacted) was one of my bridesmaids.
She was president when I was vice president of hall council. Getting involved, you’re in
the trenches a little bit, when you do some of this event planning and you’re running
these events and you’re staff this kind of stuff. It bonds you in ways that you don’t
necessarily get in other circumstances.
In addition to the feeling of belonging they felt through their involvement experiences,
participants most often discussed the friendships they made and how they felt as though they
mattered to someone. Participant 8 summed her experience up:
What I remember from undergrad is that there’s lots of invitations on campuses all the
time. A poster for this, a sign for that, a social media thing for this, but sometimes when
you see those things, you’re not sure if they’re talking to you. I think as an introvert, I
needed personal invitations. I needed something to say ‘No, that’s also talking to you. We
would like you to be there and we think you have something to contribute.’ I think
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anything I got involved and stayed involved with, it’s because I felt like I had an
invitation to me, and that invitation continued.
Research Question 2
What opportunities from extracurricular involvement do introverts perceive?
Opportunity to Engage with Others
Even as introverts, the participants discussed their relationships with others highly. Many
of them talked about the opportunities they had to engage with those around them while being
involved. Several described the opportunity to work with those they may not have had the chance
to otherwise. Participant 6 said that being in a co-curricular organization that was in line with her
intended major made connections for her to have some experience prior to going into her career.
Participant 2 believed that being involved made him change his trajectory. Originally, he
intended to go to professional school but left after a year. He realized, from his involvement, that
he wanted to help people. He said, “I wanted to be able to work with students in the college
setting and help provide opportunities that can help them grow.” He also admitted several times
during his interview that being involved garnered him the number of friendships he had and kept
over the years.
During her time living in the residence halls, Participant 5 spent time in a social justice
living learning community. This not only taught her diverse viewpoints and the ability to get
involved with people different than herself, but it also offered opportunities for her to be
involved in things she may not have done prior to attending college.
The Opportunity to Travel and Attend Conferences
Participant 5, from living in the residence hall social justice living learning community,
was also able to attend conferences from that experience, such as a civil rights service trip with
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her floor. She and her floormates attended different monuments and museums, learning about
American history they may not have been able to experience had they not gotten involved in
their residence hall’s living learning community. Similarly, Participant 9 discussed the volunteer
service-learning trips that their university also took, in order to help with disaster relief efforts.
Several participants mentioned their ability to attend leadership retreats as students to
learn more about themselves and their peers. These leadership retreats and workshops offered
participants the opportunities to learn, meet new people, and explore new and exciting topics.
Participant 8 said, “I think what changed was when I went to college, I learned about being a
leader. I think I always had those skills, but I had just never really had the chance to realize it.”
While a few of the participants took classes that were focused on leadership, none of those
classes were required for their majors. Participant 10 also said that her leadership classes gave
her the opportunity to realize more about herself and those around her.
In addition to the local retreats, several participants talked about the conferences they
were able to attend with their involvement opportunities. Participant 5 recalled the conferences
she was able to attend through both her residence life involvement and her educational
simulation student organization. That organization allowed to her attend one conference per
semester, every semester she was involved, ranging from places in her region to national
locations. Participant 10 attended conferences, and she also assisted with helping her university
plan a national conference, where she held positions in both chairperson and co-chairperson
opportunities. Similarly, Participant 11 was the conference liaison in her residence hall
government association, planning the travel arrangements for her organization mates to attend
conferences, local, regional, and national. She also held a chairperson position when her
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institution hosted a national conference, as well as held a position on a state-wide conference
board.
Not all of the opportunities were connected to student organizations, however. Some of
the participants discussed their participation in study abroad and national student exchange
opportunities. Participant 8, after having met her summer camp Resident Assistant and vowing to
study abroad, kept her resolution. She immediately applied and was accepted into a study abroad
program, where she traveled during the first semester of her sophomore year. Participant 8 told
me that not many students take the opportunity to travel so early on in their college career.
Having traveled to more than one place, Participant 10 discussed both her opportunity to
participate in national student exchange, as well as her study abroad program. Both participants
indicated that these were things they would have never been able to do, had they not gotten
involved in co-curricular and extracurricular opportunities.
Career Opportunities and Advancement
Many of the participants interviewed had gone into, or changed careers to be similar to
that of the involvement opportunities they took part in. Several of the participants, after
becoming involved, change their major. While not all participants changed their career paths due
to their involvement, a few did.
Participant 2 said, “I did get involved in some things and probably it’s why I am in the
career field that I’m in right now.” He graduated with his original plan, however, went back to
school because of his involvement. He believes that a big part of the change in his focus, and his
career, was due to the opportunities he had while participating in extracurricular activities.
Participant 2 said, “Career-wise, I could be a part of creating some of those opportunities… and
it felt more in line with my values” than his original career goal.
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Similarly, Participant 8 admitted that her career was informed by her experiences in
college. She shared a story with me regarding not knowing what she wanted to do when she
graduated. She said:
I changed my major about seven times. I think I remember having a conversation with
someone when I was in undergrad telling him the hardest part. It’s not picking a major,
it’s letting go of the majors you don’t get to do. It wasn’t about picking; it was about
being sad not to do all the other things.
She recalled another conversation with a supervisor who told her about going into an
involvement-adjacent career field. She believed that this conversation is what jumpstarted her
time in higher education. Participant 8 believed, “You can be on a much faster trajectory,
professionally, if you really lean into the undergrad experience. Just the resume, alone, that you
walk away [with], the skills you develop, the networking abilities, all of that stuff.”
Those who are in career fields that were similar to their involvement experiences weren’t
the only participants to discuss the advancement opportunities they had. Several of the
participants discussed the job and internship experiences they took part in because of their
involvement.
Participant 3 had a classmate from her co-curricular student organization who already had
a job with an on-campus department. Due to the classmate’s position, Participant 3 was able to
interview for the same on-campus department. While she said she did not get the open position,
Participant 3 did share that it was her first real job interview experience, which got her used to
interviewing with others.
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Also friends with someone who had a job in an on-campus department, Participant 9 was
able to secure a job interview. Participant 9 said:
I think I came in with a good interview, however, I think being involved was already
helpful for me being such a young person. That team doesn’t necessarily want to bring on
freshman, especially if they don’t have a lot of college experience.
She attributed her good interview to having already had experiences that a lot of other students
her age did not have.
Leadership Opportunities
Within their involvement in co-curricular and extracurricular opportunities, the majority
of the participants were given the chance to become leaders for their respective student
organizations. Participant 1 was able to serve as an executive member on her sorority board, as
well as be on the court within her student government association. Participant 6 served as a co-
president of an extracurricular student organization. While applying for a position on his student
government, the student body president recognized Participant 2’s leadership skills and
appointed him into an executive position within his student government organization. This led
way for Participant 2 to also create and serve as the chairperson for his campus’ large
philanthropic event.
Participant 5 held numerous leadership positions throughout her time in college. She
commented that she had joined her residence hall council early on, which made way for her
holding three other executive positions for that organization. With her involvement in her
residence hall council, that fed to involvement within the residence hall government association,
where she also had numerous leadership and executive roles. Like the previously mentioned
participant, Participant 5 applied for a seat on her student government association and upon
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being in the organization for two weeks was appointed to an executive position due to her
heightened leadership skills. Within her time in her educational simulation student organization,
she held multiple executive leadership positions. Participant 5 also indicated that she held a
position as a student orientation leader.
Another highly involved student leader, Participant 7 was involved in student government
during her entire undergraduate experience, holding a position one year as student body
president. That wasn’t her only opportunity to have leadership roles, however. Participant 7 took
part in a leadership seminar program at her institution as a freshman. The following year, as a
sophomore, she was given a leadership role as a mentor for the same program. She discussed
with me her founding of a career services student organization, as well as her time as a welcome
week orientation leader.
Participant 8, in addition to her study abroad opportunities, was also a highly involved
leader. She was a resident assistant, led a diversity education monologue theater program, and
took part in campus activism. While not extracurricular, she also told me about several of her on-
campus work experiences and how they also incorporated her into the involvement opportunities
she had. Participant 8 believed, “One thing kind of dominoes into another,” when she talked
about of the opportunities in which she participated.
Echoing that sentiment, Participant 9 said, “I think one thing led to another.” She had
positions within her orientation office, as well as held positions as her sorority standards chair
and president. She, in particular, mentioned that she loved the administration and paperwork side
of involvement. She believed that it was her way of getting involved without having to be as
social as others.
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Also holding many leadership positions, Participant 10 took part in mostly residence hall
adjacent opportunities. She attended residence hall council, where she became an executive
board member. Participant 10 said that involvement in her residence hall council made way for
participation in both her residence hall government and the residence hall honor society. She also
participated in a leadership seminar class that taught her the various types of leadership and that
there are other ways to be a leader than “standing up in front of a room.”
Participant 11 took her residence hall council’s opportunity to attend a local conference.
She said that is how she ended up in her residence hall student government, where she held
executive board positions for several years. That also channeled Participant 11 into the residence
hall honor society. She said, “One thing kind of funnels you into another, [it] just goes in order, I
guess.” Participant 11 mentioned that while she did want to have all of these experiences on her
resume, she really enjoyed the experiences she had and wanted to keep doing more.
Research Question 3
What skills do introverts perceive they have developed as a result of extracurricular
involvement?
Hard Skills
Many of the participants discussed their time in passive extracurricular, active
extracurricular, and co-curricular opportunities as ways that they built and honed their skills.
Participant 1 discussed the skill of learning to read and write university legislation from her time
in her student government association. She believed that using Robert’s Rules of Order helped to
create a flow for meetings. Within graduate school and her current career, Participant 1 said that
using parliamentary procedure helped committees to keep the conversation moving.
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Similarly, Participant 5 also talked about her experience with parliamentary procedure.
She even indicated that it was the number one skill she learned from being involved in her
various extracurricular and co-curricular student organizations.
Participant 2 shared that his involvement with event planning prepared him more for the
workplace than some academic endeavors. He said:
There’s also a level of getting beyond the theory and actually digging into the work. I had
to dig in and do that. It gave me experiences to learn that into practice… in a place where
I could probably more easily fail, and it would be okay.
He talked about his time in student government on the philanthropic event committee where he
had to talk on the radio and local news. While he said it terrified him, it gave him the practice to
be able to accomplish those tasks. In addition to the in-person side of public relations, being in
those organizations taught him how to create press releases. He said:
To market part of the event… you need students, but you also need community sites, and
the biggest fear is that one of them is going to be out of balance. I used some of that and
the public facing to the local community. I went on the radio. I never thought that I would
be on a radio program in my life, and went, and we marketed our event pretty well. We
expanded. We got a number of [volunteer] sites after being on the AM radio station talk
show there.
Event planning and logistics was also something Participant 5 talked about. She said, “leading a
meeting, setting an agenda for a meeting has been invaluable.” She also gained skills in basic
budget management and balancing accounts as treasurer for several of her student organizations.
She believed that she “would have never had the opportunity to practice those types of skills”
because she had never taken a business class. Within her educational simulation student
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organization, she had to plan travel for a dozen people including budgeting, transportation,
fundraising, and lodging. The skills she learned in that organization have carried through to her
career, where she has needed to plan her own travel, as well as travel for others at work.
Participant 6 believed that her time in her extracurricular and co-curricular student
organizations taught her how to manage materials, preparing her for her future career. In theater,
dance, and art, she learned to run rehearsals, keep items organized, and keep productions running
smoothly. She had to learn how to process contracts and designs, which she indicated is “part of
everything.” Also, she believed that being involved help her to do the research, synthesize the
