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A loner is a person described as not seeking out, actively avoiding, or failing to maintain interpersonal relationships.

There are many potential causes for this solitude. Intentional causes include introversion, mysticism, spirituality, religion, or personal considerations.^[1]^[2] Unintentional causes involve high sensitivity or shyness. Multiple reported types of loners exist, and individuals meeting the criteria for being called loners often practice social interactions with other individuals while displaying a variable degree of introversion leading them to seek out periodic solitude.

Terminology

According to some sociologists and associations, the modern term loner can be used in the context of the belief that human beings are social creatures and that those who do not participate are deviants.^[3]^[4]^[5]

However, the term is sometimes depicted culturally as positive, and indicative of a degree of independence and responsibility.^[6] Someone who is a recluse or romantically solitary can be referred to by the terms singleton and nonwedder.^[7]^[8] According to Elizabeth Follmer, the term is often used to describe a perceived hatred for other people, leading perceived loners to being viewed as outcast or misfit.^[9]

Overview and possible characteristics

There are different types of loners, including individuals who prefer solitude and limited social interaction. The first type includes individuals that are forced into isolation because they are, or feel as though they are, rejected by society, and may experience loneliness. A second type of individuals described as loners includes those who regularly practice social interaction, while also spending extended periods of time in solitude, without experiencing feelings of loneliness. ^{[citation needed]}. A third type of loner is described as not experiencing loneliness during long periods of solitude, or in a different way to how forcibly isolated individuals practicing social interaction would.^[10] However, individuals often experience all three types interchangeably .^[11]

The term is often associated with introversion, due to perceived loners having innate personality traits and life experiences.^[12] In psychiatry, individuals being loners is sometimes associated to different mental disorders. Some individuals described as loners have alexithymia, characterized by the inability to identify and describe emotions.^[13] Other disorders and illnesses associated with the term include social anxiety disorder, borderline personality disorder, avoidant personality disorder, depression, autism, and schizoid personality disorder.

The characteristics associated with the term are often attributed to non-human animals such as leopards, whose behaviour is usually defined by voluntary solitude.^[14]

When expressing the desire to solitude, individuals described as loners may not reject human contact entirely. A person who avoids social interaction with colleagues beyond what is required for work or school responsibilities, mainly for practical reasons such as avoiding the complication of non-personal life, is often found to be highly charismatic during social gatherings with people outside of work or school—or vice versa.^[15]

References

^ "Neighbours describe bomb suspect as devout loner". The Times. 26 July 2005. Retrieved 30 October 2018.(subscription required)
^ "Review of Losers, Loners, and Rebels". Foreword Reviews. 8 August 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
^ "The American Spectator : A Defense of Quiet Loners". Archived from the original on 2009-05-17. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ [1]. pdf
^ coffeenexg (2009-01-26). "You're Not Alone, You're Just a Loner". Mothers Hand Book. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
^ Enriching The Sociological Imagination, p 124 Rhonda F. Levine - 2004
^ Downing, Justin. Workplace Romance, Organizational Policy, and Employee Rights: A Qualitative Case Study. Diss. Northcentral University, 2016.
^ DarlingTon, Tania. "Josei drama and Japanese television’s ‘new woman’." The Journal of Popular Television 1.1 (2013): 25-37.
^ Follmer, Elizabeth H., et al. "Resolution, relief, and resignation: A qualitative study of responses to misfit at work." Academy of Management Journal (2017): amj-2014.
^ "Loners Vs. Loneliness". The New York Sun. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
^ Berry, John (1997). Handbook of Cross-cultural Psychology: Social behavior and applications. p. 468.
^ Svoboda, Elizabeth (March–April 2007). "Field Guide to the Loner: The Real Insiders". Psychology Today Magazine.
^ Taylor, Graeme J. "Alexithymia: concept, measurement, and implications for treatment." The American Journal of Psychiatry (1984).
^ Hayward, M. W., et al. "Prey preferences of the leopard (Panthera pardus)." Journal of Zoology 270.2 (2006): 298-313.
^ Hojat, Mohammadreza (May 1983). "Comparison of transitory and chronic loners on selected personality variables". British Journal of Psychology. 74 (2): 199–203. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1983.tb01855.x. PMID 6883012.