The Structures of Consciousness
Personality Type & Jungian Typology
“Classification does not explain the individual psyche. Nevertheless, an understanding of psychological types opens the way to a better understanding of human psychology in general.”
- C.G. Jung
Introduction to Personality Type
Identifying one’s personality based on the model of Jungian Typology is a useful tool in understanding how our psyche mediates reality, why we come into conflict with others and the curious dynamics that motivate our actions. Jung developed his theory (set forth in Psychological Types) by tracking patterns in his patients (and in his own life) for well over 20 years, noticing the ways in which individuals habitually or preferentially oriented themselves.
He established 4 functions of personality: thinking, feeling, sensation and intuition. These are modified by 2 attitudes: introversion and extraversion. Combined, we have cognitive functions, also referred to as function-attitudes: extraverted thinking, introverted sensation, extraverted feeling, introverted intuition, and so on….
Each of our personalities is led by a particular cognitive function, it characterizes our conscious disposition and is further supported by other functions which are less developed, presenting us with difficult roadblocks as well as opportunities for growth and development of personality.
We have covered Jungian Typology over several episodes, for more details, check out:
Evolutions of the Theory
The use of type codes (i.e. INTP, ESFJ, etc) and the 16 personalities is a product of MBTI, which is derived from the theory set forth in Psychological Types. Myers and Briggs took their interpretation of Jung’s work and focused on the practical use and implementation of personality theory by developing a self-reporting questionnaire, adding another dichotomy (Judging vs Perceiving) and establishing the function stack.
The MBTI excels when it is used to loosely measure preference but it missteps by giving a false sense of accuracy. It ignores the dynamic nature of the psyche; the ways in which our personality may have been impacted by environmental or familial factors. It relies purely on ego driven awareness and our own interpretation of the listed questions. Its limitations can lead to unreliable results and can misguide individuals to focus purely on their superior functions, never pushing the conversation further to what is happening in the unconscious and how shadowy inferior functions are subtly (or not so subtly) influencing our reality.
In a culture that yearns for quick answers to “who we are” and “why we do what we do”, MBTI presents a perfect storm. It not only perpetuates a low-resolution understanding of this system of thought, it becomes a breeding ground of misinterpretations that would not be possible without the abundance of online resources that have sprung up over the years to capitalize on people’s natural curiosity around human behavior and the yearning to find their “identity label”.
Within just a few minutes an individual can take a test and receive a classification of personality such as an ENFJ “Protagonist” or an ISTP “Virtuoso”. Another quick Google search lands you on a new test with the potential for a totally different outcome. Leading to confused statements like…
“I’m an INFP and an INFJ, I switch between the two.”
or
“I used to be a thinking type, but now I’m a feeling type.”
or
“I tested as an introvert, but that confuses me as I have a need to connect with social groups. Am I actually extraverted?”
Practical Next Steps
My advice is this: study the Jungian theory. Learn the cognitive functions and begin to discern your personality through rigorous application of the information. Consider where you struggle in life, where you seem to trip up, the patterns of tension. Think back to early childhood and what seemed to lead you and why. Utilize the advancements that MBTI provided, the function stack in particular (this reveals how we are a mix of extraverted and introverted). Take an online test, or get assessed by an MBTI professional, but allow that to be a starting point, a general direction to begin your investigation.
Over future posts I will go deeper, explaining how I arrived at my own personality type as well as clearing up misconceptions based on pop psychology interpretations of Jungian theory.
I do not claim that Jungian Typology, MBTI or other forms of personality theory are scientifically flawless and without criticism. To me, these systems work as a heuristic; they are useful in creating a practical, condensed, and shared language for which to explore these topics.
Anecdotally, I have found the blending of MBTI and Jungian Typology to be powerful in understanding myself and others. I try to stay grounded by leading with introspection, not jumping to stereotypical conclusions and acknowledging that there are many shades of expression within each type. To truly get to the heart of personality is to not take the manifest actions of someone as an indicator, but rather to dig deeper into the flow of psychological energy and what the reveals about their conscious and unconscious processes.