24 Jun 2022

335

Carl Jung's Theory on Personality

Format: APA

Academic level: College

Paper type: Term Paper

Words: 1600

Pages: 3

Downloads: 0

Personality is a term used to define a person based on his/her individual and unique characteristics. Human beings have historically been interested and curious about what constitutes personality. Multiple attempts have been made to define and classify nature. Personality Psychology aims at answering the broad question, i.e., what makes human beings behave the way they do in this world. According to Carl Jung, there are multiple approaches to deal with the concept of Personality. Still, four of them are of utmost importance, the extroversion attitude, the introversion personality, the thoughts of libido as energy, and the inclusion of religiosity when dealing with other characters ( Atwood & Tomkins, 1976) . In addition to these four approaches, there are others, too, i.e., behaviorist approaches, such as psychodynamic, Humanistic, Trait Perspective, and Cognitive Perspective. These approaches are based on the way one looks at personality. A different way to understand personality is through other's lenses. How others see you also help in shaping your personality. Within these broad contours of approaches, multiple theories emphasize one or the other aspect of personality, citing different scientific methods. Of the significant proponents of the Psychodynamic approach, we have Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Karen Horney ( B rake, 1967) . Jung has supported much research by showing strong evidence in his theory of extraversion versus introversion, oh his stand on libido as energy, and the inclusion of religiosity as discussed. However, there are limitations to his theories, as discussed below. 

Jung's Theory on Extroversions and the Introversion Personality 

Jung's most practical theories, which had been influential throughout the study of psychology, are his work on personality types and his perception of life. When Jung did some clinical research, he came up with a personality type based on the attitude types in a person. The attitudes influenced the way one was interacting with the environment ( Walker, 2020) . According to Jung, the first two attitudes types of orientation that founded the theory of personality are the external orientation where Jung concluded that the introvert was focused on seeping energy from the environment or objects to ensure their things and the surroundings have no power over the introvert ( Walker, 2020) . In contrast, the extrovert tends to pour energy towards the environment and other objects, gearing towards establishing good relationships between the object, environment, and the extrovert. Jung further illustrates that the two types of personalities: the introvert and the extrovert, are found in all kinds of groups and people. Today's researchers have upheld Jung's philosophy of personality by indicating a precise genetic makeup that influences these types of personalities ( Walker, 2020) . According to Jung, some functions orient an individual towards the external environment, based on the personality of introversion or extroversion. Jung listed four functions of which describes our personality towards introversion and extroversion. 

It’s time to jumpstart your paper!

Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.

Get custom essay

The first function is thinking versus feeling. In thinking, Jung explains that intellect is used while in feeling, values are considered. An illustration to present how thoughts and feelings are used to determine our personality in our daily lives is, for example, the choice of courses to undertake in your course. A person who will think and use intellect might choose a course that fulfills a specific requirement, thus proving to be an extrovert, but if you use feelings, you will probably select a course that satisfies be an introvert. The second function which determines some personality towards the environment is sensing versus intuition. For sense, a person will pay full attention to the environment and focusing on reality. In contrast, in intuition, the sense of time is incorporated to bring about a mystical trust experience ( Walker, 2020) . Jung's personality theory has been influential to the extent of developing other popular instruments used to measure personality types so that an individual can make predictable decisions in life. Jung's introversion-extroversion principle has been an effective tool in the hands of researchers. However, some of Jung's conception of personality are often rendered outdated, and his critics discard his works as "Pure Mysticism" ( Walker, 2020). It is also important to note that most of Jung's propositions are not suitable for the trial. He never explained the procedures he followed in drawing his conclusions. 

