The 8 personality types according to Carl Jung

Carl Jung is undoubtedly one of the essential names if we want to understand the history of psychology. His theories, a source of controversy and inspiration alike, build a fascinating legacy that is always worth delving into. His work on personality laid the foundation for many of the theories and concepts we use today.

For a long time, Jung was a disciple of Freud. However, she distanced herself from him mainly because she did not agree with his theory of sexuality. In addition, Carl Jung postulated the existence of a “collective unconscious”, which was prior to the individual unconscious. Regarding his studies on personality, we also owe him the conceptualization of the introverted profile and the extroverted profile. Something that undoubtedly sounds familiar to all of us.

Carl Jung was a restless intellectual who drew from many sources. In addition to neurology and psychoanalysis, Jung’s theories were influenced by mythology, and even religion and parapsychology. One of his great passions was archeology and probably from that inclination came the construction of the theory of archetypes, or universal symbols that are present in the human unconscious.

Carl Jung’s theory of personality

For Carl Jung there are four basic psychological functions: thinking, feeling, intuiting and perceiving.. In each person one or more of these functions have particular emphasis. For example, when someone is impulsive, according to Jung, it is because the functions of intuiting and perceiving predominate, rather than those of feeling and thinking.

From the four basic functions, Jung postulates that two great types of character are formed: the introvert and the extravert.. Each of them has specific features that differentiate it from the other.

1. Extraverted type character

The extraverted type is characterized by:

Their interest is focused on external reality, rather than on the internal world.Decisions are made thinking about their effect on external realityrather than in existence itself. Actions are carried out based on what others may think about them.Ethics and morality are built depending on what predominates in the world.They are people who adapt to almost any environment, but it is difficult for them to really adapt. They are suggestible, impressionable and tend to imitate.They need to be seen and recognized by others.

2. Introvert type character

For its part, the introvert type has among its traits:

He feels interest in himself, in his feelings and thoughts.Guide your behavior according to what you feel and think, even if it goes in the opposite direction. of external reality. He does not worry too much about the effect that his actions have on the environment. He is most concerned about being satisfied internally.They have difficulties both in settling in and in adapting to the environment.. However, if they manage to adapt, they will do so really and creatively.

personality types

From the basic psychological functions and the two fundamental character types, Jung points out that eight personality types are derived. well differentiated. All people would belong to one type or another. These are:

1. Reflective extravert

The reflective-extraverted personality corresponds to the cerebral and objective individuals, who act almost exclusively based on reason. They only take as true what is stated with sufficient evidence. They are not very sensitive and can even become tyrannical and manipulative with others.

Likewise, the reflective-extraverted profile is usually governed by immovable principles. They rarely open their perspectives to other options, quite the opposite. They do not hesitate to impose their vision of the world on those around them. They have a tendency to create explanations about everything based on what the individual sees around them.

2. Reflective introvert

The reflective-introvert is a person with great intellectual activity. They are imaginative, but distrustful, lovers of conspiracy theories, stubborn and very tenacious when it comes to achieving their goals. Sometimes, they are seen as a profile that is somewhat strange and disconnected from their environment, but once contact is established with them, they become highly appreciated people.

For the author, this type of personality is the one that is related to those who are seen as philosophers in society. This is due to the interest of reflective-introverts in finding the relationships between ideas. So they are interested, specifically, in abstract thoughts, reflections and theoretical battles between different philosophies and ways of seeing life.

3. Extraverted Sentimental

People with great ability to understand others and establish social relationships are extraverted sentimentalists.. They are very empathetic profiles, they connect easily with others and have excellent communication skills. Its only limitation is its great social dependence. He needs the group and that constant interaction to reaffirm himself, to feel useful.

He has the ability to connect with others and really enjoy company. According to Jung, this type of personality is defined by the fact that it is related to very good social skills and a low propensity for reflection and abstract thinking.

4. Introverted emotional

The introverted sentimental personality is characterized by preferring solitude or small social circles. They may seem, at first glance, sullen and melancholic. They do their best to blend in and like to remain silent, but they have good social skills. They are also highly empathetic people and also focused on the needs of others.

They are not very talkative people, but friendly, empathetic and without special difficulties in creating emotional bonds. with a small circle of people. They tend not to show their attachment, among other things due to the lack of spontaneity when expressing how they feel.

5. Extraverted Perceiver

Extraverted perceptive individuals seek to experience new sensations. They crave pleasure above all else, constant interaction, stimulation. They are happy and lively, very open to their surroundings and even gullible on many occasions. However, another characteristic of this profile is that they get bored quickly. In this constant search for sensations, it is common for them to regularly change their environment, friends, partners… These individuals are described as people who are very open to experiences that they have never lived before, so that they show a disposition opposite to those who oppose them. to which they are not familiar.

6. Introverted Perceiver

The perceptive-introverted profile is a personality type very typical of musicians and artists. These people put special emphasis on sensory experiences: they place great value on color, shape, texture… His is the world of form, as a source of inner experiences.

7. Extraverted intuitive

It corresponds to the typical adventurer, the one who starts a thousand projects, the one who has hundreds of ideas, the one who dares to undertake, the one who does not need to leave his comfort zone because he has simply never been there. Extraverted intuitive people are very active and restless. They need a lot of stimuli of all kinds. They are tenacious in achieving their goals, and once they achieve them they move on to the next one, forgetting the previous one.

Likewise, it should be said that this personal dynamism is not in harmony with the social one. They tend to be interested people who do not hesitate to manipulate others to achieve their goals.

8. Introverted intuitive

They are extremely sensitive to the most subtle stimuli. The introverted intuitive personality corresponds to the type of people who almost “guess” what others think., feel or are prepared to do. They are imaginative, dreamers and idealists.

They have a hard time “putting their feet on the ground,” that is, they show detachment from immediate reality and prefer to get lost in their imagination. This is the dreamer archetype par excellence. They show detachment from immediate reality and prefer to give space to the imagination.

To conclude, it should be said that the 8 personalities explained by Carl Jung are not widely accepted today. The famous Swiss psychiatrist was not a big fan of the scientific and statistical method. His theories were nourished by his clinical experience and his philosophical desire. Nevertheless, As a result of their work, the Myers-Briggs Indicator was later developed.

This instrument is useful for measuring introversion and extraversion, although its application is limited primarily to the field of personal growth, personnel selection, and the exploration of interests in educational contexts. Despite this, and Although we currently have more valid instruments to describe human personality, it is impossible to detract from the always admirable work of Carl Jung.

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