While others prefer a night out being the center of attention.

有些人卻偏好夜生活，成為眾所矚目的焦點。

But from a scientific perspective, is there an advantage to being an introvert or an extrovert?

但從科學角度來看，身為內向者或外向者有何優勢？

Which is better?

哪個比較好？

The idea of two polar personalities was first described by Swiss-German psychologist Carl Jung, who coined the terms introversion and extroversion.

兩個相反個性的概念最初由瑞德心理學家榮格所闡釋，他發明了「內向性」與「外向性」兩個名詞。

Jung's theory was further elaborated upon by Hans Eysenck, a German psychologist who defined introverts and extroverts by their baseline arousal.

德國心理學家 Eysenck 更加延伸榮格的理論，他根據人的激發水平而區分內向者與外向者。

Extroverts, with their lower level of arousal, would need to do more exciting things that would physically and mentally exhaust an introvert in order to reach satisfaction.

外向者擁有較低的激發水平，需要從事刺激的活動才會得到滿足，而這些活動會造成內向者的身心疲憊。

So while an introvert might be content with a leisurely bike ride through a quiet park, an extrovert might need to hit the dirt roads in order to feel mentally satisfied.

內向者或許會滿足於在安靜的公園裡悠閒地騎腳踏車，但外向者為了達到精神上的滿足，可能會需要在泥濘裡奔馳。

Brain scans show a thicker prefrontal cortex in introverts compared to extroverts, which is associated with deeper thought and planning, suggesting that extroverts may be more impulsive than introverts, who prefer to mull things over, instead of directly springing into action.

腦部掃描顯示內向者的前額葉皮質較厚，與深思以及規劃有關，意味著外向者比喜歡三思而行的內向者較為衝動。

But because of this tendency to ruminate in introverts, they're also more susceptible to developing anxiety and depression.

但因為內向者傾向於反覆思考，他們也較容易焦慮或憂鬱。

Extroverts also respond more strongly to rewards, with brain scans showing a significantly more activated dopamine reward system than introverts when completing and winning a computerized gambling task.

外向者對於獎勵的反應較大。當完成電腦賭博任務並且贏了錢，根據腦部掃描，外向者的多巴胺報償系統較內向者為活化。

And given that we're social animals, dopamine is also released when interacting with other humans.

多巴胺也因為人類是社會性動物，會在人與人活動時釋出。

This was especially important as hunter gatherers, who relied upon others for both food and protection from predators.

這對於狩獵採集者尤為重要，他們仰賴彼此以取得食物與保護，免於敵人的攻擊。

However, human connection has a greater impact on extroverts than introverts.

然而，人際互動在外向者有更顯著的影響。

In fact, it's been shown that the brains of extroverts respond more strongly when shown photos of human faces compared to neutral photos of nature.

研究顯示，外向者大腦對於看見人臉的圖片較看見大自然圖片反應較為激烈。

But for introverts, the brain response is similarly between the two.

但內向者的大腦對於兩者的反應類似。

Now that's not to say that introverts don't feel any excitement from winning or that they strongly dislike being around people, but they simply don't feel as excited and don't require as much social interaction in order to feel good.

這不意味著內向者不會對於獲勝而感到興奮，或討厭與人相處，這只代表他們不會感到那麼興奮，且不需要那麼多人際互動以獲得滿足。

In terms of genetics, there may be an evolutionary advantage to each trait.

以基因的角度來看，內向性與外向性皆有進化優勢。

For instance, introverts might have stuck to the sidelines to avoid predators, while extroverts would roam and explore, giving them an advantage when food is scarce.

例如，內向者為了躲避敵人有可能找地方藏身，而外向者會在外漫步、探險，這在當糧食稀少時為一種優勢。

A study involving 130 participants discovered that those who were more inclined to be adventurous had two copies of one particular allele, reinforcing the idea that these personality traits are partially linked to genetics.

由 130 人參與的一項研究顯示傾向於冒險的參與者擁有兩組相同的對偶基因，強化了人格特質與基因有關的概念。

In many ways, our society has an extroversion bias where qualities like putting yourself out there are highly valued.

在許多方面，我們的社會較偏好外向性，重視勇於展現自己這種特質。

Our institutions are also often designed with the extrovert in mind where group work is a popular practice in most schools and workplaces with the idea that creativity comes from a sociable place.

我們的公共機構通常也是為外向者而設計的，團體合作在大多學校及工作場所很常見，因為人們認為創造力來自於交際場合。

However as social animals, we instinctively mimic others' opinions without realizing it, suggesting that your brainstorming sessions with others may not always be productive.

然而，身為社會性動物，我們出於本能會無意識地去模仿他人的意見，意味著與他人一起腦力激盪或許成效不大。

When we disagree with a group, neuroscientists have shown high activation in the amygdala, a part of the brain associated with the sting of rejection.

當我們與團體意見不合時，腦學家發現與被拒絕而難過相關的杏仁核高度活化。

When we think of introverts, shyness and the preference to be alone often come to mind, but in reality, introverts may simply prefer close conversations with one or a few people instead of dozens.

當我們想到內向者，我們會聯想到害羞以及偏好獨處，但實際上，內向者或許只是偏好與一兩個人，相較於幾十個人深度交談。

Furthermore, introverts may even be better public speakers as they’re known to think through ideas thoroughly compared to extroverts, who may choose to make rash decisions instead.

再者，內向者甚至較善於公共演說，因為他們傾向於仔細思考，而外向者易於倉促做決定。

But perhaps you are an ambivert, right in the middle of the introvert-extrovert Venn diagram, combining the best of both worlds.

但也許你是位中向的人，在文氏圖的內向與外向正中間，結合了兩者的優點。

A recent study involving 340 call center representatives had their sales record tracked for a period of three months.

最近一項包含了 340 個呼叫中心代表的研究對他們的銷售紀錄進行為期三個月的追蹤。

Those who were neither strong extroverts or introverts generated the most revenue averaging 208 dollars per hour, compared to the study average of 138 per hour.

那些既不是非常外向也不是非常內向的人的平均收入最高，平均每小時為 208 美元， 而研究的平均水平為每小時 138 美元。

So what do you see yourself as? And do you think one is better than the other? Let us know in the comments below.

所以你覺得自己是哪一個類型呢？你覺得某個類型比另一種類型好嗎？在底下的留言中讓我們知道吧！