Learning more about your personality can be a powerful tool for personal growth. Knowing yourself makes it easier to understand your inner world and the important relationships in your life. Jung’s personality typology can be a great aid here, because it points not only to what is visible and obvious but also to what is hidden from your conscious awareness.
Table of contents
What is Jung’s personality typology based on?
While Carl Gustav Jung was carrying out research on associations, he noticed that one group of people always answered predictably, in line with social conventions, while people in the second group gave unusual, subjectively coloured answers. Thanks to this research, Jung discovered that there are two basic types of people: those who focus mainly on the world around them and those who intensely experience their inner world.
This is how the concepts of introversion and extraversion came about, and Jung was the first to introduce them to the world. His model of personality is also distinctive because it takes into account both the conscious and the unconscious aspects of the mind, which operates on four levels: sensing, intuition, thinking and feeling.
In Jung’s view, extraversion or introversion cannot be shown in isolation and must always be linked to one of the four psychological functions.
Jung’s typology is therefore built on:
- attitude types: extraversion (E) and introversion (I)
- irrational functions: intuition (N) and sensing (S)
- rational functions: thinking (T) and feeling (F)
Source: C.G. Jung Typologie, DTV 1990
1. What is your attitude to reality?
The first important factor in your personality type is whether your attitude to reality is turned more towards the outer world or whether you prefer to focus on your inner world.
What is introversion
To other people, an introvert seems quiet, shy, thoughtful and reserved. This behaviour, however, stems from their refusal to acknowledge the power of external reality, so they tend to avoid spending energy on the world around them. They have their own subjective view of everything and do not follow generally accepted social norms. Their refusal to fit into the outer world, however, leads to unconscious compensation, which causes the introvert to fall involuntarily under the power of external forces. This can show up, for example, as a fear of public speaking, financial dependence or a deep longing to be loved.
💡 Tip: Read also: What jobs suit introverts?
What is extraversion
An extravert longs to become a valued member of the outer world. They care about culture, society’s values and a sense of belonging. Unlike the introvert, they overestimate the power of objective reality and tend to try to please everyone. They are often cheerful, talkative and enjoy meeting new people. They see themselves through the eyes of others, which is exactly why social contact matters so much to them. Because they focus on everything around them, they have little contact with their inner self and do not understand their own inner motives. This is unconsciously compensated for by an exaggerated emphasis on their ego. To others, they may then come across as an egocentric eager to have their needs met and an insatiable hunter of spectacular experiences.
Source: C. G. Jung: General Description of the Types (Selected Works: Volume I, pp. 264–331, Brno 1996)
2. How do you take in information?
Do you focus on details or on the bigger picture? This polarity determines how we perceive reality and take in information. Jung calls these functions irrational because they are not based on rational judgement.
Sensing (S), information taken in through the senses
In this variant, people take in information about the outer world through their sensory perception. Sensory impressions such as appearance, smell and material are therefore important to them. As a result, their perception is concrete, practical and very realistic. The sensing type is more common and is estimated to make up 65 to 75% of the population.
Intuition (N), information taken in through the unconscious
Intuition is a way of perceiving reality that does not come through the basic senses but through the unconscious. So if intuition is dominant in you, you focus less on details and more on the bigger picture. This type of person is also more interested in thoughts, ideas and possibilities than in facts, and is good at anticipating situations. Their weaker practical focus, however, can cause problems with concentration and finishing things.
3. How do you evaluate information?
Do you make sure your conclusions are always objective, or do you prefer your subjective opinion? We evaluate the information we gather using the rational functions, which are thinking and feeling.
Thinking (T), objective evaluation of a situation
In this case, people are guided by logical judgement. They are typically stubborn, results matter to them, they think analytically and they are not very emotional. This is an objective way of evaluating information based on the pattern: true or false, right or wrong.
Feeling (F), subjective evaluation of a situation
These people prefer to evaluate things on an emotional level. They strive for harmony, focus on relationships with others and are loyal. Logical judgement is not their priority, and they give more weight to how a situation makes them feel. This is a subjective way of evaluating information based on the pattern: pleasant or unpleasant.
Jung’s 8 functional types, characteristics
Jung’s theory therefore results in eight variants, each with one dominant function that takes precedence. The fourth function is always the opposite one, the least preferred, and represents your unconscious or suppressed behaviour.
