‘Describe and Evaluate Carl Jung’s Theory Concerning Personality Types Essay

Introduction In this essay I aim to demonstrate an dread of Jungs character referencelity types by describing and evaluating his theory and to show how they efficiency recycl subject in upholding a therapist to determine therapeutic goals. I forget also look at some of the checks levelled at Jungs theory. Carl Gustav Jung, (26 July 1875 6 June 1961), was a Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist, and the founder of uninflected psychology. His father was a Pastor, and he had an isolated tikeishness, becoming genuinely introverted, it seems he had a schizoid individual(prenominal)ity.Although Freud was involved with analytical psychology and worked with patients with hysterical neuroses Jung, however, worked with psychotic patients in hospital. He was struck by the universal symbols (or Archetypes) in their delusions and h completelyucinations (ref. Dennis Brown and Jonathan Redder (1989) p. 107). His work and influence extends demeanor beyond interpreting reputation, and he is considered to be one of the greatest thinkers to have theorised about life and how plenty relate to it.Carl Jung was among many great personality theorists who drew inspiration and focus from the ancient models equivalent astrology and the Four Temperaments. For hundreds of years there has been some kind of typology to try and cat egorise individuals positionings and behaviour, e. g. Astrology. Oriental astrologers invented the oldest form of typology accept is that there is a personality trait that is relevant to each sign and that a persons character/personality can be classified in ground of the elements fire water air and earth.Those under fire had a fiery nature and corresponding temperament and fate, etc. The ancient Greeks believed in the quad temperaments / quaternion humours, which can be traced back to Ancient Greek medicine and philosophy (400BC), especially in the work of Hippocrates the Father of Medicine) and in Platos ideas about character and persona lity. It was believed that in order to maintain health, people needed an even residuum of the four body fluids blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile.These four body fluids were linked to certain organs and unhealthinesses and also represented the Four Temperaments or Four Humours of personality. The Greek physician Galen (AD 130-200) later introduced the aspect of four radical temperaments reflecting the humors the sanguine, buoyant type the phlegmatic, sluggish type the choleric, quick-tempered type and the melancholic, dejected type. Galen also classified drugs in terms of their supposed depressions on the four humors.He thus created a systematic guide or selecting drugs, which although scientifically incorrect were the foundation stone of treating psychological and psychiatric distemperes. Carl Jung costed personality and psychological types (also referred to as Jungs psychological types) from a perspective of clinical psychoanalysis. He was one of the few psychologist s in the twentieth nose candy to maintain that development extends beyond childhood and adolescence by means of mid-life and into old age. He foc expendd on establishing and developing a relationship in the midst of conscious and unconscious mind processes.Jung believed that Page 2 there was a dialogue between the conscious and unconscious and without it the unconscious processes can weaken and even jeopardise the personality and this is seen in one of his central concepts of individualism. He believed that individuation is a life long process of personal development that involves establishing a connection between the ego and the self, which could be brought to its highest realisation if worked with and the unconscious was confronted. (Stevens 1999) Jung, like Freud, referred to the ego when describing the more conscious aspect of personality.Unlike Freud he did non seek to minimise the unconscious side of the personality, but instead gave it equal status, complimentary to tha t of the conscious. He referred to the integrated personality as Self the centre of the total someone, including twain the conscious and the unconscious. The Self includes all of a persons qualities and latents whether or not they twist app atomic number 18nt at a particular stage of life. The goal of therapy is to guide the guest to become a unit of measurement a human organism as personal circumstances will allow.It was out of Jungs confrontation with the unconscious, both in himself and in his patients, that he slowly elaborated his psychology. In his 1921 work, constitution Types, Jung compargond his four functions (as shown below) of personality to the four points on a compass. While a person faces one direction, he or she still uses the new(prenominal) points as a guide. Most people keep one function as the dominant one although some people whitethorn develop two over a lifetime. It is solo the person who achieves self-realization that has completely