Perhaps you've never wanted to join an intramural basketball league. Maybe you don't identify with a political party or religion. There's a new personality type that might speak to those who don't feel the need to belong to groups: otroverts.
Dr. Rami Kaminski, a psychiatrist in New York City, developed the idea of the otrovert after he spent years observing patients who seemed to share a similar set of traits. He coined the term—otro, coming from the Latin root for “other,” and vert, the Latin verb for “turn toward”—in his 2025 book The Gift of Not Belonging: How Outsiders Thrive in a World of Joiners.
Otroverts are people who embody the quality of not wanting to belong to a group, says Kaminski, who identifies as an otrovert. They’re not social outcasts, though. “Unlike those with relational disorders, otroverts are empathetic and friendly, yet struggle to truly belong in social groups, despite no apparent behavioral distinctions from well-adjusted individuals,” Kaminski writes in his book.
Kaminski says otroverts exist outside of the “extrovert-introvert spectrum.” Instead, otroverts—who often appear extroverted, Kaminski says—are defined by a feeling of otherness. They are often warm, friendly, and well-liked people, he says; they simply struggle to feel comfortable in group settings, even though others would probably not be able to tell.
Are you an otrovert?
Kaminski has developed a free online test that can help you find out. Just keep in mind that otroversion is not a diagnosis, and personality types are squishy and often overlap. Here are the hallmark traits of otroversion that Kaminski identifies:
They’re not communal. Otroverts aren’t typically “joiners”—they usually don’t join sororities or fraternities, organized religion, social groups, political parties, or intramural sports leagues. They’d prefer to get coffee with a friend, say, than attend a book club.
They’re observers. Although they can easily chat with people at parties or events, otroverts often report feeling more like observers than participants.
They don’t conform. Otroverts like to stand out; they’re often not interested in pop culture or the latest trends. They like what they like, and they don’t care about others’ opinions of them.
They’re independent thinkers. Otroverts tend to have strong opinions and convictions—they can’t be easily swayed by others.
They enjoy deep personal connections. At a work holiday party, for instance, an otrovert might rather have a deep, meaningful conversation than engage in small talk about the weather.
They prefer solo work. Otroverts would rather be self-employed or work independently than on a team.
The messiness of personality
Although many people might identify with this new category—or another one—“it’s pretty clear at this point, just empirically, that there’s no such thing as ‘personality types,’” says Colin DeYoung, a professor of psychology and director of the DeYoung Personality Lab at the University of Minnesota. “There aren’t clear categories of people; what there are are dimensions that people continually fall along.”
These dimensions, called the Big Five personality traits, include things like extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, and neuroticism. Although they’re important, these dimensions don’t capture every last aspect of personality, says Aidan Wright, a professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Michigan whose work centers on personality.
Wright says it’s unlikely that otroversion is a brand-new personality type that’s just been discovered; instead, otroverts probably embody a particular configuration of traits from the broader personality landscape. “Do these people exist? Yes, absolutely,” Wright says. “Are they a special type that is different in the same way we think about the difference between a cat and a dog? I would say almost certainly not.”
Yet identifying with a set of personality traits can be valuable. Whether it’s the Big Five metric, the Myers-Briggs Types Indicator, or the Enneagram system, people are often drawn to the idea of having a specific personality type. “It organizes your thinking, and it gives you something that explains how and who you are,” Wright says.
DeYoung agrees. “I think the human mind naturally gravitates toward these kinds of categorical distinctions,” he says. “And it’s useful for the purposes of finding other people who are similar to you or understanding other people.”
No matter how you exist in the world—as an extrovert, introvert, otrovert, or some other vert that has yet to be named—it’s crucial not to go it alone. “It’s so important for us to connect to each other and to have meaningful relationships,” says Thea Gallagher, a clinical psychologist and associate professor at NYU Langone Health. Research shows that “we need two to three social relationships where we feel seen and understood. Make sure you’re doing that—wherever you fall in these categories.”
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