Introverted intuitive type
Mystic, artist, dreamer, clairvoyant. Of all the types, this one is the most immersed in their own world. To others, they are a mysterious being, while they see themselves as a misunderstood genius. To them, the world is a parade of subjectively perceived symbols and images. They are constantly searching for a Higher meaning. Their shadow side is surprisingly strongly instinct-driven, which can sometimes show up as compulsive behaviour, hypochondria, sensory oversensitivity or various addictions. (INTJ, INFJ)
Extraverted intuitive type
Visionary, inspirer, stylist, influencer, who sniffs out new opportunities that promise a future. They find it very hard to concentrate on the present moment, so they usually do not see any of their plans and ideas through. They are a very inspiring personality who despises boring conventions. They are interested in the people around them and are good at networking. When they suppress their unconscious perception, they become an expert at making assumptions about others or may tend towards hypochondria and phobias. (ENTP, ENFP)
Introverted thinking type
Intellectual, philosopher, innovator, sceptic, who may seem a little eccentric to others. They like to explore everything in depth, come up with new theories and complex systems, and see unusual connections. They value their own opinions and ideas more than what is written somewhere. They love their solitude and feel that everything and everyone disturbs them. With luck, they can tolerate a small circle of good friends. They are very authoritarian, and although they are hard to influence, the outer world still gets under their skin as they wage an exhausting battle against human stupidity, of which they have plenty of undeniable evidence. (INTP, ISTP)
Extraverted thinking type
Empiricist, leader, conservative, perfectionist, who accepts only generally valid facts. They have scientific, synthetic thinking and enjoy breaking facts down and putting them back together, which always leads them to new ideas. They like firm rules, order and tangible reality. All their life, they strive for perfection and look down on those who are not perfect. They tend to criticise everything and everyone and can be very pedantic. They are rarely guided by their feelings, which sometimes leads them to dogmatic rigidity. In the extreme version of their suppressed self, they can easily become a fanatic full of prejudice and bias. (ENTJ, ESTJ)
Introverted sensing type
Dreamer, painter, photographer, designer, who likes to let outside impressions wash over them. They see beauty wherever they go and can come up with a new, original perspective or capture something from an unexpected angle. If they lack artistic talent, they often struggle to express themselves. Sometimes they do not even understand themselves. They see reality as a magical world and only engage objectively when moral values and principles need defending. Their tendency to be trusting may be compensated for by excessive stubbornness, obsession or suspicion of everything. (INFP, ISFP)
Extraverted sensing type
Pleasure-seeker, aesthete, entertainer, bon vivant, who lives solely for their sensory experiences. They feel best in the thick of things. They are cheerful company and always insist on the finest furniture and the best wine. You can talk with them for hours about a tasting of top-quality cheeses, but as soon as you turn to a psychological topic, they get bored. They do not like to dig into their inner self, because it spoils their enjoyment of life. They also look down on logic. However, they can easily become a prisoner of their sexual fantasies, be pathologically jealous or even fall into sectarianism. (ESFP, ESTP)
Introverted feeling type
A secretary, inspector, protector and consultant, someone you can really rely on. To others they seem balanced, self-sufficient and also very cold. The opposite is true, however, because these people simply hide their deep feelings and fragile inner self from those around them in order to protect them. This type has a very good memory and is reminiscent of a library. Their thinking, though, can sometimes be too rigid and not very creative. In these people, a tendency towards excessive tolerance and a longing for harmony is offset by unconscious bossiness, smugness, tyranny or hysteria. (ISTJ, ISFJ)
Extraverted feeling type
A philanthropist, coach, creator, actor and motivator who likes to go along with social conventions and believes in cultural values. They are selfless and kind and interested in people, but very fickle in relationships. Their feelings, which they express flamboyantly, take precedence over reason and tend to be very changeable. At times they can even seem childish. Their shadow side is a tendency towards contradictory behaviour and a compensation for their overly friendly approach, which shows up as neurosis, coldness, hatred, aversion and impersonal behaviour. (ENFJ, ESFJ)
Source: C. G. Jung: General Description of the Types (Selected Works: Volume I, Brno 1996)
MBTI personality test, expanding the typology to 16 personalities
In the 1950s, Katharine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Myers built on Jung’s typology, expanding the theory from 8 to 16 personality types. This gave rise to the popular MBTI personality typology (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator), which was an immediate success even though it was criticised in the academic world, mainly because the authors had not studied psychology. Despite this criticism, the MBTI became popular with the public.
An extra category, how do you organise your life?
While Jung’s typology is based on a single dominant cognitive function, the MBTI personality typology takes into account the hierarchy of all 4 cognitive functions. It also adds the category of perceiving and judging, which describes lifestyle, meaning the way people want to organise their own lives and the lives of others.
Judging (J), an organised lifestyle
This type includes people who need to have everything planned in detail. They write lists, keep everything in order, like to do things step by step and are able to see matters through to a successful end. They deal with everything well in advance and leave nothing until the last minute.
Perceiving (P), an improvised lifestyle
These people usually do not have detailed plans and tend to adapt to the situation at hand. They tend to leave everything until the last minute and are more prone to procrastination. They seem disorganised, but this is their own kind of system. They have no problem changing plans unexpectedly and might well fly off on holiday out of the blue.
The MBTI test and its use in personnel management
The MBTI personality test is easily available online, so anyone can take it. You may also come across it at a job interview, as it is very popular in the HR sector and is often used as a personality typology for managers. It is also no secret that MBTI questionnaires have been used in the past for recruitment at large companies such as Apple, and also McDonald’s, for example.
One advantage of the MBTI personality test is that it does not threaten your self-confidence or self-esteem in any way. Its value lies in its ability to clarify your strengths while also explaining how each person works. This helps people look at a person’s weaknesses constructively rather than critically. When used in HR, it can help place a person in a job that is tailor-made for them, which leads to the greatest possible fit for both sides. The MBTI test can also help you choose a career when you simply do not know which field of work or position would suit you. As the above shows, not everyone is fully aware of all their inner desires and abilities.
💡 Tip: Read also: Personality typology and temperament: what do we know?
