Although introverts can be quickly overshadowed by their charismatic counterparts — those garrulous, witty extroverts — author Susan Cain says introverts should not be so readily relegated to second-class citizen.

Cain, a so-called “introversion expert,” has just published, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, arguing that quieter personality types deserve greater appreciation, USA Today reports. (The article also includes a test to determine where you fall on the introvert-extrovert spectrum.) Cain’s backed up by other researchers who’ve found that while introversion can at times be linked to certain disorders, such as depression and anxiety, it can also be a strength.

“If you want to do something that requires sustained performance and paying attention for long periods of time, introversion is beneficial,” psychology professor William Revelle of Northwestern University says.

Cain praises introverts even more highly: “the most spectacularly creative people in many fields are often introverted … They’re extroverted enough to exchange and advance ideas, but see themselves as independent and individualistic. They’re not joiners by nature,” she writes in The New York Times.