Sometimes, we observe a certain individual being extremely loud at parties or talkative during meetings. On the other hand, there must also have been times when somebody who does not talk a lot sits in a corner, but on occasions that they do talk, they say something difficult for everybody else to comprehend.
The quest for self−knowledge is at the heart of the human consciousness, and today's population is no exception. One of the speediest areas of psychology today is personality psychology, and social researchers have left academia to work permanently in corporations worldwide. Using behavioral evaluations to enhance involvement, professional growth, performance, and interaction is one way this quest becomes crucial in the workplace. To understand these dominant behavioral aspects of individuals, Jung proposed four aspects of personality, which are governed by two main attitudes.
The four functions of personality are −
Thinking is a logical, intellectual process that results in a series of ideas. Depending on a person's fundamental mindset, the thinking type might be extraverted or introverted. Although extraverted thinkers frequently utilize tangible ideas, they may also employ abstract concepts if they have received them from outside sources, such as parents or instructors, and are frequently applied in the works of mathematicians and engineers.
While introverted thinkers respond to external stimuli, their understanding of events is more influenced by the personal meaning they attach to them. Because of their extremely subjective and original responses to the outside world, which result in novel interpretations of old data, inventors and philosophers are frequently introverted thinkers.
To Jung, analyzing an idea or experience is referred to as emotion. Maybe valuing would be a better word to use, as it is not misunderstood for either feeling or intuiting. As an illustration, when someone says, "This surface feels rough," they are employing their sensing function. However, when they say, "I have a feeling that this will go well," they are intuiting. Emotions should not be confused with the feeling function. Every conscious act is judged by its feelings, including those regarded as neutral. The more extroverted and empathic people evaluate things using facts. External values and generally acknowledged norms of judgment serve as their primary sources of guidance.
They are typically loved due to their friendliness, but in their effort to fit in with society's expectations, they may come off as superficial and unreliable. Because careers like commerce or politics require and reward the formulation of value judgments based on factual information, extroverted feeling persons are frequently drawn to it. For introverted individuals, value judgments are mostly based on subjective impressions. They are individuals with distinct consciences, reserved personalities, and mysterious psyches. Their near−total disregard for the real world makes others around them uncomfortable.
The sensation is the process by which physical sensations are received and sent to perceptual consciousness. Said, sensing is a person's experience of sensory impulses. These perceptions are fundamental, absolute truths that each individual possesses and are not dependent on rational thought or emotion. Extraverted sensing individuals interpret external stimuli objectively. Their subjective attitudes do not greatly impact how they feel, which is crucial for jobs requiring sensory discrimination, such as those of a proofreader, house painter, wine taster, etc. Introverted sensory individuals' subjective perceptions of sight, hearing, taste, touch, and other senses significantly impact them.
They are led by how they perceive the actual physical stimuli. An introverted−sensing mindset is used by portrait painters, particularly by those whose works are very customized. Despite being able to convey meaning to others, they provide a subjective interpretation of objective occurrences.
Beyond the scope of conscious perception, intuition incorporates perception. Similar to perceiving, it is founded on the perception of unchanging, fundamental truths that serve as the foundation for thinking and feeling. Intuition is more imaginative, frequently modifying conscious feeling. People that are extraverted and intuitive tend to focus on external facts. However, they only subtly perceive things rather than fully sense them. Strong sensory inputs hinder intuition. Thus intuitive people hide many of their experiences and rely instead on their gut feelings and educated assumptions, which counter sensory information.
Inventors, who have to suppress distracting sensory information and concentrate on subconscious answers to objective problems, are an example of an extraverted intuitive type. They might produce products that meet needs that few other people were aware of. Introverted intuitive persons are led by an unconscious perception of facts that are essentially subjective and bear little to no similarity to the outside world. They frequently have incredibly potent subjective intuitions that can influence major decisions. Mystics, prophets, surrealist artists, and religious zealots are all examples of introverted intuitive people. According to Jung, introverted intuitive persons may not fully comprehend their motivations despite being moved by them.
Along with these four roles, Jung also described two main attitudes − extraversion and introversion, which are still widely used today and typically interpreted to be two opposing poles of the same dimension. Everyone exhibits both extroversion and introversion, but typically only one is prominent. Eight personality types are possible when these two attitudes are combined with the four functions. Consider someone whose major attitude is extroversion and whose primary function is feeling; in this case, the person's "feeling" tendencies would be outward-directed − they tend to be boisterous and easily affected by other people's emotions. However, if introversion were to predominate, the person's feeling tendencies would be focused on introspection and one's inner experiences, which could, ironically, be perceived by others as a lack of emotion. Thus, pairing any dominant function with one or the other may have a distinct flavor.
Following are the two main types −
Introversion − Jung defined introversion as the inward turning of psychic activity focused on the subjective. There is a keen awareness of the inner world with its unique perspectives, and these individuals perceive the outside world selectively and according to their viewpoints.
Extraversion − Extraversion is the attitude characterized by the shifting outward psychological energy, which directs a person's focus toward the objective. Extraverted people are more affected by their environment than by their inner selves, and they frequently place more emphasis on an objective viewpoint.
Now that we know how to categorize people into different personality dimensions, doesn't it make it easier for us to understand the world and its people? Say suppose we are in a conference room and all participants are asked to brainstorm on identifying a solution to a problem. Based on the different ideas that people propose and the way they do it, make it evident on what continuum of the dimensions they lie. If an individual is extremely logical in their response and quite vocal about it, they must be extroverted thinking individuals. Similarly, it is essential to consider how we can analyze people's personalities in the real world.
With the typology given by Jung, we can identify individuals in two broad categories of introversion and extraversion and further understand their way of making sense of the world. It analyzes different personalities rather simply and observable to the common person. Since his ideas about introverts rely mostly on mystical aspects, it is difficult to deny that he has been called a mystical theorist numerous times.