by Phil Goss
The introverted intuitive directs their intuition inwards and similarly to their extroverted counterpart, focusing their energy on the possibilities inherent in the inner experiences and objects they encounter rather than on the impact of those experiences on themselves. They are constantly seeking out new discovery and possibility, including at the most archetypal levels of the psyche. It is no surprise to learn that Jung saw introverted intuition as a strength, bearing in mind all his interior journeying and encounters with the unconscious. His example suggests where this could evince profound insight and be beneficial in the analytic process, where the analyst can draw on their deeper intuitive responses to the analysand to support this.
On the other hand, introverted intuition represses sensation and so contact with reality is a problem. At times this can lead to uncertainty as to how real an experience is; Jung gives the example of vertigo, suggesting this would be recorded as an image of an experience rather than as an experience connected to self. To compensate, sensations can become repeatedly and compulsively experienced within the body, the unconscious somatizing what cannot be contacted meaningfully by generating ‘phantom’ pains/symptoms.
SENSING
As indicated, this is a non-rational function, which refers to what we experience via our senses, and through our body awareness more generally. This is where contact with physical reality is immediate, although the contact made does not always give us understanding – experiencing a shot of pain or a tickle, for example, does not tell us what it is we have made contact with. However, how well we are able to utilize sensory information and our body awareness to engage with life will vary individually.
• Extraverted sensation
‘No other human type can equal the extraverted sensation type in realism. His sense for objective facts is extraordinarily developed. His life is an accumulation of actual experiences of concrete objects, and the more pronounced his type, the less use does he make of his experience.’
Jung, 1971c, para. 606
As our senses give us information about the objects and phenomena our body and bodily functions come into contact with, the extraverted sensor will thoroughly value the contact with any of them, whether this is a wholly pleasurable or excited valuing, or a powerfully negative or uncomfortable one. As Jung’s words emphasize, it is the actual experience of these contacts, not their implications or meanings, which matter. Because of this formula, on the positive side, skilful practicality (e.g. making or mending things) and passionate sensuality can be associated with extraverted sensation. On the more negative side, addictions and a focus on gratification (e.g. sexual), as well as phobias about sensory experience (e.g. claustrophobia or arachnophobia) can likewise be associated with it. On a more practical level, effective use of physical skills may be more elusive.
• Introverted sensation
As may have suggested itself from the above, the introverted sensor is more concerned with the subjective processing of the experience of contact with objects rather than the actual phenomenological experience itself. This is fundamentally because of the person’s unrelatedness to what is externally present, leading Jung to assert that such individuals might often present as apparently passive and self-controlled. It appears that the experience of, say, an insect bite will not have affected them at all. However, the automatic defence to deflect the impact of the experience away from conscious awareness does not make it disappear. Instead, it further fuels an opposing or compensatory subjective reliance on fantasy and the sustaining of an inner world which is somehow ‘more important’ than the real, outer one.
This can lead to the putting of intuitive capacities to more negative use in the real world, in some cases generating a compulsively neurotic state which really makes day-to-day life a trial. If the individual concerned can establish some kind of direct relationship with the external influence they have experienced through their senses, then a valuable balance can be struck between, say, noticing the reality of the insect bite’s painful impact, and one’s processing of the significance of the experience for oneself. Nurturing this capacity can enhance sensory and relational experiences, say those of a sexual nature, for the introverted sensation type.
The hierarchy of typological functions
Jung drew together the combination of functions and introversion–extraversion dynamics within a model that could provide a kind of map to ‘read’ the individual’s typological functioning. This posited that each of us has the following four functions:
1 Superior function – as implied, our ‘strongest card’; for Jung extraverted thinking
2 Auxiliary function – the function that supports superior; for Jung introverted intuition
3 Tertiary function – a weaker function but with some strengths; for Jung extraverted sensation
4 Inferior function – the weakest function, opposite to superior; for Jung introverted feeling
Jung proposed that on the opposite side of the axis inhabited by the superior function (here, the rational axis) was the inferior position. The inferior function is also linked to shadow. Likewise, the auxiliary and tertiary functions represent opposites on the other axis (here, the non-rational one).
Another key principle at play, as conveyed above, is how the introversion–extraversion dynamic alternates as one goes up or down the hierarchy. In working with this hierarchy in personal development or therapy, a key principle is to focus on strengthening our weaker functions while also utilizing our stronger ones; this is a support to the individuation process.
Typological functioning
To apply these principles briefly to the character of the doctor referred to in Chapter 8, we could postulate the following hierarchy of typological functioning:
Superior: introverted thinking
He was good at theorizing what was wrong with his patients, then diagnosing effectively.
Auxiliary: extraverted intuition
In support of the above, he would often find his hunches about diagnosis were right.