ideas, and pare them down to communicate her vision to her team, the cast, and the crew. She
said:
[I can] make that all happen on a large scale from something that was originally an idea
or a glimmer of an expectation. That’s been a big part of me applying those skills that I
got from doing activities in college.
Participant 8 said that she could lead meetings and plan events, not just at work, but also in her
personal life, from the skills that she learned in her involvement. Similarly, Participant 10
discussed her event planning skills as well, as she learned the “skills to go from the beginning to
the end of executing a plan.” Participant 11 agreed that planning skills were always present in
her extracurricular opportunities.
Several people, such as Participant 9 discussed the skill in managing people and a team,
due to their involvement. She said that it has stuck with her, and she has used those skills ever
since she learned them. Participant 11 agreed:
Learning to manage people, I think that was kind of my first experience having to oversee
other people, which now it’s helpful, but I hadn’t done that before. As an introvert, shy
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person, that was way out of my comfort and so that was a skill I think I got through there
(involvement).
Soft Skills
In addition to the tangible skills that the participants mentioned, all of the interviewees
discussed the types of soft skills they learned from being involved. There was a wide array of
skills and abilities that each participant felt they learned from their time during their college
involvement.
Participant 3, the transfer student who had the least number of co-curricular,
extracurricular, and passive involvement opportunities said that her time in her student
organization did lead her to take away some interviewing skills. Participant 8 said that she leaned
into her undergraduate experience in order to create opportunities she could put on her resume.
Interviewing skills helped Participant 9 get her position within the student orientation office. Not
only did Participant 11 have experiences to put on her resume, just she mentioned that making a
resume was a skill in itself, as she had to have them for several of the opportunities in which she
was involved. Participant 10 said, “Because I was so involved, it kind of led me to start building
those skills to work with students as a professional and it gave me the interest to do that.”
Often mentioned during the interviews was the skill of time management and
organization. Participant 5 said:
I thrive when I am very busy, when my schedule is very packed, and I have very hard
blocks of things. ‘This’ is when ‘this meeting’ is, and ‘I have this amount of time in
between those meetings. So, I’m in the library in that block.’
She believed that her packed schedule was helpful for her to plan herself and the things she
needed to do so that she would not let the motivation slip away.
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Participant 9 also mentioned both time management and organization. She said that much
of it followed her into both her work and personal lives, including prioritization and day-to-day
organization. Similarly, Participant 10 cited organization and time management as two of the
skills she gained because of her level of involvement. Participant 11 said that the organization
skills she received she would not have gotten had she not been involved. When asked about her
skills she said:
I think definitely organization, time management, because I just was involved in so many
things, but also when you have a leadership role, you can’t just not show up one day.
You’ve got to follow through on stuff. Manage my time [with] a whole bunch of stuff
going on and prioritize. Those are really big things.
Several of the participants discussed their speaking skills from having been involved in their
respective opportunities. Participant 7 cited public speaking as one of her skills learned from her
involvement. Participant 1 said, “In terms of student government, I think it absolutely helped me
to understand that direct speaking… doesn’t have to be a confrontation or conflict, and I think
that was a really important lesson for me.”
Participant 2 believed that his involvement:
…really changed things… I was the person who went to class, every class, I never
missed, but I sat in the back. [After that], I really spoke up, even in the middle of that I
was raising my hand, offering things in the middle of class, and called on.
Similarly, Participant 8 discussed her speaking skills:
I think I left undergrad pretty competent in who I was as a person. I think I could speak to
my skills in a more competent way. I think I was very well-spoken. I had really honed a
lot of that stuff and I could speak very clearly about what I liked, what I didn’t like.
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Not only was speaking skills one of the most often mentioned during the interviews, but listening
skills were also mentioned regularly. Participant 4 mentioned that one of the skills she
remembers learning most from her time being involved was that of listening.
Participant 2 also told me about his skills in listening:
I think, also, it [being an introvert] helped because I did a lot of listening to people. It was
very important for me to hear from others, to get input from others. I value that and I
think introverts are often the ones who are listening and hearing from people. You’re able
to listen to people. You’re able to ask thoughtful questions, in some ways, not getting
your own way by just trying to fill the space with your own talking and sharing, hearing
from others who have good information and insights. I think in some ways it [being an
introvert] probably helped me stay involved. I felt like I had a purpose as someone who
was a listener and a processor.
Participant 8 said, “I do think being an introvert gives you different skills, just being very
observant and being very aware of things.” She also said that participating in some of the
opportunities she did, shaped her perception of things and broadened her mind a little bit.
Participant 5’s involvement in things such as the social justice living learning
community, within residence life, and the service-learning trips she was a part of also broadened
her mind. She said that her love for civic engagement and civil rights is “really rooted” in her
participation in her living learning and social justice extracurricular opportunities.
All of the listening and speaking skills the participants discussed also led way to the
topics of interpersonal communication. Many participants discussed their heightened abilities in
communication skills. Participant 3 said that her participation on an intramural team created the
opportunity for her to practice communication skills because of strategizing team plans.
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Participant 2 described his ability to be able to create and communicate a vision to those around
him.
Participant 4 learned:
How to work in a group with differing opinions and defining how they express their
opinions; being forward about it or being a little bit more quiet about it. That helped me
get used to group work. You had to learn how to work with the different personalities and
how to work as a group. I think it helped me somewhat there and the committees that I
had to serve on because of my position. You learn how to negotiate.
Often, the same participants that discussed working in groups and communication, also discussed
learning to make connections and network. Participant 10 cited teamwork as a skill she gained in
building those connections. Participant 6 and 7 both mentioned that being involved created
connections with others, especially connections they may not have had otherwise. Participant 8
shared, “I also think when you’re in leadership roles and you’re an introvert, you connect with
other students that don’t necessarily see themselves reflected everywhere.” Taking those
networking skills into her profession with her, Participant 1 said, “I think, also, just learning to
network and learning to understand that it can happen on different terms. I think that has been
helpful, you know as an academic, I think it’s been really helpful.”
Participant 2 shared his thoughts about networking and working with others:
I think that was definitely one of those pieces, working with people. I think some of that
also helped me learn how to balance, because most jobs require interaction with people
and probably particularly (job redacted). How to interact with people, I think, was
something that I grew in terms of skills.
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Participant 9 agreed and said she learned “the importance of networking. It being about who you
know, even more so sometimes, than how good you can do something. I learned how to build
bridges and work with a lot of different people.”
As a leader, Participant 11 worked with a lot of different people.
Planning things for other people, you learned to accommodate different needs you
wouldn’t necessarily think of [if] it’s just you and your close friends. People you don’t
know are going to be there, but what might people need who aren’t you? That’s been
helpful, even still now, thinking about what I needed, but what other people need. I put
that into stuff I planned for work, or whatever I’m doing. I think you learn to work with
people who are different from you.
With learning about others, came skills that the participants learned and honed about themselves.
Participant 7 learned how to be more adaptable through her time in involvement opportunities.
Additionally Participant 7 said that being involved gave her the opportunity to reinvent herself.
Valuing what she learned, Participant 1 said that she began to speak up for herself and accepting
herself for who she was.
Without a doubt, the most often mentioned skill throughout all of the interviews was
confidence. The majority of participants told me about their new and heightened confidence
learned from their participation in extracurricular opportunities. Participant 1 said that
confidence was what led her to speak up more for herself.
Participant 2 said it gave him the confidence he “didn’t necessarily have” before. He
found, the more he participated, the more his confidence grew. He knew that his abilities were
getting stronger, such as planning events, and that gave him a boost in knowing “I can make
things happen, I can do that.”
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Being involved in campus tours, Participant 6 found herself increasingly confident in the
presentation she had to accomplish. She believed that the content was routine, and that routine
led her to feel comfortable with what she was speaking about. Within her student organizations
she found herself becoming more assertive. She said “I certainly had to be more confident. I
think it gave me an opportunity to be more confident, even when I wasn’t, because I just had to
do it.”
Similarly, Participant 7 said:
I say that being involved gave me a lot more confidence in who I was. I think that it
helped change the course of how I saw myself. It gave me the confidence to be who I am,
to be proud of who I am.
Participant 10 also mentioned her growing confidence:
I feel like I kind of branched out, but I think that was as my confidence increased. Being
around people and being confident in myself, I think that was a big thing. (Traveling)
helped me, even if I didn’t create super close relationships, I think it did help me at least
branch out and create confidence.
Spectacularly, Participant 8 had some great things to say regarding her burgeoning confidence
through involvement opportunities:
I developed competence, skills, and interests (through involvement). First semester my
sophomore year, I went abroad and that was huge, I think, for my confidence. Every city
I’ve ever gone to, I didn’t really know anyone. I think studying abroad, I learned from
that experience. I can jump off a cliff and be fine. I can go into a situation where I know
no one and make a life out of thin air. And every time you do it, you get more confident.
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Research Question 4
How to introverts perceive that their preferences influence their extracurricular involvement?
Individual and Small Group Settings
One of the most often discussed characteristic from the participants as introverts was that
of their preference for small group or one-on-one interaction, in both their personal lives and
their involvement opportunities. Whether the participant described themselves as shy, outgoing,
or social, almost all of them indicated that they enjoyed smaller, more substantial interactions
with those around them.
Participant 1, on several occasions during our interview discussed the need to make her
large campus feel small.
When I got there, I found it very intimidating, and there was not very many people from
my hometown who went there… as an introvert that’s pretty overwhelming, and so
getting involved with extracurriculars was one way to make the school a little smaller. I
think of myself as an introvert who very much likes to be with other people, but I have a
preference for smaller groups and sort of meaningful, deeper conversations. I enjoy them
more than fluff, basic, surface level conversations and I do much better in one-on-one or
in smaller groups, than in a huge setting.
While Participant 1 said she enjoys smaller groups, she also said she’s “okay within large
groups” and that she is not afraid of larger settings. She admitted that her preference for down
time included spending it with a friend and not a “20 friends kind of thing.” In addition to that
one-on-one preference, she said that she had no understanding of how to function at a university
of such a large scale. With Participant 1’s preference for “smaller networks,” she also believed
that she was able to make “tons of acquaintances” through the opportunities she took part in. Her
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extracurricular involvement offered her the ability to create a small feeling within her large
campus.
Participant 3, a self-professed shy introvert, was very clear about her preferences for
smaller groups. She said, “I definitely prefer conversations with people one-on-one or two
people. I don’t like dealing with groups, if I don’t have to, or large crowds.” Like many of the
other participants, however, she described her interaction preference being about who she was
with.
It depends on the person, and the events, or the discussion topics. You know, I could go
all day with a few people talking about everything and anything and doing whatever we
want; traveling, shopping, and even in crowded places shopping or something like that,
because it’s focused one-on-one, as opposed to a group thing.
With her preference for smaller groups, she said that her friend circle was quite small and “it
didn’t go outside that.” She indicated that she was more of a follower, rather than a leader and
allowed her friends to pick the places they went, and she tagged along with them.
Discussing her social skills within groups, Participant 4 said:
I used to describe myself as a social moron because I couldn’t communicate with people.
I could sit, like you and I sitting here, or I could sit with somebody one-on-one, or a very,
very small group and sit and talk forever. You couldn’t shut me up. You get me out in the
real world and the social world, and I had no idea how to talk to people. I didn’t know
how to make small talk. I think I’m one of those introverts that when I’m with somebody
I’m comfortable with, you can’t shut me off. If I’m in a situation that is new and
unfamiliar, you don’t hear a peep.
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Similarly, Participants 5, 8, and 10 preferred smaller interactions as well. Participant 5 said, “I’ve
always been much better off connecting with folks one-on-one than trying to be in a big group of
folks. I think that’s a very introverted quality.” She also added that some introverts don’t have a
problem connecting with others, but the group size may be a defining factor. Participant 8
agreed, “I definitely prefer a one-on-one interaction over a group, any day.” Participant 10
admitted, “I still feel like, although I’m confident talking to people and I can be in big groups,
that really, really drains me.”
Participant 9 described herself as “a little fish in a big pond on campus.” She remembered
sitting in a large group meeting and thinking, “Oh these people are loud. This is different. I don’t
know if I actually fit in here.” Her preference for smaller interactions helped her to fit in doing
more administrative work within her student organizations, which she found she loved.
Connections and Relationships
