Definition of SociabilityEnthusiasm and interest in social interaction, social processes and social relationships.
This is often presented as a false dichotomy between extroversion and introversion when in fact there are grey areas in-between. Likewise, there are several dimensions to sociability as follows.
Introversion vs Extroversion
The degree to which you are outgoing and enjoy social interaction. In practice, this can be situational whereby some individuals are outgoing in one situation but not another. Likewise, there are many levels of sociability that defy the stereotype that people are either completely extroverted or completely introverted.Reserved vs People Person
Reserved individuals are socially selective whereas a people person likes everyone and is outgoing all the time. Here it should be noted that being reserved is different from being shy. For example, a reserved individual may have no fear of intensive social processes such as leading large teams or public speaking but is not outgoing when they feel it is not appropriate or not interesting.Warm vs Cold
The degree to which an individual easily opens up and expresses emotions to others and empathizes with them.Engaged vs Disengaged
The energy that an individual puts into social processes. For example, a introverted person may be completely engaged in a group activity without talking much whereas it is possible that an extroverted person who talks more is distracted from the common goals of the group. Obviously, the opposite can also be true.Transactional vs Relational
The degree to which an individual is interested in building and sustaining relationships over time. This is another aspect of sociability that doesn't necessarily correlate to introversion or extroversion.Follower vs Leader
A willingness to take the lead in a group versus a preference to follow a lead. Introverted individuals do commonly lead things such that this is also not purely related to being outgoing.Dependent vs Independent
The degree to which an individual depends on others and on social processes. For example, a student who vastly prefers group assignments and social learning processes who doesn't do as well with independent learning assignments.Summary
Sociability is your overall level of interest, engagement and enthusiasm for social interaction, relationships and social processes. This has several dimensions including opening up to others and taking the initiative and lead in social situations.