Tertiary: introverted sensation
Contact with people and objects took him time to process, so his responses could be initially passive.
Inferior: extraverted feeling
His image of himself as ‘the healer’ who everyone prized was easily shattered by the slightest criticism; and his ‘all or nothing’ perspective would generate his angry verbal attacks.
Typology in Jungian analysis
Some Jungian analysts draw on Jung’s typological framework to make sense of the individual patterns in an analysand’s behaviours and experiences. They will try to get a sense of what the typological hierarchy of the analysand might be, so as to note what needs working on (regarding their inferior function in particular). Or they may use it to gauge where their own typology may be similar to or different from that of the analysand; this could help to explain aspects of the dynamics between them (conscious and unconscious). Other analysts may not situate the place of typology so prominently in their work, but just hold it in awareness as the therapeutic process unfolds.
Reflective exercise
Having acquired an initial sense from this chapter of what Jung meant by each of the four functions and how they may present when they are extraverted or introverted, see whether you can do a ‘mini case study’ on yourself like the one above and try to generally identify your own typological ‘hierarchy’. What might be your superior and inferior functions, and what might these tell you about you and the successes and difficulties you might have faced in your life?
JUNG’S TYPOLOGY IN BUSINESS
In organizational psychology and business, Jung’s typological framework has been a strong influence. The collaboration between Katharine Cook-Briggs (1875–1968) and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers (1897–1980) took his model and worked it into a detailed system for the self-evaluation of personality strengths and weaknesses, in turn providing tools to aid staff recruitment and deployment strategies. The appeal of this model is wide; it is s
omething which can be of general value in helping make sense of our personality traits, and differences, to other people (Briggs Myers, 1995). This illustrates in turn the originality of Jung’s approach (however dated in some respects it can seem) to looking at the nature and significance of personality factors.
Applying typology to famous people
It can be interesting to speculate about the typology of famous people. For example, was Albert Einstein helped by having introverted thinking as his superior function (a great mind…)? Or was Margaret Thatcher, in contrast, able to dominate politics in the UK during the 1980s because of her superior extraverted thinking about politics and her auxiliary introverted intuition, which gave her hunches to help her decision making?
To get you started, many websites consider such questions, as well as providing versions of personality tests. However, information on the original model can be found at the site of the Myers & Briggs Foundation: www.myersbriggs.org/
Key terms
Extraversion–introversion: An archetypal polarity conveying the dynamics between extraversion and introversion.
Extraversion: Where motivations and responses are governed by external objects; a tendency towards outer experience and expression.
Introversion: Where motivations and responses are governed by internal influences; a tendency towards inner experience and expression.
Four functions: The four governing functions of personality (feeling, intuition, sensation and thinking).
Feeling: How we use, with rational awareness, our feeling states to relate outwards or inwards.
Intuition: How we use our sense of how a situation may unfold, related outwards or inwards.
Sensation: How we use our senses and embodied capacities, related outwards or inwards.
Thinking: How we use our cognitive capacities and processes, related outwards or inwards.
Typology: Jung’s framework for describing how personality types impact on human motivation, behaviour and pathology.
Dig deeper
American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders III (Arlington, Va: APA, 1980)
Briggs Myers, I., Gifts Differing: Understanding Personality Type (Sunnyvale, CA: Davies-Black, 1995)
Cain, S., Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking (London: Penguin, 2012)
Ekstrom, S., ‘Jung’s typology and DSM-III personality disorders: a comparison of two systems of classification’, Journal of Analytical Psychology, 33(4), 329–53 (October 1988)
Hofmann, S. G., An Introduction to Modern CBT: Psychological Solutions to Mental Health Problems (Chichester: Blackwell, 2011)
Jung, C. G. (1963), Memories, Dreams, Reflections (Glasgow: Fontana, 1995)
Jung, C. G., ‘Introduction’ in Psychological Types, CW6 (London: Routledge, 1971a)
Jung, C. G., ‘Definitions’ in Psychological Types, CW6 (London: Routledge, 1971b)
Jung, C. G., ‘General Description of the Types’ in Psychological Types, CW6 (London: Routledge, 1971c)
Storr, A., Solitude (New York: Harper Collins, 1988)
Fact-check (answers at the back)
1 What was Jung’s view of how our personality develops?
a It is thoroughly formed by the environment we grow up in
b It is created by the genetics inherited from our parents
c It is influenced by characteristics of who we are, which are already there at birth
d It is a constantly changing phenomenon arising on a blank slate beginning at birth