In addition to their preferences for smaller networks, several of the participants discussed
the relationships they formed and the connections they made during their involvement
opportunities. They also discussed their difficulty in forming or creating those networks of
people. Participant 1 said that being an introvert hindered her ability to be involved:
I think it made me extremely aware of my introversion and, at the time, I didn’t really
know what to call it. I was like, ‘Well, maybe I’m boring or I don’t know how to people.’
My roommate was very extraverted, truly, truly extraverted. I was like ‘I don’t
understand. I’m trying hard to make these connections and sometimes I feel like it’s so
much harder for me than for her.’ at the time. Again, I had no context. I didn’t understand
why. I would say that it made me aware that my personality was different.
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She indicated that once she learned what an introvert was, she understood herself more.
I found it helpful to provide a basis of understanding for why I was having more
difficulty in forming the connections that are really critical for…success. It wasn’t that I
was totally failing, but I just found it more laborious and complex than other people did.
Participant 5 also discussed her difficulty in forming relationships and connections with others.
She said that her self-identification as an introvert coincided with the feeling that she has “never
felt super comfortable connecting with other people.” She admitted, “I’ve never felt like it was
something I’m good at.” She described her preference for social interaction as:
I can kind of socialize with folks, but where my sweet spot is, I’ve discovered, is being in
a crowd of people where no one’s talking to me. Where no one’s paying me any
attention, and I can just sort of sit back and absorb all the things and enjoy the fact that
the other people are also absorbing the things, but I don’t have to talk to any of them.
According to her, Participant 5 has recently reconnected with some of her friends from college
and discussed her difficulty forming connections. They have since rekindled some of their
friendships, but Participant 5 believed that she has done a lot of work with herself to come to
understanding her introversion.
Discussing herself as a shyer introvert, Participant 6 said:
I do feel like an introvert, and I do feel, especially in those big group situations, I am
particularly shy. I always have been. Most people see me that way, especially on a first
impression basis. However, once I know you, I tend not to shut up. I can definitely be
very chatty and have very lengthy, in-depth conversations once I connect with a person. I
can get along with just about everybody, but not all at once. Once I connect with you or
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once I know you a little bit, even if I’ve just met you that day, I still can very quickly
switch into having lengthy conversation.
She also said that in a group she doesn’t “want to be the one initiating and making decisions and
coming up with the plan.” She indicated that being the person in charge drains her and is why
she left her profession, because it was too draining for her to always be in charge.
Participant 9 talked at length about the authenticity of the relationships she formed.
I do not mind being around people, but I have to know that I can be genuine. I want to
know that I’m accepted and I’m not constantly thinking I don’t fit in, or I don’t belong.
It’s kind of about me really keeping who I am pretty close to my chest until I feel I can be
vulnerable around other people.
Also unable to form close connections, Participant 10 discussed her relationships with others.
I didn’t really get very close to other people. I had the few close friends that I kind of
always hung out with. I definitely did a lot of things with other people, as all the
experiences and groups that I was in, but I just didn’t get very close to anybody.
Participant 10 felt regret towards her inability to form lasting relationships and said, “I do feel
like it was a little bit related to introversion.”
Exhaustion and Energy
The most discussed topic in each of my interviews was that of how the participants spent
their introvert battery and how they recharged themselves. The words “exhausted”, “drain”,
“taxed”, “tired”, and “spread thin” came up time and time again, whether talking about people,
places, or events. Participant 2 said, “There’s often jokes that as introverts we hate people and I
don’t think most of us hate people, but I think that people can drain us in a lot of ways.”
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Participant 5 indicated that through all of the opportunities she joined, she pushed herself so hard
she “was constantly physically exhausted.”
Participant 3 said that being an introvert:
Probably kept me from being as involved as I wanted. I had thought about joining other
things, like rugby. I don’t know why I didn’t, I just felt like it was too much with the
other things I was doing.
Similarly, Participant 1 said:
If I’m in a new situation, with new people, and it’s a large group of people, do I leave it
and feel tired or do I leave it and feel energized? While I’m in it, I can enjoy it, or maybe
I don’t, but for me, as an introvert, a lot of times I’m leaving those situations feeling a
little taxed and a little tired.
She did not join any additional organizations than the ones she mentioned to me because she
found that with the time constraints, she “was going to be stretched too thin.”
While she agreed she could have been more involved, Participant 6 said:
I remember I felt like I was doing all the things, all the time. I felt like I was always busy.
I don’t know that I managed my time very well, and I really still struggle with that. I was
always overextended and overbooked. I wanted to do all the things. I always felt like I
was missing out on stuff.
She admitted that she had to decide what was the most important. Participant 6 said:
I was very aware, especially later in my college career, that I had to make choices,
because I couldn’t do it all. I was really pushing myself to do more things than was
reasonable. I wanted to do it because I wanted the experience, and I was very aware of
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the experience I got to do and I’m not always going to have this opportunity. I wanted to
soak that all in and take advantage of it as much as I could.
Unlike many of the other participants, Participant 6 struggled with time management. She said “I
don’t know if I’ll ever really master it. I don’t know how people do it.”
Participant 7 agreed with an overly packed schedule, “I would say I was go, go, go all the
time. I was always busy. I think being an introvert, that was a lot.” She often found herself not
able to keep up with her friends. She said,
I love making plans with friends, meeting up with them, but if they’re canceled, I’m not
going to be upset. In that moment, I’m fine, but then the day goes on, or something
happens, and I’m like ‘I really don’t want to do this, but I also don’t want to cancel,
because I don’t want to be that bad friend.’
Participant 8 also discussed the toll she took when being with people.
I do not get energy from people. I find humans exhausting. I love them, but if I don’t
have my three days to hibernate by myself, I will die, surely. I love people. I get nothing.
I can have fun, but I always think of my battery. People drain the battery.
She said that while she enjoys being around others:
I think I can be frustrating to extravert friends, because sometimes you come off as a little
flaky. You make plans, you get to the end of the day, I’m exhausted. I can’t interact with
any more humans today. I gotta cancel dinner, no drinks for me tonight, whereas they had
a long day, and they need people to get their battery charged.
Participant 8 believed that she could have been more involved, if it had not been for her
introversion. “I feel like I could have gotten even more out of the experience, if I didn’t require
all the time.” Additionally, she pinpointed some of the larger campus events as uncomfortable
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for her. Participant 8 said, “the thought of being in an arena was just no way, my brain would
have exploded. But it probably would have been a really fun experience.” She opted not to go to
events that intimidated her.
Friends joked about Participant 9’s preference for staying in.
I came to college and became a grandma, they said. I think that comes from how I was
raised. I came to college, and I loved that feeling of independence. I didn’t want to go out
and do what a lot of other people were doing.
She said that her involvement kept her busy.
All the committees and reading emails constantly, and reading it from my phone, from
my computer, there was never an off time. That definitely impacted my personal life and
probably pushed out the schoolwork too. I just remember always being zapped and
thinking ‘What did I really do?’ I was a healthy 19-year-old person, ‘Why am I so
exhausted?’ Because that was mentally draining, that’s why… I wish I had been more
aware.
Participant 11 also believed that she was stretched too thin.
I was always involved in three or four different clubs and working a couple of different
jobs. I don’t know how I did it, looking back on it. I know I didn’t sleep, which wasn’t
great. I think I just got involved in everything that I possibly could and turns out no one’s
gonna stop you with a lot of things. If I had gotten more involved, it wouldn’t have been
manageable. [People] would hang out until 3am, and I can’t do that. I just need to be by
myself and I’m super drained. I’m done. I also felt like I was missing out if I wasn’t with
them all the time either, so I would just stay there, and then I would be super exhausted.
It wasn’t good.
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Many of the participants discussed their need for time to recharge. While not all of them said that
they had to be alone to refresh and renew themselves, a lot of the participants discussed how they
recuperate from large gatherings or events. Participant 1 said:
When I think about what recharges my batteries, if I’m really tired or stressed, but when I
think about what I want to do to repair that, and move away from that situation, it’s not
things like going to a huge, crowded concert.
Participant 2 also said his rejuvenation didn’t take place in groups.
I’m not really outgoing. Introverts just get their energy from other places. So, I kept to
myself. For me, introversion is where you get your energy or how you decompress. I
need time alone or quiet time. That’s really important to me. I just know that’s made me
very aware of it. Introverts can be pretty social and have lots of ability to chat with people
and still need to get their alone time so they can get their energy back.
Participant 4 said to her, “being an introvert was just not being a social person, just being more
homebound or inward.” Married to an extravert when she went back to college she said, “I used
to joke [that] my husband had to go out to get his shot of people in order to refresh, and I needed
to be home to refresh myself.”
Similarly, Participant 5 put boundaries on her amount of social time.
I definitely need time to recharge from stuff. We’ve started to put some limits on
socialization we do on weekends, because my inclination is still to want to do all of the
things but recognizing that I’m just completely burned out if I try to do more than one big
social thing in a weekend. That will actually start to give me some anxiety now. I do
overcome it.
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Participant 5 has recently come to some personal conclusions about neurodivergence and her
introversion and anxiety. She said:
I think I see beauty in the world now in a different way that other folks might. I get a
spirituality out of it, you know. I’ll give an example. Last week, I had a day or two off
work. I just went into the city, completely on my own, my husband was at work. I was a
tourist in my own city. Took a lot of really beautiful pictures… against fall leaves and
just sort of had my own recharge day. You know, something that was just sort of for me.
I really like when that stuff is just sort of for me, for my soul.
She wasn’t the only person who needed down time to recharge. Participant 7 said:
I need that hour or that day during the weekend, where I’m like ‘Don’t talk to me, don’t
bother me.’ It’s not that I don’t want to meet up with you. It’s not that I don’t want to talk
to you. I just need time to decompress, be away. I cannot be my best self if I’m not
recharged. I don’t have time to just be by myself. I’m not my best self when I’m go, go,
go.
Participant 9 said, “It’s not necessarily that all people drain me, but people I cannot be my
authentic self around are draining.” However, she did say she likes that alone time. She admitted,
“I do love to recharge. I love to be by myself. I love that time.”
Similarly, Participant 10 told me of her enjoyment in alone time.
I understand that as a person, I need to be by myself. At certain points or after a really
long day of always being by people, I need to go home and just read a book and hang out
and watch TV. That’s how I get my energy, whereas being by those people, just sucks it
out of me.
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Often misperceived as not liking people, Participant 11 said:
I do like people. I just don’t want to be around them all the time. I’ve got to have time for
myself, as well, to charge back up, then I can go to the people again. But I don’t want to
be with people all the time. I’ve realized I’m not actually struggling here, because I can
survive just fine by myself. I enjoy people as a little side hobby, but I don’t need them to
function, I guess is my understanding of it now.
Guilt, Avoidance, and Pressure
Several of the participants discussed the guilt that they felt when pressured to get
involved or participate with groups larger than they felt comfortable. While some of the shyer
introverts discussed their guilty feelings and their avoidance tactics, some of the more outgoing
introverts did as well. Participant 3 said about get togethers:
I like to avoid going because it doesn’t interest me at all. I feel guilty, a lot, because I
don’t want to go. Sometimes I force myself to go because I feel like I have to. I don’t
want to hurt the person by not showing up. Then there are other times I’ll make my best
friend go with me. Oftentimes I’ll go for a half an hour just to show up… then I will
leave. I have used the excuse where … I have to go home and do something. I kind of felt
guilty in a lot of situations because I didn’t want to participate, or join, or talk. I felt bad
about it, but there’s just some people who tick a different way.
Participant 2 admitted, “There would be nights I didn’t want to go out with friends and pretend
that I didn’t see a text message or answer a phone call until I knew people were out or doing
something.” He said this made him wonder what was wrong with him before he discovered he
was an introvert.
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Feeling like she had to force herself to attend things, Participant 4 said:
I was interested in the things I went to, but I had to force myself to go. It made me a little
bit more flexible, getting out and being social. [Introversion] kept me from long-term
involvement. I really had to force myself to go to some of these things, even though they
are things I was interested in. I really had to kick myself in the butt and go. I think if they
would have been long-term, I probably would have avoided them completely. The short
term, one-night seminars… was easy for me because I could escape.
There were several participants who talked about the guilt they felt from within, pressuring
themselves to join or to get together with people. Participant 1 that her introversion hindered her
ability to get and stay involved.
I think it requires time, investment, and continual talking yourself into going. As sad as
that sounds, I think it’s one of those things. As someone who enjoys talking to people but
is also introverted, I feel like I have to kind of psych myself up for big event types. I
think it could be very easy to just decide ‘This is too much time’ or ‘I just can’t do this
anymore.’
Participant 9 admitted that she doesn’t think many introverts are prepared for college, socially.
She said:
A lot of our personality, I’m sure we’re kind of born with and it comes from who we are
and the world we grow up, our surroundings, but I do think that a lot of it is also from just
our lived experiences as a child. Whether that’s trauma or whatever, I think all of that