Libido as energy 

Jung had to distance his philosophy about libido from that of Freud expressly. According to Jung, all psychological personalities are a manifestation of energy. Libido can be considered as desire energy. Jung indicates that libido is impulsive energy that is unauthorized by any morals or authority. It is like a bodily need of hunger, sleep, thirst, and sex ( Jones, 2018) . Earlier, Jung had indicated the psyche's personality as an automated system and later introduced libido. According to Jung, libido is intentional and 'knows' where it is supposed to dwell for an individual's overall health ( Jones, 2018) . Besides, where libido is lacking, there tends to be a depressed state of mind backed up with regression and unconscious actions meant to compensate for the little libido in oneself. Jung further explains that psyche energy in the form of libido tends to refuse to be disposed of in an extroversion way to the environment or towards a chosen object like any other form of energy such as corrosion ( Jones, 2018) . Instead, it can only be removed out voluntarily for a short time, but most of the time, it can be adamant to consider its repercussions and refuse to hold for any length of time, leading to self-fulfillment. Jung, despite being a close fellow of Freud, found some of Freud's propositions problematic ( Jones, 2018) . Sexuality was at the core of Freud's conception of libido. Jung saw libido as psychic energy. Libido for him was more than just a result of sexual instincts. For him, it is a form of energy that is invested in a mental event, irrespective of the instincts engaged ( Jones, 2018) . The main difference between Jung's theory on psyche behavior and Freud's theory is that Jung explained the nature and purpose of libido as a general source of psyche energy that motivates a variety of actions. At the same time, Freud termed it as a source of psych energy used explicitly for sexual pleasure. Jung's theory about psyche energy took off in 1992. Four decades later, to support the theory, it was used as Symbols of Transmission to treat patients' psychological diseases on libido. When comparing Jung's theory on psyche energy, William also termed the libido energy as indispensable, and individuals just introvert other energies such as 'hormetic' energy from the surrounding to gear in disposing of the psyche energy ( Jones, 2018) . However, in contradiction to the mental energy, Jung's theory has not been discussed in Jungian circles despite its central founder's theory. Moreover, in recent academic studies, Jung's theory is merely mentioned to indicate just the history, thus making its main limitation. 

Inclusion of religiosity 

Jung's theory of religion, it can be assumed that it was founded on the desperate family of a Swiss pastor. His approach to Christianity was not orthodox. He allowed himself to involve in astrology, interpretation of religious beliefs and practices which seemed to fit his theories. According to Jung, religious instincts are found in all human beings, and there is an inherent urge to make a proper relationship between something which transcends human power ( Jung & Olson, 2017) . Jung led himself to view religion as a collective manifestation of unconsciousness about practices and experiences. Dreams served as direct religious experiences, while rules kept the believers at bay from spiritual enemies. Also, Jung adds that there is an irrationality of religion where modern people have incorporated modern technology and rational thinking to suit their religious preferences. In spiritual matters, Jung came up with a personal theory of individuation, where the man puts himself in society according to the job, family, and religion ( Jung & Olson, 2017) . By involving with individualism, a person can be able to reconsider the existence of supernatural powers. However, Jung ascertains that science cannot replace religion since religion provides the language for archetypes who are deep in patterning in mythological powers' consciousness. Jung had a profound philosophy on religion and evil ( Jung & Olson, 2017) . As expected, Jung had to try to cope with his father's religious crisis, urging his followers never to force goodness, but doing good should come from our consciousness. When someone is striving to be good, they might fall victim to the 'shadow' that Jung describes as the unwanted fearful side of one's personality. Moreover, Jung unfair that the trinity has some weakness, where more transformation of Quaternary is needed if more teaching about God is required. Jung's works' internal contradictions need to be viewed because of his thoroughly inconsistent and very own thought process. His over-emphasis on occult and supernatural draws much of the ire of critics. But it is important not to underestimate his contribution to the field ( Atwood & Tomkins, 1976) . For example, his word-association test is considered a standard. It is interesting to note that though Jung was not very optimistic about experimental psychology, some of his theories have been put on experiment and too much of the researchers' surprise, the conclusions confirmed the thesis of Jung ( B rake, 1967) . However, some details should be polished, and more need to put more of Jung's theories on the experiment, especially in diverse cultures like India through the extraversion-introversion technique. 

Research Questions to be pursued 

A- What, if any, role can Jung's conclusions play in establishing the relationship between individual behavior and social problems? 

B- What improvement can be made in the personality theory as proposed by Jung to suit modern times? 

C- In the post -Covid world can make the mental health situation worsening across the globe be related in any way to Jung's theories. If yes, how and to what extent? 

Selected Additional Sources 

Bair, D. (2011). Jung: Une Biographie . Paris: Flammarion. 

A balanced biography of Jung that does justice with the man and his contradictory 

Personality. 

Baitenova N. Zh. (2018, 20 October). C.G. Jung and E. Fromm psychoanalytic paradigm of religion's phenomenon. Retrieved 18 October 2020, from https://articlekz.com/en/article/ 15126. 

This article explores the contours of the notion of religion as proposed by Jung himself. This article also examines the attributes attached to Jung as a psychologist. 

