Dr. Wanda Vaughn, my Behavioral Optometrist, says, “Put me in a room with a bunch of little ‘Tropes’ and I can almost divide the extroverts to one side of the room and the introverts to the other just by looking at their eyes.”
Dr. Vaughn says that people with esotropia are usually introverts, while those with exotropia tend to be extroverts. I asked her if they became esotropes or exotropes because of their introverted or extroverted personality, or if they became introverts or extroverts because of their esotropic or exotropic eyes.
She smiled and said that this is the age-old question of ‘Which came first, the chicken or the egg?’
But Dr. Vaughn went on to say, “It only makes sense that the little esotropes whose eyes are turned in so that they can only see what is in front of them would become more inwardly centered, while those whose eyes drift out so they have difficulty focusing on things in front of them would tend to relate more openly to the things they see as their eyes focus outward.”
In other words, those with “inward seeing” tend to focus inward, and those with “outward seeing” tend to focus outward.
I’ve always considered myself an introvert, yet I have exotropia. When I asked Dr. Vaughn about this, she said, “Oh, no, you’re an extrovert!” I asked some of my friends also, and they couldn’t decide. They say that in some situations I seem introverted and in other’s I’m an extrovert.
I’m not sure how accurate the quiz below is, but you may enjoy giving it a try.
