extroversion
(ɛkstrəʊˈvɜːʃən)
[n. of action f. as next; cf. introversion. Mod.F. has extroversion in sense 2: see extraversion.]
The action of turning, or the condition of being turned, outwards.
† 1. In the language of mysticism (see quots.).
| 1656–81 Blount Glossogr., Extroversion..in mystical Divinity..a scattering or distracting one's thoughts upon exterior objects. 1788 Wesley Wks. (1872) VI. 451 The turning of the eye of the mind from him [Christ] to outward things they [the Mystics] call Extroversion. |
2. Path. The condition of being turned inside out; esp. applied to a malformation of the bladder; = exstrophy.
| 1836 Todd Cycl. Anat. I. 391/1 In extroversion of the bladder the anterior part of this organ is more or less completely wanting. |
3. Psychol. The fact or tendency of having one's interests directed exclusively or predominantly towards things outside the self; the turning outwards of the libido; opp. introversion. Cf. extraversion 2. Hence extroˈversive a., characterized by or given to extroversion.
| 1920 A. G. Tansley New Psychol. iv. viii. 88 Extroversion is the thrusting out of the mind on to life, the use of the mind in practical affairs, the pouring out of the libido on external objects. 1923 Westm. Gaz. 21 Mar. 12/3 Every individual possesses both introversive and extroversive mechanisms. 1932 Brit. Jrnl. Psychol. Apr. 300 Rorschach..distinguishes two types, the ‘introversive’ and the ‘extroversive’. They are to all intents and purposes the same as Jung's types. 1951 M. McLuhan Mech. Bride 90/1 Mussolini..was all for this Marinetti extroversion of the self and fusion with the activity of the machine. 1959 Times Lit. Suppl. 16 Jan. 29/2 A dissatisfaction with life which is notable in some other panoramas of the time which maintain the virtues of extroversion. |