JUNG'S THEORY OF PERSONALITY

The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, an early adherent of Freud’s theories, questioned the degree of emphasis that Freud gave to sexual motivations in personality development. Jung accepted the significant effect of the unconscious processes, but unlike Freud he preferred to emphasize that behaviour is motivated more by abstract, even spiritual, processes than by sexual drives. Jung also focused more on individual differences; in particular he developed a typology of reaction styles, distinguishing between two basic means of modulating basic drives, introversion and extroversion. Introversion was defined as preoccupation with one’s inner world at the expense of social interactions and extroversion as a preference for social interplay for living out inner drives (collectively termed libido). The existence of these two types receives empirical support from most studies of traits 

Jung was a close associate of Freud during the early period of psychoanalysis. Ultimately he like Adler, disagreed with his master and founded his own school of Analytical Psychology.

Jung held that Freud’s conception of infantile sexuality was incorrect.

Jung did not agree with Freud on his concept of libido.

Again Jung believed that the sexual instinct is not of primary importance.

Jung considered personality in terms of introversion and extroversion concepts which have become part of our everyday speech.

Jung tended to think in terms of opposites or polarities.

According to Jung, mental activity takes four dominant forms: sensation, thinking, intuition and feeling. Thinking and feeling are polar opposite and both tendencies are always present in the individual at the same time. If his or her dominant mental activity is thinking, the individual’s unconscious tends towards feeling. Similarly, sensing and intuition are opposite. Both are operative in the individual at the same time.

General Characteristics of Extrovert and Introvert:

Extrovert:

1. Fluent in speech.

2. Free from worries.

3. Likes to work with others.

4. Friendly.

5. Not easily embarrassed.

6. Interested in athletics.

7. Governed by objective data

8. Flexible and adapatable.

9. Neglectful of ailments and personal belongings.

10. Aggressive.

11. Unscrupulous.

12. Popular with people.

Introversion:

1. Better at writing than at speech.

2. Inclined to worry.

3. Likes to work alone.

4. Rather reserved

5. Easily embarrassed.

6. Fond of books and magazines.

7. More influenced by subjective feeling.

8. Lacking in flexibility.

9. Careful of these.

10. Submissive

11. Scrupulous.

12. Not popular with people.

There are hardly a few downright extroverts or introverts. People in general are a mixture of both. The majority of individuals demonstrate characteristics of both the introvert and extrovert and are accordingly classified as ambiverts.

Obviously, where so many conflicting and diverse tendencies are operative, there is a great danger of one-sided development. One aspect of the personality of the individual tends to become dominant and totally overshadows the other.

Jung believes that the total personality consists of three elements of conscious ego, personal unconscious and collective unconscious:

(i) The Conscious Ego:

It is in fact, the sense of “being” which includes conscious aspects of thinking, feeling and remembering.

(ii) The Personal Unconscious:

It includes repressed and suppressed experiences of the individual which are accessible to the conscious. It also includes the experiences of the individual which he has in his social environment.

(iii) The Collective Unconscious:

It is primitive in nature. It is the reservoir from which all other systems emerge.

Jung’s Four Functions of Personality

For Carl Jung, there were four functions that, when combined with one of his two attitudes, formed the eight different personality types. The first function — feeling — is the method by which a person understands the value of conscious activity. Another function — thinking — allows a person to understand the meanings of things. This process relies on logic and careful mental activity.

The final two functions — sensation and intuition — may seem very similar, but there is an important distinction. Sensation refers to the means by which a person knows something exists and intuition is knowing about something without conscious understanding of where that knowledge comes from.

Function-Attitude	Definition
Extraverted Sensing	Refers to gathering sensory experiences and factual data from the objective world.
Introverted Sensing	Refers to storing factual historical data and gathering sensory experiences from the subjective world.
Extraverted Intuition	Refers to possibilities, patterns and meanings in the objective world.
Introverted Intuition	Refers to means, patterns, symbols and insight in the subjective world, which is acquired unconsciously.
Extraverted Thinking	Refers to application of logical order through structure building, decision making and organization in the objective world.
Introverted Thinking	Refers to seeking understanding through logical principles in the subjective world.
Extraverted Feeling	Refers to building and seeking harmony and alignment with others through openly expressed values in the objective world.
Introverted Feeling	Refers to seeking harmony and alignment of personal behavior with deeply felt values and evaluation of such phenomenon with respect to those values.

Eight Mental Functions in Attitude

After Jung came up with four dimensions for personality types, Jung observed that Perceiving and Judging function were always used hand-in-hand with attitudes of Extraversion and Introversion.