developed all fo ur functions.His book also acted as the compass by which Jung tried to understand how he differed from Freud and Adler, but more importantly, could begin to chart the internal humanness of people. Jungs Four Psychological Functions atomic number 18 as follows Rational Functions ?Thinking (process of cognitive thought) ? savor (function of subjective judgment or valuation) enabling decision making Irrational Functions ?Sensation (perception using the physical sense organs ?Intuition (receptivity to unconscious contents) providing the development on which to make judgments.Jung held a deep appreciation of creative life and considered spirituality a central part of the human journey. There is a whole literature relating Jungian psychology and spirituality, mainly from a Christian perspective. This literature includes writings by Kelsey (1974,1982) and by Sanford (1968, 1981). Caprio and Hedbergs (1986) Coming Home A vade mecum for Exploring the Sanctuary Within is a practical guid e for spiritual work in the Christian tradition. It contains striking personal stories, excellent illustrations, and helpful exercises.(Frager & Fadiman 2005) Jungs definition of personality states that in order to Page 3 identify a psychological type it is necessary to determine whether a person is oriented primarily toward his inner origination (introversion) or toward external cosmos (extraversion), known as the fundamental attitude of the individual to violencee its importance. Jungs eight personality types are as follows ?Extroverted Thinking Jung theorized that people understand the world through a mix of concrete ideas and abstract ones, but the abstract concepts are ones passed deck from other people.Extroverted thinkers are often found working in the research sciences and mathematics. Introverted Thinking These individuals interpret stimuli in the environment through a subjective and creative way. The interpretations are informed by internal knowledge and understa nding. Philosophers and theoretical scientists are often introverted thinking-oriented people. Extroverted Feeling These people venture the esteem of things based on objective fact. Comfortable in social situations, they form their opinions based on socially accepted values and majority beliefs.They are often found working in business and politics. Introverted Feeling These people make judgments based on subjective ideas and on internally effected beliefs. Oftentimes they ignore prevailing attitudes and defy social norms of thinking. Introverted feeling people thrive in careers as art critics. Extroverted Sensing These people perceive the world as it really exists. Their perceptions are not colored by any pre-existing beliefs. Jobs that require objective review, like wine tasters and proofreaders, are best filled by extroverted sensing people.Introverted Sensing These individuals interpret the world through the lens of subjective attitudes and rarely see something for only wh at it is. They make sense of the environment by giving it meaning based on internal reflection. Introverted sensing people often turn to assorted arts, including portrait painting and classical music. Extroverted Intuitive These people prefer to understand the meanings of things through subliminally perceived objective fact rather than incoming sensory(prenominal) information.They rely on hunches and often disregard what they perceive directly from their senses. Inventors that come upon their invention via a stroke of insight and some religious reformers are characterized by the extraverted intuitive type. Introverted Intuitive These individuals, Jung thought, are profoundly influenced by their internal motivations even though they do not completely understand them. They let on meaning through unconscious, subjective ideas about the world. Introverted intuitive people comprise a significant portion of hugger-muggers, surrealistic artists, and religious fanatics.They are mystic dreamers, concerned with possibilities rather than what is currently present. Seldom understood by others. Repress sensing. Jung described himself as an introverted intuitor. Introverts are people who prefer their internal world of thoughts, feelings, fantasies, dreams, and so on, while extroverts prefer the external world of things and people and activities. Page 4 Today the words have become conf apply with ideas like unobtrusiveness and sociability, partially because introverts tend to be shy and extroverts tend to be sociable.But Jung intended for them to refer more to whether you (ego) more often faced toward the persona and outer reality, or toward the embodied unconscious and its archetypes. In that sense, the introvert is somewhat more mature than the extrovert. Our culture, of course, values the extrovert much more. Jung warned that we all tend to value our own type most, (Boeree 1996) a notion which is particularly useful to therapists today as it is important not to all ow personal feelings to take place when working with clients.Both