really impacts who we are. I think a lot of times I was not prepared to deal with a lot of
that in college and didn’t know how to deal with it.
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Pretending, Comparing, and Imposter Syndrome
As many of the participants didn’t know how to deal with their introversion throughout
college, they felt as though they had to compare themselves to their extraverted friends and
family members. Participant 5 shared more about her lack of knowledge.
I don’t think I realized how introverted I was. I think I put on a persona of wanting to be
the life of the party. Sometimes that just wasn’t me. I don’t think I knew myself well
enough to be able to communicate what I needed and to set boundaries and to actually do
the things that made me happy, and to communicate that out to folks.
She said that she compared herself, often, to her more extraverted sister who was involved in
other extracurricular opportunities. Thinking back on that situation, Participant 5 said:
I regret that I didn’t know myself well enough or that I didn’t have enough understanding
of my own individuality. I was trying to force myself to walk some else’s path. Trying to
follow my sister’s footsteps and do the things she did because she was really good at that
kind of stuff.
She felt a need to live up to that standard.
I wanted that. I felt a lot of pressure. I put a lot of pressure on myself to try to obtain a lot
of that. If I had known about my introversion better, if I had been more attentive to it, I
hopefully wouldn’t [have] put so much of that expectation on myself to try to achieve
things that weren’t a great fit for me. I felt like I was letting myself down because I
wasn’t more extraverted.
Participant 8 discussed her feelings of anxiety when situations forced her to be an extravert for
too long. She has since learned how to manage it and indicated she has had to understand her
warning signs of pretending to be extraverted.
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Having felt compared to extraverts often, Participant 11 said:
It felt like I had to try a lot harder to get taken seriously and get chosen for leadership
roles. There were people who were a hot mess, but extraverted, and they’d be chosen
over me because they could give a better presentation. It was kind of frustrating. I felt
like ‘Wow, I’m kind of worthless,’ but now I’m like ‘No, I’m not, it just wasn’t the right
time.’ I felt like at a certain point, I was taking what I would get because it was the only
thing people let me do. That was kind of frustrating. I think I ended up being good at the
roles I ended up in, so I think it worked out. At the time, I tried to be more outgoing. At
the time [I thought] ‘Why is everybody extraverted and happy and I can’t be like this?’
Participant 11 also indicated that her inability to act extraverted led her to feelings of being
broken, weird, and anti-social. She said, “Now I realize a lot of people are like this in the world.
I’m just not the one they chose to be friends with.”
In addition to the notion that they had to pretend to be extraverted, or the feeling of
inadequacy, several of the participants mentioned the feelings of imposter syndrome within their
involvement opportunities and the relationships they formed. Participant 1 said that she was in
talk therapy for something unrelated to introversion but ended up discussing how her personality
fed into issues of imposter feelings.
Participant 5 also described these thoughts of feeling like an imposter:
I think one of the most painful things about trying to be an extravert is when you couldn’t
do it. You felt like a failure or when the cracks in your mask started to appear you felt
very self-conscious about it. Like ‘I’m going to get found out. They’re gonna figure out
that I’m not one of them.’ So, there’s a lot of imposter syndrome there, as well.
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Similarly, Participant 8 echoed those feelings. She said, “There’s a lot of imposter syndrome. For
a lot of people, you see these happy, shiny, extravert cheerleader people and you look at them
and think ‘Well, that’s not me.’” This created the feeling of unwelcomeness for Participant 8,
when she did not see herself represented the other participants in her student organizations.
Regret
While ultimately the participants did not regret the decisions they made to become or stay
involved, several of them had regrets about what they joined or who they made connections with.
Participant 2 said:
For two and a half years I was at that institution and for more than half of my time I was
not involved. I wish that I had been more involved in one way or another. I think
knowing how important that experience was to my overall development, I’ve often
thought ‘I wonder what else you could have done?’ or ‘What else… could you have
experienced if you had been involved?’
He said what held him back was not wanting to be in the meetings or be out and about. He did
admit that he regretted not getting involved more and sooner in his undergraduate journey.
Participant 1 discussed her regret in making and keeping up with connections.
I wish that I had been more comfortable and just sort of following up, asking people to do
things. I think as I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten more comfortable with that sort of nervous
or awkward feeling that comes along with that. I’m just like ‘You know what, if they
don’t want to… it’s not personal,’ but when you’re 19 it feels so scary, as an introvert. I
think there’s so many situations where I wish that I had spoken up more or been like
‘Hey, let’s go get coffee,’ or any number of other things. I think that looking back… [I
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wish] I had felt more comfortable investing and more confident investing my time…
rather than just trying to feel and look cool.
She said that there were people she wished she had spent more time in getting to know. Had she
done so, Participant 1 said she would have gotten so much more out of her time in college.
In addition to wishing there were other connections to make, Participant 9 said that she
wished she would have started her own club.
There are probably some other things I wanted to branch out and get involved with. I
remember thinking I should probably start (club redacted) if there’s not one of those out
there. My lack of competence and self-awareness and being willing to truly be myself
[stopped me].
She said that the club she wanted to start would have gone against some of the values that her
other student organizations were based on, and that ultimately kept her from creating something
new and different for her institution.
Lastly, some of the regret involved were due to a participant’s lack of friend group and
connections. As previously stated, Participant 3 wanted to join the rugby team at her institution,
but felt like it was too much what the other things she was involved in. Participant 10,
additionally, said:
I wish I would have gotten more involved in something active or some kind of, not
necessarily sport, but something like a rock-climbing wall. But because I didn’t have
anyone else that was like ‘Yeah, let’s go rock-climbing,’ I was like ‘I’m not gonna go by
myself.’ It was something I never did. I feel like I would have loved that.
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Research Question 5
What changes in extracurricular opportunities do participants perceive as benefitting introverts?
Tangible Changes
Several of the participants discussed the changes that they thought could be made when it
came to introversion and involvement. Participant said that she would have attended a speaker on
introversion in college. She said, “By the time I was back at (school name redacted) for graduate
school they had little TedX stories.” She thought an educational series, such as that, would be
beneficial for introverts. She did, however, understand the difficulty in getting students to attend
educational programming on their campus and said, “I recognize that you can provide the
service, but the students have to go.”
Participant 9 also mentioned personal and professional development opportunities. She
admitted, “I was someone who loves to learn about myself and personal development. I probably
would have been drawn to something like an educational event or seminar that had some
interaction, but not a huge group interaction.”
Participant 3 mentioned that professors could do more for their introverted students and
said:
I think it would be wise if there were professors who kept a lookout for those students
who were more introverted, you know, based on class participation. They could make
clubs and activities more known in class because introverts, me specifically, are not
going out and seeking things, so much. I hear from word of mouth or from your neighbor
three doors down or a friend. I’m not seeking things out, having it brought up in class
more often would be great.
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Participant 8 also said that she wished there had been people asking about her. She said, “When I
got really overwhelmed, I don’t really remember anyone saying ‘This is weird for you. What’s
going on?’” Having that check in from someone, she said, “would have been nice.”
A few of the participants discussed the importance of having smaller opportunities.
Participant 2 said:
I think sometimes having more opportunities that are less focused on large groups of
people, lots of interaction. The worst thing an introvert can ever hear is ‘Let’s start with
some icebreakers.’ I think, maybe adjusting some of those things so they’re more one-on-
one, or more small group based things, in terms of some of those activities, I think will be
helpful.
Similarly, Participant 8 said she would enjoy smaller opportunities as well.
I don’t even know what this would be but having smaller opportunities. Not everybody
wants to go to the concert. Not everybody wants to go to the hypnotist. Not everyone has
a great time at these massive impersonal [events]. I think when you’re younger, it feels
like ‘If I say no to this I’ll stop being asked, so I can’t ever say no.’ Then you get so
overwhelmingly drowned in opportunity.
Along those same lines, several of the participants mentioned the student involvement fairs many
institutions have showcasing the opportunities on their campus. Participant 5 said:
(Event name redacted) was always chaotic and it was a lot of stimulation. You felt like
you had to put your email down on every single form. Admittedly, I did, especially that
first year. I put my name down on so many different clubs. Having it be both an online
and the in-person presence would be more inclusive. Having folks be able to click around
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on a website and see a blurb about all of these different organizations and submit your
email is… more inclusive.
Participant 7 also mentioned her campus’ involvement fair.
As effective as it is to have an involvement fair in the center of campus, I think that can
be very overwhelming for introverts. That’s not the most inclusive space for folks. I’m
thinking about accessibility. I’m thinking about stimulation. Those are not effective ways.
Additionally, in terms of inclusive practice, Participant 5 mentioned new technology as it
pertains to meetings and involvement.
I think that companies and school can do more to make sure folks with all different types
of brains are being included. Things like closed captions on meetings. Zoom has a closed
caption function and not many people know that it exists and how to turn it on. For me, I
don’t know if this is linked to introversion… but it can be hard for me to process auditory
input. It’s always helpful for me if I can see the transcript.
She also mentioned that getting feedback in a variety of ways can also be beneficial for
introverts.
Different ways of soliciting input from your membership, I think, is another really
important thing. I remember being in organizations where we would either only solicit
input through a survey, or we would only solicit input live during a meeting. But both
modalities, really, I think are important for making sure all folks have the opportunity to
get their voices heard on issues that are close to them or issues that impact them.
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When soliciting information, Participant 8 said that it’s important to leave space for the voices of
others, as introverts need more time to think.
I wish people were better at leaving space. I think sometimes people are so
uncomfortable with silence or feel like they’re compelled to move things forward at a
certain pace. I don’t know if you’ve had this experience, but… you’re in a meeting or
you’re in a class… and they’re like ‘What do people think about this?’ By the time I
figure out what I want to say, they’ve moved on to the next thing. I think as an introvert,
if you’re in a situation with a facilitator or a leader who plows ahead and doesn’t make
space, you check out. You can even be halfway through a meeting and be like, ‘Well,
there’s no point. I’m not even going to pay attention anymore, because they’re not
leaving any room for me to engage.’
Participant 7 said that there needs to be all types of leaders in every organization.
I’m thinking for resident assistant and for orientation leaders, some of those big groups
on campus that face a lot of different students. I just think they need to pick less
extraverts because it’s all about those connections you make with students. If students
don’t see themselves amongst them, they’re going to say, ‘That’s not for me.’ I wish that
campuses would do that, be more tactical with the students they select, their recruitment
efforts, and things like that. Try to find those spaces where introverts are, because trust
me, they’re there. There’s just a different approach to reaching them.
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Participant 10 felt having a community space or living community for introverts would
be beneficial.
I think it would help a lot, for introverts, to have that community, have like-minded
individuals. If it’s a gaming community, awesome, you have people I can game with
from the beginning and create those connections. I think that would be really important.
Changes in Perception and Knowledge of Introversion
All of the participants mentioned the misperception of introverts at some point in their
interviews. While not all of them had explicit changes they felt needed to be made in order for
extraverts and introverts, alike, to understand introversion, they all knew that was where it
needed to begin. Participant 9 said, “The first step is definitely that self-awareness piece.”
Several participants mentioned the internet as a place where they felt comfortable or
more able to express themselves. A few participants had mentioned blogs and websites where
they received some of their knowledge of introversion. Participants even mentioned popular
internet items such as pictures, known as memes, as ways for them to put their knowledge of
introversion into their everyday lives. Participant 1 said that while social media was brand new
when she was starting college, there is much more of a community there now. She said that some
introverts may be able to be a part of a more vibrant online community.
Participant 2 said he recently saw a meme where everyone was asking why introverts
don’t talk more and the response to the meme was turned back asking why extraverts aren’t more
quiet? Participant 7 also said she had seen things on the internet for introverts.
There’s accounts for introverts. I think that’s super helpful. You’re like ‘Yes, I relate to
that.’ If there are other people that think the same way, it’s ok to be proud of being an
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introvert because I think introverts get a bad rap because they think they’re quiet and that
they are not as effective as leaders. They’re probably more effective to be honest.
She reiterated multiple times that “It’s okay to be an introvert.” She also said, “It’s not you are
less than an extraverted leader.”
Participant 7 added:
I think what you see, what I see on campus, are the most front facing, the extravert
leaders. I think a lot of the introverted leaders get kind of pushed to the wayside because
they’re always there or they’re so quiet, but you need those introverted leaders.
Most of the participants discussed how the exploration of themselves and others as introverts and
as leaders is key to changing introvert’s perception and ability to become involved.
Participant 1 had this to say about what she wished she had known about her
introversion:
I think I would have been so much gentler with myself, and I would have just said, ‘This
is the kind of friendship that I want to make’ and ‘I’m going to invest my time this way,’
