Psychiatrist proposes 'otrovert' as a distinct social personality type

An American psychiatrist has proposed a third social personality type he calls the "otrovert," describing people who do not feel a sense of belonging to groups even while forming deep one‑on‑one relationships.

Dr. Rami Kaminski told the Daily Mail that "simply put, an otrovert is a person who feels no sense of belonging to any group," and that the pattern differs from introversion and extraversion because it concerns connection to collective identities and rituals rather than comfort with social stimulation. Kaminski, who identifies himself as an otrovert, said the trait typically becomes apparent in childhood and persists across contexts.

According to Kaminski’s account reported by the Daily Mail, common characteristics of otroverts include a dislike of team sports, difficulty with communal or ritualized activities, a preference for working alone, and a tendency at large gatherings to gravitate toward one deep conversation rather than circulating among many people. He also argues otroverts are "immune to the so‑called 'Bluetooth phenomenon,'" a colloquial term for the emotional pairing that can occur in group settings.

Kaminski suggested that historical figures such as Albert Einstein, Frida Kahlo, Franz Kafka and Virginia Woolf fit the profile and said the lack of group attachment can foster independent thinking and creativity. He told the Daily Mail that being untethered from social obligation can reduce fear of rejection and enable novel problem‑solving.

Psychologists and personality researchers typically describe individual differences with established frameworks such as the Big Five model, which measures openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. Those dimensions capture broad tendencies but do not formally include a separate "otrovert" category. Kaminski’s framing emphasizes an orientation toward collective identity rather than a single trait measured by existing instruments.

The proposal appears in media reporting rather than in peer‑reviewed literature, and it has not yet been adopted as a formal taxonomy in mainstream personality science. Experts in personality assessment commonly rely on standardized instruments and long‑standing research programs; new categories generally require empirical validation across samples and methods before they are integrated into scientific consensus.

Kaminski described how he first recognised the difference while participating in a communal ritual as a scout, when the oath produced no emotional response. He said that many otroverts nevertheless form deep, meaningful connections with individuals and can be popular and welcomed in groups, even while feeling emotionally separate from the group as an entity.

Observers of personality and social behaviour note that lay descriptions of social types often capture useful phenomenology but can outpace scientific validation. The Big Five remains the dominant empirical framework for research and assessment, and it is neutral on whether distinct subtypes based on group identification would be better treated as combinations of existing traits or as a separate dimension.

For now, Kaminski’s "otrovert" label is a descriptive proposal offered in popular media. It highlights lived experiences of feeling peripheral to group identity while maintaining interpersonal depth, and it invites further investigation into how group attachment intersects with creativity, well‑being and social functioning. Rigorous study—using standardized measures, representative samples and peer review—would be required before the term could be adopted into professional diagnostic or assessment frameworks.