introvert and extravert overvalue their strengths and each tends to undervalue the other. To the extravert, the introvert seems egotistical and dull, and to the introvert, the extravert appears superficial and insincere (Fordham, 1966). Jung believed that a person remained an extravert or introvert without change for the whole of his life, and that heredity determines whether the libido is directed inward or outward. Whether a person is an introvert or extrovert they need to deal with both their inner and outer world. And each has their preferred way ofdealing with it, slipway which they are comfortable with and good at. This hypothesised stability of the introversion-extroversion trait is consistent with empirical research using Non-Jungian measures of introversion and extraversion. (Cloniger 2000) Jung suggested a link between each of the attitudes and certain neurotic disorders which will be discussed later. We no w find the introvert-extravert dimension in several(prenominal) theories, notably Hans Eysencks. In Eysencks (1982) view people are biosocial animals and that psychology stands at the crossroads of biological sciences and social sciences.He states that psychology must become more of a true science with methodology in all that the therapist does in order to permit personality theorists to make predictions that can be tested and therefore make possible the development of the causal theory of personality, which he believes will inevitably help the therapist with clients presenting problems. Jung compared the conscious part of the psyche (ego) to an island that rises out of the sea. We notice only the part above the water, even though there is a greater landmass below the water much like an iceberg, the unconscious lies below (Fordam1953).The personal unconscious is a reservoir of experience unique to each individual consisting of perceptions, thoughts, feelings and memories that have been put to one side or repressed but not unceasingly covered by sea and therefore can be reclaimed. Whereas the personal unconscious is unique to every individual, the corporal unconscious is shared or transpersonal and consists of certain potentialities that we all share because of our human nature, because we all live in groups and in some form of society or family life.He believed that the corporate unconscious did not develop individually but was inherited and consisted of pre-existent forms, the archetypes. An archetype is a universal thought form or predisposition to respond to the world in certain ways and is crucial to Jungs concept of the collective unconscious because it emphasises potentialities in which we may express our humanness. He believed that they appeared to us in dreams, art, ritual, myths and symptoms.Eysenck believed that from a point of view of science, Jungs contribution to the study of personality types had been primarily negative as he permitted mystic al notions to upset empirical data and sought to go beyond descriptive analysis to the causal analysis of personality. A person is not usually defined by only one of the eight personality types. Instead, the different functions exist in a hierarchy. One function will have a superior effect and another will have a secondary effect.Usually, according to Jung, a person only makes significant use Page 5 of two functions. The other two take inferior positions. Jung believed that it was not sufficient to possess just one of the above-mentioned functions to be a well-rounded personality and be able to face lifes experiences. Jung described two of the four functions as rational and two as irrational also he used the terms judicial decision/perceiving. Thinking can account for logic and judging. Our likes/dislikes are a feeling function.These two functions are known as rational as they use our reflecting ability. Sensation and intuition are known as irrational functions because it is what is seen in the external world (sensation) and inner world (intuition). In practice, the auxiliary function is always one whose nature, rational or irrational, is different from the primary function. For instance, feeling cannot be the secondary function when thinking is dominant, and vice versa, because both are rational and judging functions (Daryl Sharp. 1989. p.19) One of the four functions may be developed more, and this would be known as a primary or superior function, whilst the others may be classed as inferior.What this means is that a primary function is one which a person uses more, whilst perhaps, other functions are not used so much (inferior) and these might bring to a person feeling unable to cope with a situation in which an inferior function is needed to be active. Jung acknowledged that the four orientating functions do not contain everything in the conscious psyche. Will power and memory, for instance, are not included.The reason for this is that they are not typo logical determinants-though naturally they may be affected by the way one functions typologically thinking is always accompanied by an inferiority of feeling, and differentiated sensation is injurious to intuition and vice versa (ref. Daryl Sharp. 