The Gift of Not Belonging: How Outsiders Thrive in a World of Joiners

In this work, Kaminski (Inst. of Integrative Psychiatry) explores personality classification based on socialization preferences and suggests an addition to the list. While extroverts find it energizing to be in social situations with other people, and introverts find such socialization draining, Kaminski posits that a third group of people exist who can be sociable but feel as though they never really belong as part of a larger social organization. Kaminski terms this category of people “otroverts” and explains that members of this group may be more likely to be nonconformists and to feel like outside observers even when they are, by all appearances, a member of the in-group. Additionally, Kaminski’s book suggests that otroverts face unique challenges in contemporary society and describes characteristics that many otroverts have which may be helpful to them or others, including emotional self-sufficiency and the ability to think outside the parameters set by a group.