rather than trying to be an extravert when I’m really not. I think it would have helped me
if I’d had a better understanding of myself. I really would have been gentler to myself
and other people, and just found more meaning in the relationships I did form. [I would
have] made a greater investment in places in the organizations I got involved in.
She said that understanding was necessary, both for herself and others.
I wish sometimes that they understood that it’s not that we don’t like people, or that we
don’t like meeting folks or building relationships. It’s more about how sometimes we’re
inside of our head a little more than other people, and we enjoy it, but we can also get
really worn out. I think just reframing the conversation from being shy or boring or too
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quiet, or whatever else gets laid at introverts and just helping people understand that we
really value meaningful connections.
Participant 2 has done some of his own research on introversion.
I do feel like the world is very centered on extraverts and seeing some of that scholarly
work has been helpful in terms of me understanding myself and learning that honestly, to
some people, me being quiet, planting a seed, and they see it as a negative. Ultimately,
there’s a lot of positives that comes out of that and… having that knowledge in college
would have been probably helpful, I think, in some ways of understanding who I was.
He agreed in the importance of knowledge.
Helping people to learn what’s going to be a place for them that’s going to work well.
Meeting their kind of introverted needs because they’re equally as important. I think
having introverted voices are important. I think… also institutions, continuing to talk
about some of what being an extravert, what being an introvert means, correctly defining
it too.
Participant 3 said that the knowledge of introversion is hard to relay in an extraverted world. She
said, “I know there’s a lot of people who are introverts, and a lot of people know, but I still think
it’s an extravert world.”
Wishing she had known more about introversion in college, Participant 5 said:
I wish I had valued introverted traits better than what I did back then. I think I was trying
really hard to be an extravert, and I just wasn’t. I wish, honestly, I had valued more
introverted, more emotional traits, back then. I was very cold and calculating when I was
young, and I didn’t value any shred of emotion in decision making.
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Now that she has learned more about herself, Participant 5 values the emotional side of things.
Empathetic leadership is one of my mantras now and trying to lead more with your heart.
Rather than people being incompetent; people’s needs aren’t being accommodated. So
that’s something I wish I had known back then, because it would have made me a lot
more human.
In addition, she said:
There’s a lot more introverted folks out there in the world than we realize, and we need to
be accommodating of their needs. Extraverts can often be the loudest voice in the room,
but that doesn’t mean that they are right or that we have to do things a particular way.
While not necessarily about traits, Participant 6 also said she wished she’d had a better
understanding of introversion while in college.
I wish I had known more about the idea that introverts need that alone time to recharge,
because I never thought about recharging. I thought about ‘Do I get enough sleep so I can
do the next thing?’ and then, ‘I can take a nap after that.’ I wish I would have known
more about that from an energy level standpoint so that I could have been more proactive,
or a lot more proactive, about taking better care of myself.
She said that had she taken better care of herself, she would have known she did not need to fill
all of her time with experiences and contact with people.
Participant 6 also said:
I think it would be nice to see a little bit more balance, in that regard, of how can
extraverts make the situation more comfortable or maybe a little bit more accommodating
or aware of the other side of things versus always expecting introverts to come up to their
level.
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Participant 8 wished she’d known more about her personality, as well.
I wish I had known more about the power that comes with being an introvert. I think our
culture puts so much emphasis on the benefits of being extraverted that when you’re
introverted, especially when you’re younger, you feel pressured to fit into that mold. I
wish earlier on, I had realized, ‘No, you’re ok… just the way you are.’ Definitely push
yourself and try new things, but there’s power in your personality too.
Participant 10 mentioned others’ understanding of introversion. She stated:
I also feel like there could have been more acknowledgement of ‘Okay, so what else can
we do or what do we need to do to be sure that we don’t suck the energy out of you
during an event?’
Participant 11 said that knowledge would have helped her through college.
I think, I also would have benefitted in college how to differentiate introversion versus
social anxiety. I think I could have maybe gotten help with that part, and it would have
been more healthy, and it wasn’t at certain points.
One of the ways that Participant 10 said she learned about introversion was through a leadership
seminar, where they were taught about different personalities, strengths, and leadership. She felt
more comfortable with her introversion after that seminar.
I feel like learning I was an introvert helped with my confidence, because I understood,
‘Okay, it’s not because I’m anti-social that I don’t want to be around people, it’s because
people literally suck the energy out of me, so I have to limit my being around people.’ I
think having some assessment or tool for people to learn about themselves and then also
the opportunity for people to share… really helps people understand that other shave
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different points of view, different strengths that they bring to the table. I would agree that
doing something like that is important.
Chapter Summary
The interviews were conducted for this phenomenological study during November and
December 2021, via Zoom. There were 18 questions asked in the interview protocol, but several
participants requested follow-up and clarification on the questions. I used Zoom’s speech-to-text
for transcription and cleaned up each before I sent it to the participants. After every member
agreed to the accuracy of their transcript and had the opportunity to add any additional thoughts,
I coded each transcript several times to analyze for patterns, themes, and categories. Many
common themes occurred throughout the interviews and coding processes and the responses of
the participants were used to provide thick, rich description. The thoughts and perceptions of the
participants provided insight into their participation in passive and active extracurricular and co-
curricular involvement opportunities during their undergraduate journey. Their perception of
personal introversion provided information on knowledge of themselves and their thoughts on
changes that could be made to further inform involvement practices. Conclusions developed
from these findings, as well implications for future practices and research are presented in the
following chapter.
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Chapter 5. Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations
The initial three chapters of this phenomenological study included an introduction to the
topics of introversion, identity development, and student involvement; the significance of this
study; a literature review; an overview of the qualitative approach; the research methodology;
and the participant selection and data collection processes. Chapter 4 included a report of the
categories and themes that emerged from the interview results, an in-depth description of the
semi-structured interview data for each research question, and an overview of the data analysis.
The data retrieved through these interviews resulted in thick, rich description provided by the
participants. Discussed were the thoughts and perceptions of the participants of being involved
on their undergraduate campus, while identifying as an introvert. Chapter 5 includes a summary
of the research questions, conclusions, and recommendations for future practice in higher
education.
Summary
The data from this qualitative, phenomenological study were collected from 11
interviews of self-identified introverts who participated in two or more extracurricular
opportunities while attending a four-year, public, higher education institution. The participants
attended medium and large four-year, public institutions in the South, West, and Midwest
Regions of the United States as classified by the US Census. All interviews were guided by a
semi-structured interview protocol containing 18 questions. I used follow-up questions, as
needed, for several of the interviews. Additionally, several of the participants asked clarifying
questions throughout their responses. The interview protocol was created based on this study’s
five research questions. Each of the research questions were guided by one central question:
What are the needs of introverts in their extracurricular, undergraduate experiences?
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Findings from this study may be helpful for higher education professionals who plan
passive and active extracurricular opportunities as they guide outcomes for their events and
activities. This study may also inform practice in higher education on the perceptions of
introverts throughout their undergraduate journey. While the responses from the participants are
not an exhaustive description of all introvert’s thoughts and perceptions of their extracurricular
opportunities, many of the responses could be used to expand upon further understanding or
research. Conclusions for the following five research questions are discussed below.
Research Question 1
How do introverts describe their decision-making process about involvement in extracurricular
activities in college?
Throughout the interviews both the ideas of the why the participants originally got
involved and the why they stayed involved guided the discussions. Over half of the participants
discussed that they grew up in a small town or went to a smaller high school, prior to attending
college. Several of the participants shared that going to college was a large change for them, and
noted feelings being overwhelmed and intimidated. Participant 1 indicated that getting involved
was her way of making the school feel smaller. Similarly, Participant 5 said that it was her way
to find a home at her institution.
The connections with people that they wanted to make was a theme throughout many of
the interviews. They discussed their wants and needs in forming relationships with others and
creating opportunities for social interaction. Participant 6 said that as an introvert she knew that
she needed to socialize and find those opportunities where that interaction was given to her, since
she knew that she would not seek it for herself.
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Making connections was not the only reason that the participants got involved, however.
Seven of the 11 participants said that other people influenced them in getting involved with
something on their campus. When other people started to get involved around them, many of the
participants followed suit. Some of the participants said it was because they were better
followers than leaders, some of the participants just wanted something to do. Participants
mentioned that friends would suggest involvement opportunities that aligned with their interests.
Also discussed was the influence of campus members who also shared opportunities that aligned
with the participants interests. One of the participants had a brother who attended the same
school and encouraged her to participate in one of the clubs he participated in. He believed that
she would enjoy the involvement aspect of that particular organization.
Two of the participants talked in-depth about their desire to join college organizations
prior to even becoming students. One participant enjoyed attending a summer camp on a college
campus, getting to know her resident assistants each year. She said that looking up to those
people and finding their participation fascinating made her want to join similar organizations
when she went to college. Another participant said that an older friend who had already gone to
college told her that she should say yes to opportunities, and she would end up finding her place
at her institution.
Materials used to market events were discussed by three of the participants. They
believed that flyers on their residence hall doors created an opportunity to attend activities and
events they may not have sought out themselves. While the marketing materials might have
gotten them in the door to a meeting, none of them mentioned that this was the reason they
returned to the organization.
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The reasons they did stay involved over their years was widely discussed. Six of the
participants talked about the knowledge they gained from being involved. Several enjoyed the
skills they learned from creating and implementing programs for their residence hall or the
general student population. Participant 1, in particular, discussed the differing views from her
upbringing. She believed that being involved gave her the opportunity to reevaluate what she had
known growing up and could reflect on it without repercussion. She enjoyed that others were
open with their viewpoints as well, showing her how she could discuss topics with people in an
educational and thought-provoking manner.
Two of the participants discussed their feelings regarding the knowledge they incurred
during their extracurricular opportunities. They both enjoyed the aspects of knowing what was
happening on campus, at all times. Their understanding of the events and activities going on
around them made them feel in-the-know. They also enjoyed the opportunity of knowing others
on their campus, especially student influencers and faculty, staff, and administration.
Not only was knowledge a widely discussed topic, but many of the participants discussed
their role within their organization as a reason they stayed involved. Participant 5 particularly
enjoyed having a voice. She enjoyed being able to create change on her campus, as well as help
to create change using the thoughts of her peers. The bond that Participant 5 made with those she
was involved with was a point she reiterated throughout her interview. Making things happen
and having a purpose in creating and planning events was one of the topics discussed by
Participant 2. Additionally, Participant 2 said that he enjoyed having a job to do that didn’t
require him to put himself out there, as an introvert.
The sense of belonging was a theme throughout each interview. All of the participants
talked about the connections they made throughout their time involved. They felt that they had
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made connections with others, and that those connections with others were based on respect and
encouragement. That encouragement was not only peer-to-peer. Several of the participants
discussed the encouragement and the mentorship they felt that stemmed from faculty and staff
mentors. That encouragement made Participant 8 feel as though she made a contribution to both
her organizations and her campus. Those contributions made her feel welcome at the meetings
she attended, and she admitted that was the reason she continued her involvement.
The thoughts and perceptions discussed throughout the interviews for research question 1
follow closely with the conceptual framework guiding this study. Throughout their time in active
and passive extracurricular involvement and co-curricular opportunities, the participants worked
their way through several of Chickering and Reissers’ (1993) Theory of Identity Development
vectors. In the how and why participants got and stayed involved on their campus,’ they learned
about intellectual and interpersonal competence, gaining knowledge, and using it, as well as
communication with others and developing relationships. All of the participants discussed their
creation of mature interpersonal relationships and learning about others whose viewpoints were
different than their own. Their preference for roles and responsibilities within their organizations
showed their development of purpose, building skills and broadening their knowledge. Many of
them found that their purpose began to be fulfilled when they used their talents. The themes