1987. p. 15) Jung used the term libido to define what he meant by extrovert and introvert, it was not meant in a sexual way, like Freud, but as a term for energy. Introversion, writes Jung, is unremarkably characterized by a hesitant, reflective, retiring nature that keeps itself to itself, shrinks from objects and is always slightly on the defensive.Conversely, Extraversion is normally characterized by an outgoing, candid, and accommodating nature that adapts easily to a given situation, quickly form attachments, and, setting aside any possible misgivings, will often venture forth with careless confidence into unknown situations. (ref. Daryl Sharp1987. p. 13). The balance between the two can be disturbed either way, on the one side, extr eme withdrawal, introversion or even psychosis, cuts a person tally from external reality. On the other side, excessively extroverted or constricted personalities may be cut off from subjective feelings or inner reality (Ref.Dennis Brown & Jonathan Redder 1989p. 81).Jung acknowledged that it is sometimes effortful to work out what personality type some people belong to, he stated, It is often very difficult to find out whether a person belongs to one type or the other, especially in regard to oneself (ref Jung. Anthony Stevens. 2001. p. 99) People change their way of behaviour in different circumstances, because this is the way they wish to be perceived, to be accepted by others. Jung referred to this as a persona (or a mask) where a person relays to others, someone they are not, seemingly to conform to others expectations of them.This is also known as the primitive side of the personality The persona Page 6 forms in early childhood, when a child forms in his mind what is acceptab le to his parents, teachers etc. If it is repressed this is what Jung referred to as the shadow. If the shadow is not allowed to surface, it will grow bigger. Jung believed that by facing up to your shadow, it may enable you to change it. The shadow may emerge in times of extreme anger/dreams. Jung believed that the shadow is essential as it allows an individual to view the world.We are each born with a natural balance. If our natural balance is upset due to repression or conditioning then our minds will in some way seek to restore the balance which Jung saw as the power of the unconscious surfacing as the return of the repressed . The ego emerges out of the self in childhood. It is your individuality, who you are, your own ego appertaining just to you, the centre of consciousness. As you go into adulthood there may be trouble between the ego and self, as the individuals attitude change.Affirmation of the Self liberates its creative energies and brings certain knowledge that the bes t life is the life lived sub specie fraternisation (ref.. Anthony Stevens 2001. p. 157). Jung seemed to place a lot of emphasis on the Self. I suppose this is because it is the Self, which he believed, will ultimately envisage change in behaviour. He was one of the few psychologists in the twentieth century to maintain that development extends beyond childhood and adolescence through mid-life into old age. (ref. Anthony Stevens 2001. p. 38)..Jung disagreed with Freud on his views on sexuality i.e. the Oedipus complex. Jung preferred to call this complex a have sex aspect, of a mother/child and not a sexual one/incest, as Freud believed to be the case. Jung and Freud both agreed though, that unconscious thoughts (dreams) were the way to personal insight of the individual. After his parting with Freud, overtly because of disagreement about the importance of sexuality, but perhaps also over father-son rivalries, Jung again withdrew into what Heisenberg (1970) calls a creative illness during which he too conducted a self analysis (ref Dennis Brown and Jonathan Redder (1989) p. 107).But he did not use free association, but provoked unconscious imagery which he wrote down, drew his dreams, prolonging stories which he told himself. This is how he became involved in analytical psychology. He spent long periods at his lakeside retreat, alternating between his inner world/ outer world. Freud, looked back into a clients childhood, whereas Jung looked to the future more and did not put much importance into the past, more in what can be achieved, the goals to aim for.. the hope.. of change. The unconscious mind of a man, Jung believed, contained a fe priapic element (anima), and a womans a male element (animus).These he believed to be linked to erotic desires, on what the individual finds attractive in the opposite sex. Another belief Jung held, is that if a person reacts very strongly to his anima/animus it may lead to homosexuality. This is what he believed, not which h as been proven to be true.Page 7 Jungs theories, I believe to be useful in therapy, because if you can assess an individuals personality, you can endeavor to make the