2 What was Jung’s theory of introversion and extraversion influenced by?
a Parents’ opposing personalities
b Personalities number one and number two
c The study of Kant about the phenomenal and the noumenal
d Patients’ use of the words ‘in’, ‘extra’ and ‘version’ in word-association tests
3 According to Jung, what happens at midlife?
a We move from an extraverted to an introverted focus
b We are no longer a tabula rasa and our personality is fixed
c We move from an introverted to an extraverted focus
d We have a midlife crisis
4 How does compensation operate with extraverted or introverted tendencies?
a People compensate for being too extra- or introverted by exaggerating the opposite
b The unconscious takes on the opposite characteristics to the person’s tendency
c People who are introverted can claim compensation for not being extraverted enough
d The conscious mind compensates for the missing tendency
5 Which pairs of functions are rational and which non-rational?
a Rational: Thinking and Sensation; Non-rational: Feeling and Intuition
b Rational: Feeling and Intuition; Non-rational: Thinking and Sensation
c Rational: Sensation and Feeling; Non-rational: Feeling and Intuition
d Rational: Thinking and Feeling; Non-rational: Intuition and Sensation
6 How does extraverted and introverted thinking operate?
a Extraverted is governed by external facts; introverted seeks facts to prove ideas
b Extraverted ignores the influence of others; introverted ignores itself
c Introverted is governed by delusions; extraverted by psychosexual drives
d Introverted defends against intuition; extraverted defends against sensation
7 For Jung, what is the distinction between feeling and affect?
a Feeling is what overwhelms us sometimes and affect is what affects us
b Feeling is real, affect is not – i.e. it is ‘affected’
c Affect is the emotion revealed in responses; feeling is how we use emotions and feelings
d Affect describes how we effect other people; feeling is how we experience ourselves
8 How is introverted intuition both a resource and a problem?
a It stops us thinking straight but allows us to visualize the future
b It means we can better engage with the unconscious, but also get lost in it
c It helps us to solve problems but it also means we seek problems out
d It can confuse the analytic process but it can help the therapist bury this confusion
9 How is extraverted sensation both a resource and a problem?
a It helps us see things more clearly and gets us into trouble because of it
b It stops us from noticing deeper bodily sensations but is good for surface ones
c It helps us find things in the dark but makes us clumsy
d It can make us over-dependent on gratification but it strengthens our sensory awareness
10 What is the typological hierarchy designed to illustrate?
a The way in which we choose the personality type of partners
b How our personality is shaped by strengths and weakness across the four functions
c The best way to structure our responses to other people
d How our personality changes over time
Section 3
Jungian analytic practice
10
Jungian analysis
This chapter introduces the key elements of Jungian analysis, including the therapeutic relationship and process, boundaries, couch vs chair, duration, and ways of working with the unconscious. We will also look at Jung’s ‘four stages’ of analysis and consider how relevant this still is. Tensions between differing therapeutic stances towards fostering a meaningful, healing, process are also considered.
Making space for psyche
‘My aim is to bring about a psychic state in which my patient begins to experiment with his own nature – a state of fluidity, change and growth where nothing is eternally fixed and hopelessly petrified.’
Jung, 1966a, para. 99
The principles and practice of Jungian analysis rest on the premise that psyche is a living, evolving presence in the consulting room. What this means is the work of a Jung
ian analyst is not principally about having the right tools to ‘fix’ what is out of kilter in the life of the analysand (although there are some key elements to analytic practice which provide the framework for analysis). Nor is it to define, in a precise way, what is happening in the analysis. Rather, it is about following the direction of psyche. In other words, it is about staying alert, and paying heed, to the workings of the unconscious and trying to detect, and work with, what emerges in the organic life of the therapy. Being open to what the analysand brings, as well as who they are, is a core principle of the work. This means, as the quote above highlights, helping them to ‘experiment’ with themselves and challenge their own preconceptions about who they are – a prerequisite for self-knowledge and the loosening of the influence of complexes (as discussed in Chapter 8).
The work of analysis will therefore include descriptions of, and reflections on, current life experiences, and the feelings and thoughts these evoke. It will also include work with dreams and imagination, as well as with what the transference and countertransference between the analysand and the analyst bring to light. Terminology, such as that concerned with the transference (which originates in Freud’s thinking and practice), will be explained in more detail as the discussion unfolds.
In Jung’s view, the analyst should be in the analysis as much as the analysand, and be changed by it. The point he is making is that the analyst and the analysand both need to engage with the unconscious in order for the analysand to experience fresh awareness and capacity for growth and change. This will mean that the analyst, too, will encounter aspects of their own unconscious as well as from that of the analysand. This will lead to new insights for the analyst into themselves, as well as about how psychic life operates in general. More significantly, change will have been effected at an unconscious level. If the analyst notices no change in themselves, this would indicate that the analytic process has not properly happened.