Extraverted Thinking (everything you need to know)

 

In this brief guide, we will discuss Extraverted thinking, the comparison between extraverted thinking vs introverted thinking, and other concepts related to extraverted thinking.

What is Extraverted Thinking?

Extraverted thinking, or Te, is a cognitive function that makes up the cognitive process of decision-making, called Judging, and that focuses on objective, logical and analytical criteria as a means of making decisions. Extraverted thinkers like making decisions on the basis of empirical evidence and things like cause and effect and pros and cons are important to them.

Extraverted thinking users also like to organize, evaluate, and compare using logical and binary judgments.

The other aspect of the judging process is Feeling, and the other direction that the judging process can take is Introverted.

Features of Extraverted Thinking

The primary feature of extraverted thinking is that it is totally based on logic and analysis, and has little or no place for emotions at all.

In people with extraverted thinking, the cognitive process of judging happens based on facts and figures, rather than beliefs and values.

Extraverted Thinkers are able to hold their feelings at bay so that they can make cold and calculated decisions after considering the objective facts from their feelings and beliefs.

The experience of emotions when making decisions is common and many people may experience this in their thought process.

Many people may also experience how much their gut tends to influence what they are doing. This is known as Intuition and it is a perceptual process that takes place almost instantaneously, and therefore many people may not realize that intuition actually has deep roots in feelings

Extraverted Thinkers have the capacity to recognize the emotional content, but they usually don’t tend to dwell on it, putting it aside to focus on the actionable facts.

Extraverted Thinkers are likely to be logical, objective, and just, and they will analyze every part of the problem before making some kind of decision.

Extraverted thinkers would likely do rather well in a management role, as a Te manager will look at the measurable data and the facts to get the best results possible. 

They are also fair to the employees and they will likely make bosses who take everything into consideration and get great results.

They will also not take things out on their employees because that kind of emotional outburst is just not in their repertoire.

Extraverted thinkers may often appear cold and unfriendly because they have their emotions so well under check and they put all their energies into calculating and assessing rather than expressing and feeling, and therefore they may come across as sort of bossy, but the truth is that they are simply not, and they are very likely to show emotion where it is required.

Extraverted Thinking Vs Extraverted Feeling

The extraverted thinking vs extraverted feeling debate may be settled rather easily; the feeling types decide with their heart, while the thinking types decide with their head.

The extraverted feeling type of people tend to use this function to consider and evaluate their affective responses to the world, and the information they may receive from the world will be colored by their emotions as well.

When considering what to do in a given situation they may consider emotional responses and emotions may often get in the way of extraverted feeling types.

The variability and diversity of emotion that the extraverted feeling types experience are also much greater than the kind the Extraverted Thinking types do. 

The extraverted thinking types might find that the Feeling function is less conscious in their case and it is also substantially less differentiated, which makes them a little more incapable in noticing emotional fluctuations or subtleties. 

The extraverted feeling individual may often use their emotional responses to turn to poetry, music, or the arts, and they may be seen searching for alternate ways of understanding and expressing their sentimental experiences, while the extraverted thinking individual might find it more comfortable to stick to areas where there are purely black and white things to consider and they may be able to take care of things with logic and facts.

Famous Extraverted Thinking people 

Here are some of the most famous people who use extraverted thinking:

• Napoleon Bonaparte 
• Julius Caesar
• Martha Stewart 
• Uma Thurman
• Judge Judy 
• Nancy Pelosi 
• Jack Welch 
• Dr. Phil
• Bill Gates
• Warren Buffet
• Karl Rove
• Rahm Emanuel
• Aung San Suu Kyi
• Hermann Goering
• Hannibal Barca
• Rush Limbaugh

Extroverted Thinking vs Introverted Thinking

While the extroverted thinking process is concerned with the log and analysis of things in the external world, the introverted thinking is more concerned about the inner world of the individual, and they may make decisions after carefully crafting plans and maps in their own mind, focusing the logical abilities inward.

Imagine a chess player thinking through all the moves they have and trying to melt it down into a strategy to act out in the present game they are playing, this is an example of introverted thinking.

Introverted thinking is always internally focused, while extroverted thinking is always externally focused and neither of these allows for the introduction of any feelings into the mix.

An Introverted thinker may seek consistency and logic in their internal framework to help them with understanding the nature of problems and finding possible solutions, while extroverted thinkers seek logic and consistency in the resources and rules provided in the environment around them to help them understand and solve the problem.

Another key difference to note down in the extraverted thinking vs introverted thinking debate is that introverted thinkers focus more on categorizing and neatly organizing concepts and theories, while extroverted thinkers care more about categorizing and organizing the world around them so they can effectively solve issues and also lead people.

People with introverted thinking are better for the system or the organization of a place while people with extroverted thinking are better for the people.

Extroverted thinkers will usually find it easier to deal with sensation as a means of perception, while the introverted thinker might find it easier if they were supplemented by their intuition.

Reasons that you may have Extraverted Thinking

If you want to know if you have extraverted thinking or what your other cognitive processes are, you might try taking the MBTI test, which gives you the type of personality you have, according to which you can figure out which cognitive processes are dominant in your mind.

Here are some other reasons why you may have extraverted thinking:

• You are able to delegate and you can organize people
• You don’t like to put things off or procrastinate
• You like the concepts of fairness or equality and do not tolerate injustice in any way.
• You like to think out loud, and sounds and cues really help you think
• You like to organize things around you, and find it hard to think and concentrate when the area around you is messy or untidy in any way
• You prefer being prepared than winging things as you go
• You don’t find it hard to make decisions
• You care about competence and you don’t like incompetent people and the time it takes for them to get the job done
• You find a structured and routine based life comforting and relaxing

How to develop Extraverted Thinking?

You don’t necessarily have to be born with a certain cognitive process, you may also try to cultivate it, and to develop extraverted thinking you could try some of these tips that experts recommend:

• Work: Paying more attention to the somewhat mundane tasks and trying to get things done in time is something that may help with the development of extraverted thinking.

• Deadlines: To be more fluent in extraverted thinking you need to be able to work according to deadlines so you have more structure, set deadlines for yourself and try to let them motivate you instead of making you feel burdened

• Plan: Try to plan out your life, start by doing it for a day or so and increase it gradually.

• Organize: try to organize things in your life, from your table to your schedule, don’t let things just kind of exists, make sure you are in control.

• Games. Board games, especially mind-stimulating ones like the ones you might get for your phone or the classic, Chess, maybe great for implementing strategy and bringing extraverted thinking processes into your life
• You may look into accelerated learning
• You may also use MBTI as a tool to improve your functions and also figure out how others use their functions.
• You can try to read psychology books like thinking fast and slow, strategic thinking, and so on.

• You may try to get more involved in discussions with people, especially people who use extraverted thinking
• You may try to learn logic
• You can try to actively engage in the analysis of things from different perspectives.

Conclusion

In this brief guide, we discussed Extraverted thinking, the comparison between extraverted thinking vs introverted thinking, and other concepts related to extraverted thinking. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or comments you may have.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Extraverted thinking

Citations

https://www.psychologyjunkie.com/2017/10/27/10-signs-might-extraverted-thinker/#:~:text=What%20is%20Extraverted%20Thinking%3F,compare%20using%20logical%20binary%20judgments.

https://www.talentinsights.com/blog/introverted-thinking-vs-extroverted-thinking/#:~:text=Introverted%20thinking%20is%20more%20internally,to%20help%20them%20solve%20problems.