Innie or Outie?

Do you know what kind of personality you have?

By Maggie Gussman

People are like belly buttons sometimes. You know, there's that one girl who's a real Outie - energetic, outgoing and always standing out in a crowd. Then there are the Innies, who are a little more laid back and quiet, but real good friends once you get to know them. While it may be a little weird to think of people in this way (especially when you factor in other belly button goodies, like lint or rings!), it also accurately describes a very basic part of everyone's character.

Since these personality differences are written about and studied by the folks in white lab coats, there are more scientific terms for these types of people. Outies are known as extroverts, or girls who focus on the world outside of them, while Innies are called introverts, who concentrate more on the inside world. Almost everyone you know is either an Innie or an Outie, and occasionally you'll even meet someone who likes to be an Outie in some ways and an Innie in others. The cool thing is that being an Outie isn't better than being an Innie, or vice versa, because the world needs both in order to work well.

Like anything in life, being an Innie or an Outie has its pros and cons. For instance, Innies are real thoughtful and imaginative, but sometimes shy or uncomfortable around people, while Outies are great at making friends and trying out new things, but aren't too sure what to do when they are by themselves. For this reason, we need to learn how to be a little more like the other sometimes - that way, whether we are at a party full of strangers or home alone for the weekend, we'll be able to make the most of it.

This quiz is designed to figure out if you are an Outie or an Innie, and also offers helpful tips to those who would like to change or improve their belly button approach to life. The best way to take this the test is to follow these two rules:

1. Have fun doing this - it's not like you're getting a grade, or anything!
2. If you disagree with the results, trust yourself. You know you best.

NOTE: Girl Zone would like to thank Jonni Kincher for some of the ideas we found in her books Psychology for Kids and Psychology for Kids II. (If you liked this quiz, we recommend that you check these out!) We would also like to thank Louis Janda for his book The Psychologist's Book of Self-Tests, which helped us come up with the nuts and bolts of our quiz.