Not introvert or extrovert: New ‘Otrovert’ personality type is about feeling like an outsider, but there's a catch

You can be friendly, enjoy conversations, and even feel comfortable speaking in front of a crowd, yet still feel you don't truly belong to any group. A new personality concept called “otrovert” is attracting attention because it describes people who may be socially comfortable but remain psychologically separate from the groups around them. US psychiatrist Dr Rami Kaminski coined the term, exploring the idea in his 2025 book The Gift of Not Belonging. Unlike the familiar introvert-extrovert debate, otroversion focuses less on how much a person socialises and more on their relationship with group belonging.

What Is An Otrovert?

Kaminski describes an otrovert as someone who can interact easily with people but does not develop a strong sense of belonging to a particular group. The psychiatrist told BBC Science Focus that he recognised the pattern partly through his own experiences. “I was popular, I had no obvious deficiencies,” he said, but recalled feeling “alienated and remote and very lonely” at social gatherings.

This is an important distinction. An otrovert is not necessarily shy, antisocial or socially anxious. They may have friends, communicate well and even be popular. What separates them, according to Kaminski's concept, is a reluctance to identify strongly with the group.

How Is It Different From An Introvert Or Extrovert?

Psychology already recognises introversion and extraversion as broad traits that exist along a continuum. The American Psychological Association describes introversion as an orientation towards one's internal world, while extraversion involves greater orientation towards the outside world and social interaction. There is also the ambivert, a person who shows characteristics of both introversion and extraversion. The APA defines ambiversion as displaying introverted and extraverted characteristics in roughly equal degrees.

Business Standard reported that otroverts are not primarily defined by where they get their social energy. Instead, they may feel like outsiders even when they are accepted by a group. The report notes that they can be friendly, polite and outgoing, while still resisting group norms.

Signs You Might Relate To The Concept

• According to reporting on Kaminski's work, some characteristics associated with otroversion include:
• Not feeling a strong attachment to a particular group, workplace or organisation.
• Being comfortable forming deep one-to-one relationships but less interested in group activities.
• Having strong personal opinions without automatically following the majority.
• Preferring specialised interests and independent thinking.
• Being friendly and socially capable while still feeling like an outsider.
• Finding it difficult to completely relax or feel like oneself in group settings.
• Feeling little need for group approval when making personal decisions.

The University of Michigan's psychology department similarly describes otroverts as people who may avoid joining groups by preference rather than because they lack social skills.

Is ‘Otrovert’ A Real Psychological Diagnosis?

This is where some caution is needed. The word is gaining attention, but it is not a recognised mental-health diagnosis. Kaminski himself describes otroversion as a personality trait rather than a disorder. The concept is also still relatively new, with limited research compared with established personality frameworks.

Business Standard reported that behavioural experts have urged caution because some characteristics associated with otroversion could overlap with anxiety, neurodivergence, cultural differences or ordinary personality variation. That does not necessarily make the idea meaningless. It may simply mean that more research is needed before psychologists can determine whether otroversion represents a distinct personality trait.

Why The Idea Is Getting Attention

For people who have never felt completely comfortable with the labels introvert, extrovert or ambivert, the concept offers another way to describe their experience. Kaminski's central argument is that not belonging does not automatically mean something is wrong. An otrovert may still build meaningful friendships, perform well professionally and participate actively in society while maintaining a strong sense of individuality.

In a culture where fitting in is often treated as a measure of success, the idea challenges a simple assumption: perhaps being different from the group does not always need to be fixed. And for some people, that may be the most interesting part of the “otrovert” idea.