Jones, Raya A. Jung's "Psychology with the Psyche" and the Behavioral Sciences . 18 July 2013, www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/3/3/408/htm . 

This article tries to establish a relationship between Jung's positions on science and religion with the behavioral sciences. Jung's essay on the nature of the psyche is at the center of the debate. 

The Hero & The Shadow: Carl Jung's Theory of Archetypes. (2020, 05 August). Retrieved on 18 October 2020, from https://alastairmordey.com/carl-jungs-theory-of-archetypes/ 

The author tries to throw light on the scholarship of Jung through the concept of Shadow. The author believes the archetypes to be of primary importance and strives to make a case for the relevance of the philosophy of Jung's psychology in modern times. 

The Jungian Model of the Psyche. (n.d.). Retrieved 18 October 2020, from http://journalpsyche.org/jungian-model-psyche/ 

This web article tries to explain the basic concepts as proposed by Jung. As we know, Jung's language is very complex, so for a layperson, it's understandably tough to get. This article makes it all easy. 

References 

Atwood, G. E., & Tomkins, S. S. (1976). On the Subjectivity of Personality Theory. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences , 12 (2), 166-177. https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6696(197604)12:2<166::AID-JHBS2300120208>3.0.CO;2-Y

B rake, C. C. (1967). Jung and His Critics. The Journal of American Folklore, 80 (318), 321. Doi.10.2307/537409. 

Jones, R. A. (2018). The Stream of Desire and Jung's Concept of Psychic Energy. The Ecstatic and the Archaic. London: Routledge . Theory & Psychology, 2001, vol. 11, 233 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Raya_Jones/publication/333559076 . 

Jung, J. H., & Olson, D. V. (2017). Where Does Religion Matter Most? Personal Religiosity and the Acceptability of Wife‐beating in Cross‐National Perspective. Sociological Inquiry , 87 (4), 608-633.https://doi.org.10.1111/soin.12164. 

Walker, D. L. (2020). Extraversion–Introversion. The Wiley Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences: Models and Theories , 159-163. https://doi.org./10.1002/9781119547143.ch28

Illustration
Cite this page

Select style:

Reference

StudyBounty. (2023, September 14). Carl Jung's Theory on Personality.
https://studybounty.com/carl-jung-s-theory-on-personality-term-paper

illustration

Related essays

We post free essay examples for college on a regular basis. Stay in the know!

19 Sep 2023
Psychology

How to Do a SWOT Analysis for Your Business

Running head: SWOT ANALYSIS 1 SWOT Analysis Strengths Strong communication skills Strong creativity and analytical skills I am able to think critically I have emotional intelligence, which helps me to relate...

Words: 284

Pages: 1

Views: 74

19 Sep 2023
Psychology

Letter of Consent for Research Study

Running head: LETTER OF CONSENT 1 Letter of Consent for Research Study Dear (Participant’s Name): You are invited to participate in a research study on the Routine Activity theory and the hypothesis that the lack...

Words: 283

Pages: 1

Views: 359

17 Sep 2023
Psychology

Mental Representations and the Mind-Brain Relationship

Often, contemporary controversies underlie the interpretation of the mental representations and the mind-brain relationships through concepts such as monolism, dualism and exclusivity. In my view, the dualism concept...

Words: 1796

Pages: 7

Views: 168

17 Sep 2023
Psychology

Building a Healthy Marriage

Although sometimes marriage can be problematic, it can also be one of the most rewarding experiences for couples. For instance, couples in a satisfying marriage enjoy happiness, a long and enjoyable life, personal...

Words: 1266

Pages: 5

Views: 344

17 Sep 2023
Psychology

Devastating Impacts of Domestic Violence

The issue of domestic violence is a growing concern in the present society. Women serve as the key victims of domestic violence, although men and children also feel the devastating effects as well. When couples are...

Words: 2437

Pages: 9

Views: 77

17 Sep 2023
Psychology

How Emotions Affect Marketing and Sales

The most appealing advertisements use the audience’s emotions as their leverage. They instill fear and the psychology of pain, moderately, to their subjects and use that to their advantage. To remain ethical, most of...

Words: 1113

Pages: 4

Views: 96

illustration

Running out of time?

Entrust your assignment to proficient writers and receive TOP-quality paper before the deadline is over.

Illustration