Carl Gustav Jung is a very mysterious person in the scientific world, his ideas still haunt the minds of his contemporaries. Jung pushed the boundaries of psychiatry, many of his theories were simply shocking to hardened scientific circles. In addition to scientific works, Carl Jung read many theological and esoteric treatises. The unusual scientist showed great interest in folk tales and legends. Psychology is indebted to Jung for many of the discoveries that formed the basis of modern knowledge of the human mind.
Carl Gustav Jung. Psychological types
One of the most significant achievements of Carl Jung is his work on psychological types. In it, he puts forward the idea that, in addition to acquired qualities, a person has some innate mental characteristics that cannot be changed. In many ways, this discovery was facilitated by the scientist's observation of young children who had not yet acquired certain character traits, but there were serious differences in their behavior.
Based on these differences, psychological types were identified. Jung onBased on numerous experiments and observations, I realized that some people give their energy outside, they are focused only on the world around, people or objects outside cause them much more interest than the inner world. The psychologist called such people extroverts. The other type, on the contrary, repels itself from its view of the world, and not from the objective environment, internal experiences are of interest to these subjects more than people and objects from the outside world. Carl Jung called them introverts. Let's take a closer look at these psychological types.
Extroverts
Modern society is simply a paradise for extroverts, because it welcomes arrogance, superficiality, materialism and selfishness. But who are these extroverts? According to Jung's concept - a psychological type of a person, directed purely outward. Such people love the company of other people, they naturally defend their interests and strive for leadership.
They can be outgoing, benevolent and kind, but it's also easy to run into hysterical and angry people.
An extrovert can be the soul of a company, the leader of a movement or an organization, thanks to excellent communication skills and organizational talents. However, extroverts find it extremely difficult to dive into their inner world, so they are very superficial.
Strengths and weaknesses of extroverts
Each psychological type has its strengths and weaknesses. For example, extroverts are great at adapting to changing environments, they easily findcommon language in any community. Jung's concept of psychological types describes extroverts as excellent conversationalists who can captivate anyone who is close to them with a conversation.
Also, such people can be great salespeople or managers, they are easy-going and agile. Generally speaking, extroverts are ideally suited to life in today's superficial society of crafty materialists.
But not everything is so rosy in the fast-paced world of extroverts. As the psychological types of Jung say, each of them has its drawbacks. For example, extroverts are too dependent on public opinion, their worldview is based on generally accepted dogmas and concepts. They also often commit rash actions and actions that they later regret. Superficiality creeps into all areas of an extrovert's life, recognition in society and official awards attract them more than real achievements.
Introverts
According to Jung's concept, the psychological type of a person directed inward is called an introvert. It is not easy for introverts to find their place in the modern, fast-paced and hyperactive world. These people draw joy from within themselves, and not from outside, like extroverts. The external world is perceived by them through a layer of their own conclusions and concepts. An introvert can be a deep and harmonious person, but most often such people are typical losers who are unkemptly dressed and find it difficult to find a common language with others.
It might seem awful to be an introvert, but according toAccording to the works of Carl Gustav Jung, psychological types cannot be good or bad, they are just different. Introverts have not only weaknesses, but also their advantages.
Strengths and weaknesses of introverts
Introverts, despite all the difficulties they experience in everyday life, have a number of positive characteristics. For example, introverts are able to be good specialists in complex areas, brilliant artists, musicians.
It is also difficult for such people to impose their opinion, they are not amenable to propaganda. An introvert is able to penetrate deep into things, to calculate the situation many moves ahead.
However, society does not need smart or talented people, it needs arrogant and active traders, so introverts today play a secondary role. The passivity of introverts often turns them into a jelly-like inert mass, sluggishly flowing along the path of life. Such people are completely unable to stand up for themselves, they just experience resentment inside, falling into another depression.
Functions of consciousness
Describing psychological types, Jung singled out four functions of consciousness, which, combined with a person's inward or outward orientation, form eight combinations. These functions are significantly different from other psychological processes, so they were singled out separately - thinking, feeling, sensation, intuition.
