By Rachel Gillett and Skye Gould
A new report from Truity Psychometrics, a provider of online personality and career assessments, found in its ranking of the personality types most likely to be self-employed that extroverts took up six of the top eight spots.
All of the introverted sensing types, on the other hand, were much less likely than average to report being self-employed.
For example, 13.5% of ENTPs (people with a preference for extroversion, intuition, thinking, and perceiving) said they were self-employed, while only 3.2% of ISFPs (people with a preference for introversion, sensing, feeling, and perceiving) reported the same.
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Molly Owens, CEO of Truity and developer of the TypeFinder personality-type assessment, says the finding speaks to what extroversion is and how it functions in the brain.
“Studies in neuroscience have indicated that levels of extroversion may be related to how the brain processed dopamine, our brain’s reward chemical,” she tells Business Insider. “Extroverts have a stronger dopamine response, meaning they get a bigger kick out of achievements like a job promotion, a new romance, or a successful business launch.”
She says this means extroverts are more likely to take risks, like striking out with a new business venture, because they anticipate more of a reward when things go well. Introverts, on the other hand, may be less interested in the risk of self-employment because they tend to be more even-keeled, she explains, and aren’t as motivated by the potential for a thrill if things go well.
There are also a lot of tasks related to being self-employed that play more to an extrovert’s strengths, she says.
“Founders typically have to locate and pitch clients, hold regular meetings with employees, actively seek out networking opportunities, and do lots of other things that require them to be outgoing and expressive,” Owens says.
“However, this is changing as more and more businesses move online. Introverts can really excel in areas like digital marketing, where they can take a more behind-the-scenes approach,” she adds.
This article is published in collaboration with Business Insider. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.
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Author: Rachel Gillett is a careers reporter at Business Insider. Skye Gould is an Associate Graphic Designer at Business Insider.
Image: A woman walks on the esplanade of La Defense, in the financial and business district in La Defense, west of Paris, April 10, 2014. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
