An
extrospective person is one who
observes,
examines, or
studies the world around him. He looks at the
behavior and
interactions of others with their
environment or each other. He doesn't take part in the events, he watches them take place, records them and learns from them. (From the latin words
extra- meaning "outside" +
specere meaning "to look").
Natural scientists obtain data
extrospectively.
This is not to be confused with an extrovert (extra-, "outside" + vertere, "to turn") who is a person who has more interest in his environment and others than in himself. An extrovert participates, while an extrospective person observes.