Jung’s Typology for Beginners

This page is a continuation of the “Personality Test.”

 

Have you already taken the Personality Test?

If you still need to, please do so.

It will only take a minute or two.

 

But to tell you the truth, I am not saying that you will necessarily get the exact result no matter what kind of personality test you take.

Indeed, the results of personality tests are helpful, but you can only trust them partially.

 

So I would like to show you a better way to know your personality.

That is to learn the theory of personality, which is the basis of personality tests.

Once you learn it, you will be able to modify the results of the personality test on your own.

Also, you can understand your personality without having a personality test in the first place.

 

However, there are many different personality theories.

Among them, I will introduce Jung’s typology here.

 

Jung’s Theory and MBTI Are Different

 

Many people misunderstand MBTI and Jung’s Typology to be the same.

However, as mentioned on another page, the MBTI was made by Americans based on Jung’s Typology, and they are two different theories.

First, let me briefly explain the difference between Jung’s Typology and the MBTI.

 

Jung’s Typology (not MBTI!)

 

First, Jung noticed that there are two types of human personality below.

Jung named these two types “attitudes.”

 

Next, Jung discovered that the human personality has four functions.

The four “functions” are as follows

 

 

The two “attitudes” have characteristics that are diametrically opposed to each other.

 

On the other hand, there is a relationship between the four “functions” in the following figure.

As you can see, Thinking and Feeling are in opposition, and Sensation and Intuition are in opposition.

 

 

I want to mention something important here.

No one person is equally capable of using all four functions.

 

The human mind has a conscious realm and an unconscious realm.

The functions in the conscious realm work well.

However, the functions in the unconscious do not work well.

 

For example, in the case of a person with the personality shown in the figure below, thinking works very well, but feeling does not work well.

Intuition and sensation are in the middle, but the former works better.

In this case, thinking, which works best, is called the superior function, and feeling, which works least well, is called the inferior function.

Intuition and sensation are called auxiliary functions.

 

 

 

Based on the combination of two “attitudes” and four “functions,” Jung believed we could classify human personality into the following eight types.

 

MBTI Distorts Jungian Theory …

 

In addition to Jung’s two “attitudes” and four “functions,” the MBTI uses two other measures: “Judging” and “Perceiving.”

 

These two terms are already in Jungian theory.

As noted above, “Judging” refers to the “Rational,” and “Perceiving” refers to the “Irrational.”

 

However, “Judging” and “Perceiving” are used as indicators for personality type in the MBTI.

 

 

So, the MBTI classified personality into 16 types, which are combinations of the following four pairs of indicators.

Each type is also represented by its initial letter.

(Only “Intuition” uses the second letter “N”)

 

 

For those already familiar with Jung’s typology, MBTI theory seems somewhat shallow.

Not only that, but the theory itself seems a bit wrong.

 

This site classifies personality into 16 types, as does the MBTI, but interprets each of these personality types according to Jung’s Typology.

 

 

Next, I will explain the two “attitudes” and four “functions” of Jung’s Typology, as well as the MBTI’s unique indicators of “Judging” and “Perceiving,” respectively.

 

 

Extrovert(E) and Introvert(I): Direction of Energy

 

Extroversion and Introversion are the most fundamental aspects of personality.

If you are an extrovert, your interests and concerns are oriented toward your surroundings.

Conversely, if you are an introvert, your interests and concerns will be directed inward to yourself.

 

 

 

Sensation(S) and Intuition(N): How to Perceive the World

 

Sensation and Intuition are functions of perception of external circumstances.

However, there is a difference between the two because Sensation uses the five senses of the physical body, but Intuition uses the so-called sixth sense.

 

 

 

Thinking(T) and Feeling(F)： How to Judge the World

 

Thinking and Feeling are functions that you judge the value of something.

It can be said that Thinking is based on if something is “right or wrong,” while Feeling is based on if something is ” like or dislike.”

 

 

 

Judging(J) and Perceiving(P)： Decide or Hold Off?

 

The authors of the MBTI (not Jung, of course) have created their unique indicators, “Judging” and “Perceiving.”

Simply put, “Judging” refers to “the tendency to make decisions quickly and without procrastination.

“Perceiving” is the opposite: the tendency to hold off on making a decision and to keep gathering more information necessary to make a decision.

 

However, I think the biggest problem with the MBTI is that it discusses “Judging” and “Perceiving” as personality functions on the same level as “Extroversion,” “Thinking,” and “Sensation.”

This makes the results of personality tests very ambiguous.

Some people criticize the MBTI as being like fortune telling or tarot cards.

The criticism is due to the “Judging” and “Perceiving” indicators.

Therefore, I have decided to use “Judging and Perceiving” according to the original Jung’s Typology.

 

In the following article, I explained how I am trying to use “Judging” and “Perceiving” in this “Sloth Psychology.”

I also mention how the MBTI misinterprets personality types.