Susan Cain - Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that cant stop talking

An intriguing and potentially life-altering examination of the human psyche that is sure to benefit both introverts and extroverts alike.

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Gentle is powerful Solitude is socially productive These important counterintuitive ideas are among the many reasons to take Quiet to a quiet corner and absorb its brilliant, thought-provoking message.

ROSABETH MOSS KANTER, professor at Harvard Business School, author of Confidence and SuperCorp

An informative, well-researched book on the power of quietness and the virtues of having a rich inner life. It dispels the myth that you have to be extroverted to be happy and successful.

JUDITH ORLOFF, M.D., author of Emotional Freedom

In this engaging and beautifully written book, Susan Cain makes a powerful case for the wisdom of introspection. She also warns us ably about the downside to our cultures noisiness, including all that it risks drowning out. Above the din, Susans own voice remains a compelling presencethoughtful, generous, calm, and eloquent . Quiet deserves a very large readership.

CHRISTOPHER LANE, author of Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness

Susan Cains quest to understand introversion, a beautifully wrought journey from the lab bench to the motivational speakers hall , offers convincing evidence for valuing substance over style, steak over sizzle, and qualities that are, in America, often derided. This book is brilliant, profound, full of feeling and brimming with insights.

SHERI FINK, M.D., author of War Hospital

Brilliant, illuminating, empowering! Quiet gives not only a voice, but a path to homecoming for so many whove walked through the better part of their lives thinking the way they engage with the world is something in need of fixing.

JONATHAN FIELDS, author of Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance

Once in a blue moon, a book comes along that gives us startling new insights . Quiet is that book: its part page-turner, part cutting-edge science. The implications for business are especially valuable: Quiet offers tips on how introverts can lead effectively, give winning speeches, avoid burnout, and choose the right roles. This charming, gracefully written, thoroughly researched book is simply masterful.

ADAM M. GRANT, P H.D. , associate professor of management, the Wharton School of Business

Shatters misconceptions Cain consistently holds the readers interest by presenting individual profiles and reporting on the latest studies. Her diligence, research, and passion for this important topic has richly paid off.

Publishers Weekly

Quiet elevates the conversation about introverts in our outwardly oriented society to new heights. I think that many introverts will discover that, even though they didnt know it, they have been waiting for this book all their lives.

ADAM S. M C HUGH, author of Introverts in the Church

Susan Cains Quiet is wonderfully informative about the culture of the extravert ideal and the psychology of a sensitive temperament, and she is helpfully perceptive about how introverts can make the most of their personality preferences in all aspects of life. Society needs introverts, so everyone can benefit from the insights in this important book.

JONATHAN M. CHEEK, professor of psychology at Wellesley College, co-editor of Shyness: Perspectives on Research and Treatment

A brilliant, important, and personally affecting book . Cain shows that, for all its virtue, Americas Extrovert Ideal takes up way too much oxygen. Cain herself is the perfect person to make this casewith winning grace and clarity she shows us what it looks like to think outside the group.

CHRISTINE KENNEALLY, author of The First Word

What Susan Cain understandsand readers of this fascinating volume will soon appreciateis something that psychology and our fast-moving and fast-talking society have been all too slow to realize: Not only is there really nothing wrong with being quiet, reflective, shy, and introverted, but there are distinct advantages to being this way .

JAY BELSKY, Robert M. and Natalie Reid Dorn Professor, Human and Community Development, University of California, Davis

Author Susan Cain exemplifies her own quiet power in this exquisitely written and highly readable page-turner . She brings important research and the introvert experience.

JENNIFER B. KAHNWEILER, P H .D., author of The Introverted Leader

Several aspects of Quiet are remarkable. First, it is well informed by the research literature but not held captive by it. Second, it is exceptionally well written, and reader friendly. Third, it is insightful. I am sure many people wonder why brash, impulsive behavior seems to be rewarded, whereas reflective, thoughtful behavior is overlooked. This book goes beyond such superficial impressions to a more penetrating analysis.

WILLIAM GRAZIANO, professor, Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University

Copyright 2012 by Susan Cain

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crown Publishers, an imprint of the Crown
Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com

CROWN and the Crown colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

The BIS/BAS Scales on copyright 1994 by the American Psychological Association. Adapted with permission. From Behavioral Inhibition, Behavioral Activation, and Affective Responses to Impending Reward and Punishment: The BIS/BAS Scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 67(2): 31933. The use of APA information does not imply endorsement by APA.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cain, Susan.
Quiet : the power of introverts in a world that cant stop talking / Susan Cain.1st ed.
p. cm.
1. Introverts. 2. Introversion. 3. Extroversion. 4. Interpersonal relations. I. Title.
BF698.35.I59C35 2012
155.232dc22
2010053204

eISBN: 978-0-307-45220-7

Jacket design by Laura Duffy
Jacket photography by Joe Ginsberg/Getty Images

v3.1

A species in which everyone was General Patton would not succeed, any more than would a race in which everyone was Vincent van Gogh. I prefer to think that the planet needs athletes, philosophers, sex symbols, painters, scientists; it needs the warmhearted, the hardhearted, the coldhearted, and the weakhearted. It needs those who can devote their lives to studying how many droplets of water are secreted by the salivary glands of dogs under which circumstances, and it needs those who can capture the passing impression of cherry blossoms in a fourteen-syllable poem or devote twenty-five pages to the dissection of a small boys feelings as he lies in bed in the dark waiting for his mother to kiss him goodnight. Indeed the presence of outstanding strengths presupposes that energy needed in other areas has been channeled away from them .

A LLEN S HAWN

Contents

Authors Note

I have been working on this book officially since 2005, and unofficially for my entire adult life. I have spoken and written to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people about the topics covered inside, and have read as many books, scholarly papers, magazine articles, chat-room discussions, and blog posts. Some of these I mention in the book; others informed almost every sentence I wrote. Quiet stands on many shoulders, especially the scholars and researchers whose work taught me so much. In a perfect world, I would have named every one of my sources, mentors, and interviewees. But for the sake of readability, some names appear only in the Notes or Acknowledgments.