If you happen to be part of the 15 to 60 percent of Americans who are introverts, chances are many people simply can't grasp what makes you tick. Part of the problem is that extroverts are easy to understand but most of them tend to be baffled by introverts. Susan Cain's 2012 best-selling book, "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking," addressed the issue of why so many individuals misunderstand people who are not naturally extroverted.

I became interested in introversion when I realized — much to my own surprise — that I actually needed to have a certain number of quiet hours each day to be by myself and read. Everyone who knew me had mistakenly assumed that I was an extrovert simply because I was friendly and outgoing, but I knew that emotionally, intellectually and even physically, I needed to balance time spent with others and time spent with myself. The research I conducted helped me become comfortable with my need for sporadic solitude because I learned that being introverted is "not a choice," as author Jonathan Rauch says. "It's not a lifestyle. It's an orientation."

Back in the 1920s, psychologist Carl Jung began studying introversion and discovered some distinct emotional needs connected to individuals' need for down time. While extroverts are energized by being with other people, introverts need to recharge their inner equilibrium by spending quiet time alone — usually after spending an hour or two in social situations. One rule of thumb is that for every hour of socializing, introverts need to spend two hours by themselves. One motto for this emotional need for separation is "I'm OK; you're OK — in small doses." In other words, while extroverts get fed or charged during interactions with other people, introverts experience the same benefit by being on their own. Too much time with other people in noisy circumstances depletes their energy and compromises their focus. Sadly, the adjectives used to describe each type only add to the prejudicial assumptions that introverts are guarded, private and taciturn, and extroverts are cheerful, friendly and warm.

According to Jonathan Cheek, a psychology professor at Wellesley College, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all definition of introversion. He and his researchers have identified four types, which include anxious, restrained, social and thinking. An article by writer Melissa Dahl on the Science of Us website titled "So Apparently There Are 4 Kinds of Introversion" includes a quiz with 40 questions to help you determine where you fall on the introversion spectrum.

According to Rauch, we introverts need to stop expecting the world to understand what makes us unique. "Extroverts are easy for introverts to understand," he says. "They are as inscrutable as puppy dogs. But the street does not run both ways. Extroverts have little or no grasp of introversion. They assume that company, especially their own, is always welcome. They cannot imagine why someone would need to be alone; indeed, they often take umbrage at the suggestion."

Marilyn Murray Willison has had a varied career as a six-time nonfiction author, columnist, motivational speaker and journalist in both the U.K. and the U.S. She is the author of The Self-Empowered Woman blog and the award-winning memoir "One Woman, Four Decades, Eight Wishes." She can be reached at www.marilynwillison.com. To find out more about Marilyn and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.