Under thinking, Jung understood the intellectual and logical functions of a person. Feeling - a subjective assessment of the world, based on internalprocesses. Sensation refers to the perception of the world through the senses. And under intuition - the perception of the world, based on unconscious signals. To better understand Jung's psychological types, let's take a closer look at the functions of the psyche.
Thinking
Types of mind based on thinking are divided into introverted and extraverted. The extraverted thinking type bases all its judgments on intellectual conclusions about the surrounding reality. His picture of the world is completely subordinated to logical chains and rational arguments.
Such a person believes that the whole world should obey his intellectual scheme. Everything that does not obey this scheme is wrong and irrational. Sometimes such people are useful, but more often they are simply intolerable to others.
As follows from the works of Carl Gustav Jung, the psychological types of the introverted-thinking species are almost the complete opposite of their extraverted counterparts. Their picture of the world is also based on intellectual fabrications, but they are based not on a rational picture of the world, but on its subjective model. Therefore, this psychological type has many ideas that are completely natural to him, but have no connection with the real world.
Feeling
The extraverted feeling type, as Carl Jung's psychological types say, bases his life on feeling. Therefore, thought processes, if they contradict feeling, are rejected by such an individual, he considers them unnecessary. The sensesextraverted type are based on generally accepted stereotypes about the beautiful or right. Such people feel what is accepted in society, although they are completely sincere.
The introverted feeling type comes from subjective feelings, often only they can understand. The true motives of such a person are usually hidden from outside observers, often people of this type look cold and indifferent. Quiet and benevolent in appearance, they can hide completely inadequate sensory experiences.
Feeling
The sensing extraverted type perceives the surrounding reality more acutely than other psychological types. Jung described this type as someone living in the here and now.
He wants the most intense sensations, even if they are negative. The picture of the world of such a subject is built on observations of the objects of the external world, which gives sentient extroverts a touch of objectivity and reasonableness, although in reality this is not at all the case.
The introverted feeling type is extremely hard to understand. The main role in the perception of the world for this psychological type is played by his subjective reaction to the world. Therefore, the actions of sentient introverts can be incomprehensible, illogical, and even frightening.
Intuition
The intuitive type is one of the most obscure and mysterious. Other psychological types of Carl Jung are more rational, with the exception of the feeler. If the intuitive type manifests itself in an extrovert, then a person arises who is constantly looking for opportunities, but as soon asthe possibility is studied and clear, abandons it for the sake of further wanderings. Such people make good businessmen or producers. They are said to have excellent flair.
However, the intuitive type, combined with introversion, forms the most strange combination. Describing psychological types, Jung noted that intuitive introverts can be excellent artists and creators, but their work is unearthly, bizarre. In communicating with such a person, a lot of difficulties can arise, since often he expresses his thoughts only to him alone in an understandable way. People of this kind are fixated on perception and its description. If they do not find an outlet for their feelings in creativity, then it becomes difficult for them to take their place in society.
Can you change your psychological type?
Psychological types do not occur in their pure form. Every person has both an extrovert and an introvert, but one of these types is dominant.
The same is true with the functions of consciousness, that is, if you have a feeling type in front of you, this does not mean at all that he does not use the intellect, just feelings play a decisive role in his life. According to Jung's concept, the psychological type of a person remains unchanged throughout his life. However, it can be slightly adjusted, subject to external circumstances.
If you are not satisfied with your psychological type, do not lose heart or try to fight with your nature. It is much more reasonable to build a competent life strategy that willconsider your strengths and weaknesses. Even though the dominant type cannot be changed, this does not mean that it is impossible to change in any way. Most of the features of the human character are not innate and unchanging. In addition, psychology is not physics, it only assumes, not asserts, so everything is in your hands. Those who want to learn more about this topic can read a wonderful book - Jung K. G. "Psychological types".