therapy more applicable to their type which Jung viewed as their uniqueness as an individual, the wholeness. He did not hide behind a client like Freud,preferring to use a face to face method, where the client and the therapist are equal he also used personal work on dreams, a variety of ways to try and promote growth in the client, to look to the future.His views on mental illness gave some hope to a sufferer as he believed that within the psychosis experienced there is a personality concealed, with hopes, desires etc. he tried to understand them through interpretation. Jung saw mental illness as a flaw, as inferior, but tried to help the individual face this inferior side and approach his extroverted side to achieve wholeness.On the whole, Jungs typology is best used in the way that one would use a compass all typolo gical possibilities are theoretically available to the Self, but it is useful to be able to establish those co-ordinates that one is using to chart ones course through life. Jung accepted that this course is never intractably fixed it may be at any time be subject to alteration. Viewed in this light, awareness of ones psychological type is not a constraint but liberation, for it can open up new navigational possibilities in life, the existence of which one might otherwise never have discovered (ref.Anthony Stevens. 2001. p. 101)Jung possessed his critics, mainly Freudian, after his split with Freud in particular his Archetypes theories focusing on Jungs belief that the origins of archetypes (and their derriere in the collective unconscious) transcend to the individual, in that they reflect on ancestral or universal essence. The critique also examines a related notion of Jungs, that the collective unconscious unites us with the world around us in an immediate paranormal or synchroni zation sense. These notions of Jungs are found to be disadvantageously flawed.In spite of this, the critique suggests that Jungs belief in the genetic basis of certain unconscious content holds some promise. With this in mind, suggestions are do concerning needed modification in Jungs theory and concerning the kind of evidence required for its support. (ref. Journey of Humanistic Psychology, Spring 1996. Vol 36 no. 261. 91. p. 223-242. Another criticism with regards to Jung is he does not delve into childhood experience in contrast to Freud and psychoanalysis and some psychologists find his theories difficult and drawn out.Also his theory does have a moderate amount of research and 2) Neither possible to verify or falsify. (ref. HttpYahoo. com. Page 8 Conclusion In order to efficiently help a client and to determine therapeutic goals it is necessary to establish whether a person is primarily orientated toward their inner (introversion) or outer world (extraversion) and attached to assess which are the dominant and auxillary psychological functions of the client. Jung said that people connect ideas, feelings, experiences and information by way of associations in the unconscious in such a way as to affect their behavior.He identified these groupings as Complexes. He believed that they may be organised around a particular person or object and the therapist may use this knowledge to bring to the forefront of the clients consciousness a situation which they may be finding difficult to extricate from. The therapeutic goal of Jungian therapy is to help the client resolve unbalanced aspects of their personality which present in a number of differing ways of psychological disturbance.Examples include extreme negativity, addictions, degrees of paranoia, sudden religious conversion, in appropriate attachments to unsuitable partners, hysteria, mania, depression, hypochondrias or schizoid personality traits as Jung himself had as a boy. By understanding his theory and how each type may present the therapist can help them unlock the shadow sides of their personality. It is a process in which the client is helped to come to terms with the place of self within their own world and also to help them see that they are part of a greater collective unconscious.Much of Jungs work was about the interconnectedness of all people and cultures. Today more than ever as we seek to become one world Jungs work with eastern as well as western religions and cultures seems more and more appropriate. The work of Hans Eysenck through empirical studies across the world has shown that personality types exist in all cultures and therefore concludes that there is a genetic component to personality types.Such cross cultural unanimity would be improbable if biological factors did not play a predominant part (Eysenck,1990) But like Jung he believed that environmental factors probably determine how much an individual will develop to their full potential. The use of appropria te assessment techniques can be invaluable in helping a therapist to develop the untapped potential within the individual and is so doing contribute to the collective unconsciousness and synchronicity of the planet as a whole.