Quote:
Originally Posted by Radical  I've always wondered whether someone's confidence around people they don't know depends on their physiology or simply their thought processes. 
In her book "Molecules of Emotion" Candace Pert Ph.D claims people can become addicted to their emotional states. Therefore, is being introverted for example merely an addiction to the emotional state of anxiety?
This quote from the film "What the Bleep Do We Know?" explains how people can create links between specific emotional states and external situations:
So you can see how an introvert may have spent a lifetime creating a strong link between the feeling of anxiety and social interactions. This quote from the same film explains the complicated biological process of emotions:
The film also purports that an addiction to an emotion, is in fact, not much different to a heroin addiction! 
So you see, is being more extroverted as simple as changing your thought processes? Or is it made more complicated by addictions to emotional states?  |
Interesting. I wonder if there is much research in the area. The problem with psychology is that everyone has an idea they are convinced is true. :-)
About the question whether it's psychology or neurobiology. The question itself is grounded in old dualistic thinking. There is no such thing as pure psychology. If changes in neurobiology affect thinking, affects, behavior or something else psychological, it's not just neurobiology either. The thing is, you can change your neurobiology through psychological means, as well as the opposite - you can change your psychology with medication.