CARL JUNGs Analytical Theory of Personality

Analytical psychology of Jung derived from diverse fields like psychology, philosophy, astrology,
archeology, mythology, theology & literature is devoted towards study of unconscious, but proposed
more than sexual or aggressive urges, human beings are motivated by intrapsychic forces & images
shared from evolutionary past. This inherited unconscious includes deep rooted spiritual concerns &
explains the universal human striving for creative expression & psychic completion. This is the point of
divergence from Freudian psychoanalysis & disagreement between 2 stalwarts.
Jung also viewed libido as a diffused & creative life force that manifest in various ways such as religion
& power.
Basic concepts of Analytical Psychology

Structure of Personality
Ego center of conscious mind, executor of activities
Personal unconscious impressions not consciously registered, forgotten memories, clusters of
emotionally charged ideas, feelings, & memories acquired from developmental / ancestral past.
Dominates behaviour strongly.
Complexes organized group of feelings, thought, experiences, memories. It has a nucleus & acts
as a kind of magnet attracts of constellate experiences (e.g. mother complex).

Collective unconscious storehouse of latent memory traces of our human & prehuman
ancestors, as a result of common evolutionary past. Collective unconscious contains whole
spiritual heritage of mankind. Human beings are born with many predispositions for thinking,
feeling, perceiving. To deny this means evolution of brain is denied.
If wisdom of 2 unconscious (personal & collective) are ignored by ego, unconscious may disrupt
the conscious, rational process by getting hold of them & twisting them. Symptoms manifested
may be phobia, delusions etc.

Archetypes (original model) universal though form that contains large element of emotion. They
are not actual memory or images, but predispositions that lead people to universal pattern of
feeling thought or actions (behaviour towards stranger, love, death, etc). Some prominent
archetypes are:
Persona artificial social role enacted in public (if valued too much, we become too artificial,
detached from genuine experiences).
Shadow dark, sinister, animalistic side of our psyche (Jungs term for personality),
aggressiveness, undesirable sexual impulses . It also is the source of vitality, spontaneity, creative
ability. Jung believed that its function of ego to channelize these forces properly.
Anima feminine qualities present in all men
Animus masculine qualities present in all women. Both of these suggest androgynous nature of
man.
Self most salient archetype. Personality is organized & unified around this archetype, one feels
sense of harmony, unity, wholeness. Developmental of Self is ultimate goal of human life. Before
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self can emerge, it is necessary to become various components of personality to become fully
developed. Jung believed religion was a great facilitator of persons striving towards
completeness & wholeness.

Ego Orientations extraversion & introversion (people are somewhat in-between, may be
inclined towards one pole). These refer to inward / outward orientation not to the degree of
sociability.

Psychological Functions (cognitive styles) four basic functions: thinking, feeling, sensing,
intuiting (everyone has capacity for all these)
Thinking & feeling are termed rational (involve making judgment about life experiences) while
sensing & intuiting are termed irrational (passive recording without evaluation / interpretation).
In combination with ego-orientation these make eight personality type (can be assessed by
Myers- Briggs Type Indicator).
Thinking-oriented person seeks to understand meaning of daily experiences through use of logic
& reason.
Feeling-oriented person checks whether experience is inherently positive or negative.
Sensing-oriented person is acutely aware of taste, smell, feel of stimuli in the world.
Intuitive-oriented person relies on hunches & guesses to grasp meaning of events of life.

Dynamics of Personality
Interaction among systems of personality in 3 different ways:
Compensate (when something is conscious, complementary part runs in unconscious. Takes over
when needed),
Oppose polarity exists in human beings; polarity opposes but attracts also (like men & women).
Tension created by opposing elements produces energy, which makes personality possible.
Synthesis contrary systems are balanced & integrated as a whole, with self as a center.
Psychic energy (conservation of energy) from external & internal source. Jung did not equate
physical energy to psychic energy, but some kind of reciprocal relation exists. Psychic energy has
actual (wishing, willing, feeling, attending, striving etc) force as well as potential force
(dispositions, attitudes, tendencies, inclinations etc).
Psychic value amount of psychic energy invested in an element of the personality is the value of
that thing. Absolute value may not be determined, but preferences indicate in rough measure the
relative strengths of values.
Constellating power of complexes complexes stay in background & influence behaviour. Can
be assessed by 3 methods: [1] direct observation + analytical deduction (behaviour & dreams), [2]
complex indicators (slip of tongue, mental block, word association test) )[3] intensity of
emotional expression.
Principle of Equivalence if energy is expended in bringing about a certain condition, the amount
expended will appear elsewhere in the system. Lowering one value inevitably means the raising
of other value. Energy is continuously flowing from one system of personality to other systems,
these redistribution of energy constitutes dynamics of personality.

Principle of Entropy energy flows from higher to lower; operation of principle of entropy
results in equilibrium of forces. In ideal state, total energy is distributed throughout the various
fully developed systems of self. One-sided development of personality creates conflict, tension
& strain.
Use of energy after fulfilling the basic needs of maintaining life & propagation of species, extra
energy is used in cultural & spiritual activities.

Personality Development dynamic & evolving process that continues throughout the life.
Continues learning new skills, reaching out for new goals, progressing towards self-realization
(striving to unify different components of personality, realization of whole, indivisible self).
Unique for each person (process of individuation; integration of many opposing forces if psyche,
self archetype becomes center of personality) => self-actualization.
Bright & well educated person having considerable leisure time can attain this final stage of
personality development.
Casualty vs. Teleology - present events may be explained by past (Casualty), teleology view
explains present in terms of future; personality is comprehended in terms of where it is going.
Jung maintained that both standpoints are necessary for complete understanding of personality.
(He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. Nietzsche)
Synchronicity - there is another kind of order in universe in addition to as described by causality.
This explains mental telepathy, clairvoyance & other paranormal phenomena.
Heredity inherited ancestral experiences.
Stages :
Childhood activities necessary for survival. Behaviour governed by parental demands. Problems
experienced by young children reflect disturbing influence of home.
Young adulthood psychic birth; sexuality emerge, child become differentiated from parents.
Extraversion is primary attitude. The adolescent must grapple with issues of sexuality & power /
insecurity.
Middle age need for meaning in life emerges. More introverted more cultural less biological.
Experience mid-age crisis if energies are not channelized properly.
Progression & Regression progression (conscious ego establishes balance between external &
internal demand), regression is going back to past by ego for finding a way around obstacle, it
need not always be bad ego can learn from wisdom of past & move ahead.
Individuation every system is permitted to reach fullest degree of differentiation, development,
& expression and integrated in a healthy personality. Any under-developed systems draw from
other systems. If there are too many such, neurosis can develop.
Transcendent Functions diverse functions & opposing trends are unified as an integrated whole
(mandala).
Sublimation & Repression (are opposite in nature) used in same sense as Freud.
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Symbolization - an attempt to satisfy frustrated instinctual impulse (e.g. dance to deal with
sexuality), or resisting the original impulse. Symbols are not for something known, but from the
domain of unknown.
Concluding comments
Jung emphasized unconscious as rich source of wisdom
First to recognize positive implication of religious, spiritual, & transcendental experiences for
personal growth
Concepts of collective unconscious, archetype etc are difficult to study empirically
Definition of concepts not very precise
Jung was skeptical about scientific methods, rather he sought confirmation for his theory in
myths, legends, folklores & dreams