Extraversion. Extraversion refers to the extent to which individuals are outgoing, active, assertive
and talkative. Extroverts are expected to approach others more easily and engage in more
social interaction. In contrast, individuals with low levels of extraversion tend to be “introverted,”
reserved,
serious
, and prefer to be alone or stay within close circles. Hardly surprising,
extraverted individuals have been found to have larger networks and show higher contact frequencies
(Russel et al. 1997, Anderson et al. 2001). For example, Asendorf & Wilpers (1998)
found that extraversion was highly associated with students’ interaction rates and their peer relationship
formation.
Extraversion is the least controversial dimension in this context and is
expected to exhibit obvious and strong effects.