discussed during this question directly correlate to Astin’s (1985) Theory of Involvement, as
each participant discussed both their physical and psychological commitment to their
extracurricular opportunity and the interactions they held with others on their campus.
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Research Question 2
What opportunities from extracurricular involvement do introverts perceive?
The interviews touched widely on the opportunities the introverted participants believed
they were able to take part in. Most often discussed, the participants shared with me their
opportunities to engage with people, where they maybe would not have had the chance, had they
not been involved. Multiple participants told me about their desire to help people and were able
to do so through their student organizations and service-learning trips. Additionally, Participants
1 and 5 shared their deep interest in learning viewpoints different than their own and those they
were shown during their upbringing. Both participants discussed that their participation in
student organizations, living learning communities, and service-learning trips heightened their
knowledge of new and differing perspectives.
In addition to service-learning opportunities, seven of the 11 participants were able to
attend school, state, regional, and national conferences due to their involvement in their student
organizations. Several of the participants shared with me their experiences at leadership retreats
and discussed with me their newfound understanding of themselves and others. Two of the
participants took part in both study abroad and national student exchange programs, which they
felt broadened their horizons.
Nine of the 11 participants had the opportunity to grow in their capacities within their
student organizations, each becoming leaders within their respective groups. They believed that
these opportunities led them to keep achieving other leadership positions on their campus. While
Participant 11 did share with me that she originally joined to put student organizations on her
resume, being involved left her wanting more opportunities, not just on paper. Several of the
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participants said that they would not be in their current careers had they not taken those
leadership opportunities.
While many of the leadership opportunities they took led them to on-campus student
positions, several of the participants said they have been or currently are in involvement-adjacent
career fields. Eight of 11 participants previously or currently work in a higher education or
adjacent career field. Multiple participants indicated that their involvement encouraged them to
go into their career fields. Participants 2 and 8 both shared that their involvement opportunities
and the people they worked with drew them to the field of student affairs.
Both theories in the conceptual framework used for this study align with this research
question. Astin’s (1985) Theory of Involvement is directly associated with both the physical and
psychological investment these participants made in their extracurricular opportunities.
Chickering and Reisser’s (1993) Theory of Identity Development goes hand in hand with many
of the opportunities the participants felt they had throughout their involvement experiences.
Many of the participants worked through the vector of developing mature interpersonal
relationships through their engagement with others, and their desire to help those around them.
All of the participants discussed topics of developing competence as they all believed their
opportunities gave them leadership skills. Several of the participants discussed the importance of
trying out various roles throughout their undergraduate involvement, offering them glimpses into
establishing their identities. Lastly, all participants participated in the vector of developing
purpose as they created intentional goals for themselves and committed both time and energy to
their extracurricular activities. As indicated, throughout their involvement, many of the
participants developed purpose through their vocational plans and aspirations shown to them in
their student organizations.
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Research Question 3
What skills do introverts perceive they have developed as a result of extracurricular
involvement?
All of the participants shared their experiences in learning new and heightening already
existing skills. Many of the participants discussed hard skills. With the involvement of several
participants in organizations such as student government associations, residence hall government
associations, and educational simulation organizations, the skills of reading and writing
legislation and the use of parliamentary procedure was discussed. Eight of the 11 participants
discussed their newfound event management and planning skills. Often discussed topics were
leading meetings and setting agendas. Additionally, several of the participants discussed their
learned skills of travel planning, budget and materials management, contract handling, and
working with the local media outlets.
In addition to the more tangible skills that the participants discussed, all participants had
soft skills that they described to me from time spent in their extracurricular opportunities. Seven
of the 11 participants shared their experiences in learning resume creation and interviewing skills
from their extracurricular opportunities. They indicated that their organization either required
them to create a resume and take part in interviews, or that their organizations assisted in them
getting interviews for jobs and internships.
Ten of the 11 participants discussed their time management and organization skills
learned, either from their participation or because of their filled schedules. Only one participant
indicated she did not learn time management, but she admitted that it was because it wasn’t a
skill she gravitated towards. She believed that while her extracurricular opportunities taught time
management, she just couldn’t get the hang of it.
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All of the participants were able to learn the skills of communicating, listening and
observing, and speaking skills. Several participants said that with their heightened ability of
speaking skills in their extracurricular organization, they were able to speak up and advocate for
themselves more, both in and out of class. A few participants also believed that their ability to
listen and observe as introverts assisted their abilities in their organizations when teammates
needed different types of leadership.
Within the various organizations, all of the participants shared their skills for working as
teams and in groups. They all discussed how their opportunities fed the ability to create shared
visions within their teams and then work together towards common goals. Many participants also
discussed the connections they made with their peers and faculty and staff mentors. With their
opportunities in groups and organizations, several of the participants said that the networks they
built helped them to expand in both knowledge and friendship circles.
Ten of the 11 participants shared their developing confidence and assertiveness skills
learned from their involvement opportunities. They indicated that their participation in meetings,
at leadership retreats, and attending conferences assisted them in feeling as though they were
worthy of speaking up. Many participants said that confidence was one of the most valuable
skills they learned throughout their time in extracurricular involvement.
The intentionality behind each and every participant attending their extracurricular
opportunities showed connection to the conceptual framework of Astin’s (1985) Theory of
Involvement. The skills and abilities they created or cultivated is in direct correlation with
Chickering and Reisser’s (1993) Theory of Identity Development as all of the participants shared
their development of competence through intellectual and interpersonal skill building. They were
all able to listen, cooperate, and communication on teams effectively. Many participants worked
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through the vector of developing mature interpersonal relationships as they discussed their
working on teams and finding a balance between listening, speaking, and communication. Lastly,
as confidence and advocacy were mentioned throughout many of the interviews, many of the
participants worked towards establishing their identity as they learned more about their own
beliefs and values in their extracurricular opportunities.
Research Question 4
How to introverts perceive that their preferences influence their extracurricular involvement?
During the interviews many of the participants discussed their preference for smaller
groups or one-on-one interaction. All of the participants shared that they have a difficult time in
forming relationships with others. Many specifically said that they tend to create more
acquaintanceships, rather than form close friend circles. Participant 9 said that she does not like
to form relationships without an authentic connection. All 11 participants indicated that once
they feel comfortable with a person, they are more open and willing to engage in conversation.
All participants shared that they were some semblance of the following: “drained,”
“taxed,’ “exhausted,’ and “tired” when participating in their extracurricular activities and with
larger groups of people. Several of the participants indicated that they felt as if their introversion
hindered the number of extracurricular activities they felt they could be involved in. They also
said that they felt as if they were already “spread thin,’ “overextended,’ and “overbooked” with
the amount of time and energy their extracurricular opportunities took in addition to their
classwork and personal lives. Two participants explicitly said that large events were not where
they felt as if they could recuperate or relax, causing them to not attend or participate in larger
scale events.
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Another theme throughout the interviews was that many of the participants felt guilted
into joining organizations or going to events and meetings. Two of the 11 participants indicated
that they often avoided their friends or get togethers because they felt the pressure from others to
take part. Participant 4 shared that one-time events worked better for her because she could be
involved for one evening and then not make a commitment for another event. In addition to the
outside pressure and guilt, almost all of the participants admitted that they pressured themselves
to attend or join events, causing some of them a bit of anxiety.
Participant 9 shared that she believed that many students, especially introverts, are
unprepared for the social rigor of college life. Several other participants mentioned that they
didn’t understand that their preferences were introverted, thus they felt as if they compared
themselves to their extraverted counterparts. Participant 5 indicated that she felt the need to live
up to extravert standards. Similarly, Participant 11 said that she felt worthless when she tried for
a leadership role and was denied for a more extraverted colleague. Their introverted preferences
often led to the perception of unwelcomeness in student organizations for many of the
participants. Four of the 11 participants indicated that they felt like imposters within their
extracurricular opportunities.
While many of the participants did not have concrete regrets regarding their time in
extracurricular involvement, several participants wished they had done things a little differently.
Several of the participants mentioned that they wished they had made more or stronger
connections with other members of their student organizations. Participant 1 believed that she
should have kept those connections going throughout her time in college and wished she would
have had the courage to reach out more to her peers. Participant 2 thought that he got involved
later in his undergraduate journey than most of his peers. He wished he had joined involvement
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opportunities sooner so that his impact, both on the organization and the organization on him,
would have been greater.
Several of the participants mentioned that they wished they would have been more
psychologically or physically involved in their opportunities. These students’ wishes to have
participated more correlates to Astin’s (1985) Theory of Involvement. The premise of Astins’s
(1985) Theory of Involvement is what one gets from their involvement is directly influenced by
what the person puts into it. Participant 10 admitted that while she was in attendance at many of
her organizations’ meetings, she felt as though she could have put more of an effort into it. Many
participants shared that they could have done more psychologically to get involved with the
organization or its other members.
The participants’ preferences for their involvement are in line with Chickering and
Reisser’s (1993) Theory of Identity Development through both of the vectors of interpersonal
competence and establishing identity. As the participants moved through their time in
extracurricular opportunities many of them learned to integrate their skills into knowledge and
understanding self-assurance. As participants were involved, many of them learned more about
their sense of selves within their social circles. A few discussed the self-concept they had in
learning about their preferences for introversion. All of the participants talked about their sense
of self through their relationship with the organization’s other members. Many of them moved
through the comfortability in who they were, as involved citizens of their university and as
introverts.
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Research Question 5
What changes in extracurricular opportunities do participants perceive as benefitting introverts?
During the interviews, the participants discussed their thoughts regarding what changes
could be made of extracurricular involvement that may be optimal for introverts who are
interested in involvement. Several participants had concrete ideas such as educational
programming and personal or professional developmental opportunities. Participant 3 mentioned
having faculty and staff involved in sharing the available options would have been beneficial for
her. Another participant wished there was a staff member who is more likely to check in when
they see that something isn’t going well with the student, socially.
Several participants mentioned their campus’ involvement fairs. Two of those
participants indicated that adding options for inclusivity into the involvement fair process, such
as both in-person and online components, may be more inclusive. Similarly, Participant 5 said
that with the recent technology surge on campuses, perhaps doing things by Zoom where closed
captioning is available. That same participant mentioned using both in-person and online
feedback as an opportunity to reach current and prospective members.
Two of the 11 participants discussed that leadership positions on campus need to be filled
with a wider array of personalities. Both of the participants said that they felt as if their on-
campus leadership positions had been filled with people dissimilar to themselves. They also
shared that they believed this kept many introverts from joining those types of opportunities.
Additionally, two of the 11 participants shared with me that there needs to be space at
institutions of higher education for introverts. One participant told me that space was mental. She
felt as though people were uncomfortable with the silence they received when they asked her a
question and she needed time to answer. The other participant said that the space she desired was
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physical. She said that having a space, such as a lounge or living learning community, where
introverts could be themselves and meet other introverts would be helpful.
One topic that all participants agreed would be beneficial was smaller opportunities for
involvement. Several of the participants admitted that the large-scale programming provided by
their campus was not their preference. While all of them knew that they wanted the smaller, less
time-consuming events, one participant also shared with me that she knew it would still be up to
the student to take the opportunity.
In addition to the more concrete ideas the participants discussed, some of them had more
overarching ideas that involved awareness. Two of the 11 participants mentioned that online
communities are becoming more popular and would perhaps work on some campuses for their