Rest of the four functions (Sensing, iNtuition, Thinking, and Feeling) combine with two attitudes (Extraversion and Introversion) to form eight mental Functions-in-Attitude. These eight mental functions were called his Eight Types by Jung. These eight mental functions-in-attitude are the functions that we use to adapt to the world, and these functions are the core of Jung’s theory of psychological types.

“Strictly speaking, there are no Introverts and Extraverts pure and simple, but only Introverted and Extraverted function-types.” – Carl Gustav Jung

Evaluation of Jung’s Theory:

Jung has explored new dimensions of personality. Whether psychologists accept the concept of introversion or extroversion, these terms have become very popular. His theory of self-actualisation has a great significance. His theory emphasises the importance of the culture and religion of the race.

Jung combines in him the material and the spiritual approach. Jung’s idea of collective unconscious seems to be very near to the cosmic mind as expounded by Aurobindo.

Educational Implications of Jung’s Theory of Personality:

Appropriate Education at Every Stage:

Jung observes “To remain child too long is childish, it is just as childish to move away and then assume that childhood no longer exists because we do not see it.” So appropriate education at every step of life is very necessary.

Importance of Individual Difference:

Jung considers individual differences as very important. This necessitates the provision for diversified courses.

Full Expression:

The child should get opportunities for expression. Due freedom should be given to the child. No rigid discipline is to be imposed.

Healthy Pictures:

Healthy pictures of different objects should be put before the child and negative pictures with many conflicts should not be painted before the mind of the child. The teacher as well as the parents should be mentally healthy and should not be torn between the conflicts themselves.

Creativity:

Jung gives importance to creativity. Appropriate opportunities for creative expression should be provided in the school so that the child may express the message of unconscious through creative work which may help him in attaining integration of personality.

Due Recognition to the Child:

Due recognition should be given to the4 child and he be treated as an individual and not considered as a ‘cog in a machine’.

Home and the School to Provide a Pleasant Environment:

Home and school should be pleasant places for proper emotional training of the child. Children do not get proper direction in restless environment. Lack of proper freedom and licence both are injurious for the development of the child’s personality as the child does not get proper opportunity for communication with his unconscious.

A Sense of Security:

The school should also have the responsibility of assisting the child to have a sense of security and protection.

Importance of Religion:

Jung believes that religion is so important in the life of man that it cannot be left out of any school programme.

Freud and Jung Compared:

1. Unconscious:

According to Reud, unconscious is evolved out of conscious by repression, etc. He compares the human mind with Iceberg whose little visible is ‘consciousness’ and nine-tenth lies hidden as sub-conscious or unconscious. He attaches importance to ego and talks about super ego, ego and Id. An individual wants fulfillment of his desires. The repression of these desires leads to further troubles.

Jung’s approach is entirely different. He states that conscious is evolved out of unconscious which contains experience of the whole human race. The persona and ego in the conscious are referred to by Jung. Jung has vaster meaning of unconscious and talks of racial and collective unconscious. He attaches great importance to the unconscious.

2. Dreams:

Freud and Jung both think that dreams provide clue to the unconscious. Freud considers dreams wish-fulfillments. According to him, our repressed desires seek satisfaction in dreams and dreams preserve sleep. Jung talks of their prospective and compensatory functions. Dreams provide solution to the problems. Our psyche expresses human experience of the races through symbols in the dreams. Dreams are important for therapeutic purposes.

3. Sex:

Freud regards libido as sex and emphasises sex-gratification. Even early childhood activities like thumb-sucking are termed as sex-satisfying. Jung does not agree with Freudian concept of sexuality. He retains the term ‘libido’ and calls it a life force which expresses itself in a number of ways.

4. Childhood Experiences:

Freud is a determinist and believes that childhood experiences determine one’s personality. Jung also gives great importance to early childhood experiences but he remarks that one’s philosophy of life can change one’s attitude entirely. He believes in idealism and morality. He talks of self-realization as aim of life.

Freud states that there are only two goals of life-satisfaction of sex and back to the inorganic state. On the other hand, according to Jung, self-realization and self-propagation are the greatest goals of life.

5. Individual Differences:

Jung seems to take more interest in individual differences but Freud is more interested in universal dynamics.

6. Free Association:

Freud believes in free association. He tries to discover and depend upon the past life. As an analyst, he tries to play the role of a father or mother. Jung believes in controlled association. He tries to discover and depend upon the present adaptation in life. As an analyst, he tries to play the role of a god or a mythical hero besides the roles of father and mother. Jung recognizes ‘repression’ and makes use of the concept of ‘regression’, but in a different way.

7. Creativity:

Freud does not attach importance to creativity whereas Jung thinks that unconscious expresses itself through creative work.

8. Religion:

Freud refers to religion as a universal neurosis whereas Jung regards it as a great treasure which provides source of life. Unlike Freud, Jung regards morality to be a function of life. Morality is inborn according to Jung.