TD - Jungian Psychology
Carl Jung was a psychoanalyst who, though influenced by Sigmund Freud early in his career, grew to differ from him in many ways.
Jung believed in a conscious mind, but beyond that, he believed in a personal unconscious and a collective unconscious. He also believed that every person should learn to understand their unconscious, as well as other aspects of themselves that they have purposefully hidden, in order to have a strong, well-rounded identity.
The Unconscious Mind
The Collective Unconscious
Throughout the world's art, there emerge symbols and
archetypes that are universal. Some of these are the circle as the symbol of eternity, water as the flow of time or the essence of life, and the moon as femininity. There are also male archetypes, such as the warrior and the wizard, and female archetypes: the sex goddess, the pure virgin, and the witch.
The reason why the archetypes are common to humanity is unknown. It could be credited to families passing down stories from as far back as the first humans. It could be that we evolved with natural tendancies towards certain concepts. It is possible, from a religious point of view, that a deity programmed them into us.
Not only can the collective unconscious be seen in the world's art and literature, but its symbols also come up in our dreams.
The Personal Unconscious
This is the collection of symbols you've stored since childhood, and may not be aware of. For example, if you have a phobia of dogs, it may be because you were bitten by a dog when you were extremely young, and this caused you to see the dog as a symbol of danger. You may have supressed or lost this memory, but it can still affect you. The personal unconscious can also carry positive symbols. For example, if you were lost in the mall, and an old man took you to security to help you find your parents, you may have a soft spot for old men, whether you remember this incident or not.
Personality
Persona
Throughout the day, a human wears several masks, or personas, appropriate to the current situation. For instance, a woman may wear a student-mask before her professor, a mom-mask in front of her kids, and a crazy-fun-mask at the club. Such masks aren't necessarily destructive when used appropriately; indeed, it would be problematic for her to wear the crazy-mask in class.
An
inflated persona occurs when a person places too much emphasis on one mask. For example, a very smart kid wearing the student-mask may fall in love with the rewards he gets for it, and may try to get them by being the student where it is not appropriate. Not only is this ackward for observers, but it can result in him building his whole identity on the student-mask. If this kid is ever surprised by a poor grade, it will be devastating, because he has not achieved all he believes will give him worth; his identity will become worthless. This can result in psychological - or even literal - suicide.
Another popular, though less drastic, misuse of persona is a person hiding an aspect of their own personality that they are uncomfortable with. Such personality traits may not truly be problematic, but a person may somehow have been led to believe they are. The personal unconscious can affect which traits a person is uncomfortable with, along with stereotypes within society.
Shadow
The shadow is composed of all of the traits one does not want to accept in oneself. Though the shadow is not good or evil, it has often been seen as the dark side of one's personality. Traits like aggression, which are stereotyped as evil but are actually good when handled properly, may be hidden in the shadow by a person who believes they are evil. Personas can be used to do this.
Gender
A person has traits from the opposite gender. The Anima is the collection of female traits within a male, and the Animus is of the male traits within a female. A person may use personas to ignore or hide their anima or animus (for instance, a man who never shows pain because that can be considered a feminine trait).
Psychological Types
Each person has a preferred way of experiencing the world from birth, much like a person has a preferred writing hand or snowboarding leg. This said, a person with preferred orientations and modes that differ from what their family and society wish them to develop can encounter conflicts with society. A person may also supress a certain orientation/mo
de using a persona. However, while we must embrace our preferred orientation and mode, we should also work, at our own pace, to develop our weaker ones. This not only helps us learn about our subconscious (the subconscious is most exposed through behaviors coming from the least developed orientation and mode), but it also helps us become a more balanced person.
Orientations
•Introverts are oriented into themselves. They look within themselves for a sense of identity. They have little trouble when left alone and actually need alone time to build energy. Because they are so focused on themselves, it is hard to bore them. When dealing with their surroundings, they still look within to find their significance.
•Extroverts are oriented to the world outside themselves. They find their identity in the world around them. They feel energised when around people, and can't spend much time alone; too much alone time can bore them. When dealing with their surroundings, they remain focused on them to find their significance.
Functions/Modes
Rational Functions
•Thinking people rationalize through logic and analysis.
•Feeling people rationalize based on "the heart" and emotions.
Perceptive Functions
•Sensation users focus on their perception of what is highly evidenced.
•Intuition users focus on their perception of the unseen.
The orientations can be mixed with the modes for 8 different results.
Your Goal In Life, According To Jung
A person who has embraced all aspects of theirself takes on a new perona, called The Self. This persona encompasses all archetypes, orientations, and modes, and the person wearing it is not afraid of their shadow. Obviously this accomplishment is either very rare or impossible, but anyone can strive towards it to improve as a person.
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