introverted population. Another participant shared her time in a leadership seminar class as being
crucial for knowledge of herself and others.
Knowledge was the most discussed topic throughout the interviews. All of the
participants said that self-awareness and the awareness of those around them was paramount.
They believed that if conversations regarding introversion and extraversion were reframed, with
distinct and direct conversations about both personality types, everyone would benefit. One
participant said that it started at the institution level where people could correctly define with is
an introvert and what is an extravert. Several of the participants wished they had known more
about their personalities. Throughout multiple interviews, participants shared with me that they
would have felt less anxiety and felt as though they didn’t have to hide their true selves. Several
participants also said they wished they had known more about emotions and energy, both for
their physical and for their psychological health.
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The thoughts and ideas of the participants as to changes that could be made to benefit
introverts correlate to the conceptual framework through Astin’s (1985) Theory of Involvement.
As involvement is both the physical and psychological time that participants put into their
activities, many felt as though reframing the concept of introversion would have benefitted both.
Additionally, knowledge regarding themselves and others would have assisted them in the
vectors of both interpersonal competence and developing mature interpersonal relationships. All
of the participants, in discussing their knowledge of introversion, believed that they would have
had a better sense of themselves, had they understood their personalities. This would have aided
them in establishing their identities through the lens of introversion, helping them to solidly
define themselves, and take ownership of their emotions. Additionally, several of the participants
believed that through more knowledge about themselves they may have had a better sense of
who they were in their social context.
Several of the suggestions made by the participants indicate areas of gaps in literature
regarding the needs and wants of introverts. There is a gap in literature surrounding involvement
fairs and their positive and negative attributes for students of various personality types. As
several participants pointed out, leadership positions within student organizations should include
a wider variety of personality types. There is a gap in literature regarding what personality types
work best for which student organizations and how it may affect those joining the organization.
Another gap regarding the wants and needs of introverts is the idea of space, and the physical
presence of introverts on our campus. One of largest two remaining gaps for introversion and
involvement center around knowledge and awareness of introversion both for the introvert,
themselves, and for those around them. Finally, there is a gap in literature regarding the size and
type of events that introverts are interested in attending.
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Recommendations for Practice
This qualitative, phenomenological study offers insight into the thoughts and perceptions
of introverts during their involvement in extracurricular opportunities at their four-year, public
universities. With this data as justification, the following recommendations for practice are
outlined below:
• Higher education administrators should acknowledge the difference in extracurricular
participation preference between introverts and extraverts by offering professional
development opportunities for faculty and staff based on introversion and extraversion.
• Higher education administrators should acknowledge that passive and active
extracurricular opportunities provide learning experiences for students they may not
receive inside the classroom by creating opportunities for faculty and staff to come
together to discuss in- and out-of-classroom learning.
• Higher education administrators should review and evaluate their current active and
passive extracurricular involvement opportunities. This may include a review and
evaluation of all programs, both large- and small- scale.
• Higher education administrators should review and evaluate past active and passive
extracurricular involvement opportunities for attendance and accessibility. This may
include a review and evaluation of all programs, both large- and small-scale.
• Institutions should provide passive and active extracurricular programming that
enlightens students on personality and temperament differences on both introversion and
extraversion.
• Institutions should develop personal and professional development courses for students to
take as part of a general education credit.
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• Institutions should offer events and programs, such as involvement fairs, in both large-
and small-scale format to provide accessibility for all students.
• Institutions should create online communities for students to join in order to create
community, for both in-person and online institution attendants.
• Institutions should offer space, such as a lounge or living-learning community that is
explicitly welcome for introverts.
• Institutions should provide all faculty, staff, and students with information regarding
opportunities for passive and active extracurricular involvement. Faculty and staff should
be asked to relay information regarding opportunities to their respective students.
These recommendations were created following interviews and analysis of the qualitative data.
While many of the preceding recommendations should be implemented at the institutional level,
divisions of student affairs may be the most likely to implement many of the recommendations.
There is, however, a need for the recommended changes to be implemented in the academic
affairs branch of an institution.
Recommendations for Research
This qualitative, phenomenological study described the thoughts and perceptions of
several introverted individuals who were involved in extracurricular opportunities while
attending a four-year, public university. As the lived experiences were the participants’ own,
continued research is necessary. Future studies should examine the effects of current issues in
relation to passive and active extracurricular opportunities, such as COVID-19, declining
enrollment, and waning financial stability.
The literature related to this study showcased a need for more research in the area of
introverts and their involvement in opportunities at their institution of higher education. While
135
literature was vast on extraverts and generalized involvement, there was a lack of research that
truly showcased the needs of introverts within their extracurricular opportunities. Additionally,
there is a need for more research in the areas of what types of passive and active extracurricular
involvement opportunities introverts prefer. If more studies were conducted, information
regarding introvert’s preference for the type and scope of passive and active extracurricular
involvement opportunities could enlighten student affairs professionals on how to create more
inclusive extracurricular environments. This may also take shape in the form of an online
community for students who prefer that medium, or for students who are not on-ground to take
classes to also participate.
Also, studies should be created on the preparedness of the professionals on a university
campus who plan extracurricular events. Understanding the needs of students is at the forefront
of every university professional’s position. In order to know if those professionals have the
knowledge of how to review and evaluate student needs, their preparedness for job functions
such as surveying, and focus groups should be studied.
In order to further this research, quantitative methods could be used to gather a wider
array of thoughts and responses. A survey using both multiple choice questions and written
answers may incorporate responses from introverts who may be unable to attend or uninterested
in participating through in-person or Zoom recorded interviews. Additionally, using both surveys
and interviews in a mixed-methods study may be able to capture varying perspectives from
introverted participants who are willing to use both written and verbal mediums.
In addition to future research surrounding introversion and involvement, this study found
opportunities to expand research to other areas. A study could be conducted to assess the
thoughts and perceptions of uninvolved students who self-identify as introverts regarding their
136
sense of belonging at their institution. There is also a need for more research in the area of grade
point average within the areas of both involved and uninvolved students who self-identify as
introverts to ascertain whether involvement assisted or hindered their grades. Another area of
focus for research is the residential or commuter status of introverts, in general, but also as it
relates to their involvement preferences.
Lastly, there is an additional area of research possible for understanding both introverts
and extraverts in the classroom. As classrooms are often “arranged in pods” (Cain, 2013, p. 6) to
enhance group learning, studies regarding the thoughts and perceptions of introverts inside the
classroom would be of benefit. This may indicate that introverts need varying lesson plans or
assignments than their extraverted classmates.
Concluding Summary
experiences of introverts who were involved in extracurricular opportunities while attending a
four-year, undergraduate institution. Chapter 1 indicated the necessity for research on both
introversion and involvement and contained the statement of the problem, research questions,
significance of the study, definitions of terms, and the limitations and delimitations. Chapter 2
presented a review of literature discussing the conceptual framework, theories use throughout
this dissertation, extracurricular involvement, and temperament and personality. Chapter 3
outlined the methodology used in this study along with a researcher prospective statement,
design, and information on participant selection, data collection and analysis, credibility, and
trustworthiness. Chapter 4 introduced the participant profiles, my notes and memos, and the
results of the research questions from this study. Additionally, themes that emerged from the
participants were discussed. Chapter 5 discussed the summary of information gathered from the
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participants, as well as provided information for recommendations regarding practice and further
research.
As this study researched the thoughts and perceptions of the participants regarding their
time in extracurricular opportunities, these responses are solely those of the participants and
cannot be assumed that all involved introverts felt the same during their undergraduate journey.
As an introvert, myself, and student affairs professional who is tasked with planning and
implementation extracurricular opportunities at my institution, this study was conceived out of
interest for future implications and practice in my field. The necessity and preferences for
extracurricular involvement is personal to each individual who takes part. If we can truly
understand the needs and wants of students who identify as introverts, we can create better
opportunities for them. This study offered suggestions for practice, as well as future research to
assist in the development of introverted personality accessible extracurricular involvement
opportunities.
138
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APPENDIX: Interview Protocol
Introduction:
Hello, my name is Maigan Wipfli. I’m a doctoral student in the Educational Leadership and
Policy Analysis program at East Tennessee State University. This research is to understand the
lived experiences of undergraduates who were involved in extracurricular opportunities who
self-identify as introverts.
Time commitment:
It is my hope that your commitment to this interview will only take 60 minutes of your time. If
after the end of this session, you feel there are things you would still like to discuss, I would be
more than happy to schedule another interview, or converse by email or phone. If you agree, I
would like to send you any transcripts from this recording, so that you may look them over for
accuracy, or to add any additional thoughts.
Procedures:
This interview will be audio and video recorded for the purposes of data collection. No personal
information will be shared about you, nor will your real name be used in any findings.
Participation:
This interview intends you no physical or emotional harm. However, if at any time you wish to
stop the interview process, please feel free to do so. By continuing this interview, you consent to
all that I have shared with you so far. Do you agree?
162
Introduction:
During this interview, you will be asked about the experiences you had while selecting and
becoming involved with extracurricular opportunities on your campus. I will ask you about your
thoughts and perceptions about those experiences, including being involved while self-
identifying as an introvert. I will additionally ask you about the skills you may have formed
while involved, friendships you created due to that involvement, and your personal and
educational success due to being involved on campus.
1. Tell me about yourself?
2. You have self-identified as an introvert and took the test we sent you. Have you ever
taken the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or a similar typology test, and what were those
results?
3. Did you go to a public, four-year college or university)?
4. What do you remember about yourself from when you were in college?
5. Describe your introversion and what it means to you.
6. Tell me about the involvement experiences you had in undergrad. How did you get
involved? What kept you involved? Did you hold any leadership positions?
7. Describe your friend group(s) from undergrad.
8. What opportunities were you able to take part in due to being involved?
9. What skills or abilities did you learn from being involved?
10. Describe a time when you used the skills or abilities you learned either in school, work,
or your personal life.
163
11. How did being involved create or shape your identity? Did being involved help you to
become who you are? Did being involved add or change to your life goals/purpose?
12. Describe any educational successes or hardships you encountered due to being involved?
13. In any of your involvement experiences, did you feel that your introversion helped or
hindered you? Were people understanding of your introversion?
14. Tell me about a time that you regretted not doing something or not getting involved, due
to your introversion?
15. Did your introversion help or hinder your ability to become or stay involved?
16. What do you wish you had known about introversion while you were in college?
17. What do you wish other people had known about introversion while you were in college?
18. What changes do you wish your institution would have made to help introverts become or
stay involved on campus?
Conclusion: Is there anything you wanted to talk about that we didn’t discuss today? Thank you
for your time. I will have these transcripts sent to you for your approval. You can add to them or
send me any additional things you may have thought of since we spoke. Have a great day.
Please note: These questions were conducted in a semi-structured nature. All questions were
asked in a conversational tone that flowed with the interview and may not have been asked
verbatim, but instead asked with a more discussion context rather than interview-style tone.
164
VITA
MAIGAN MARIE WIPFLI
Education: Ed.D. Educational Leadership, East Tennessee State University
Johnson City, Tennessee, 2022
M.Ed. College Student Personnel Administration, The University
of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, 2005
B.A. Spanish, The University of Wisconsin- Green Bay
Green Bay, Wisconsin, 2004
Professional Experience: Director of the June Anderson Center for Women and
Nontraditional Students, Middle Tennessee State
University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 2020-Present
Assistant Director of Student Programming and Activities, Middle
Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee
2014-2020
Student Programs Coordinator, The University of Wisconsin- Eau
Claire, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, 2006-2014
Area Coordinator, Millikin University, Decatur, Illinois, 2005-
2006
Graduate Hall Director, The University of Southern Mississippi,
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, 2004-2005
165

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Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works

The Lived Experiences of Introverts and their Extracurricular

Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd

East Tennessee State University

of the requirements for the degree

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership,

concentration in Higher Education Leadership

Dr. Jill Channing, Chair

Dr. William Flora

Dr. James Lampley

Keywords: introvert, involvement, engagement, identity development

The Lived Experiences of Introverts and their Extracurricular Involvement in a Four-Year

undergraduate experience at a four-year college or university. Eleven semi-structured interviews

introversion, cultural focus of extraversion, personal and professional development, opportunities

educational professionals tasked with the creation and implementation of extracurricular

types, including introverts.

encouragement to my education is why I am here.

small, taught me to be the compassionate person I am. I am proud to be you.

advisor and her commitment to me and this study.

Collegiate education, in the early years of American universities, concentrated on a

create learning opportunities outside the classroom.

In Chickering and Reisser’s (1993) discussion regarding identity development, they

and learning opportunities regarding interpersonal communication and relationships. Identity

their upcoming careers (Chickering & Reisser, 1993).

partake actively in experiences in order to be involved.

concept of well-being. Psychological well-being is one of the effects of social engagement at an

attachment to their university setting (Tinto, 2012).

community on campus. Jung (1921/1976) found “many individual differences in human

terms of their preferences of social engagement opportunities.

Because of the large-scale nature of programming and social opportunities on a university

Research Question 1. How do introverts describe their decision-making process about

involvement in extracurricular activities in college?

Research Question 5. What changes in extracurricular opportunities do participants

perceive as benefitting introverts?

Significance of the Study

2015); and student satisfaction of their college experience (Edwards, 1989).

undergraduate students benefit from is extracurricular involvement. Terenzini et al. (1996)

perhaps refine and develop, their interpersonal skills” (p. 441).

motives students have for becoming involved” (Toma, 2015, p. 1).

It is thought that introverts are uninterested in extracurricular involvement, as many

those connections than their extraverted counterparts (Bessette, 2014).

involvement opportunities. In understanding the experiences of introverts who participate in

involvement opportunities for students anywhere along the introversion-extraversion spectrum.

involvement, thus increasing graduation rates” (Guzman, 2019, p. 4).

Active extracurricular involvement: A commitment or membership to groups, clubs,

teams, or student organizations. These opportunities may include leadership organizations,

organizations, or service-learning organizations (Kulp et al., 2019).

Co-curricular involvement: “A co-curricular activity is one that requires a student’s

participation outside of normal classroom time as a condition for meeting a curricular

requirement” (Bartkus et al., 2012, p. 699).

regular duties or routine” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.).

Passive extracurricular involvement: Passive extracurricular involvement denotes that

(Kulp et al., 2019).

Limitations and Delimitations

Current literature on involvement or engagement practices is vast; however, very few

involvement literature is a limitation for this study.

institutions can engage their introverted students in involvement opportunities.