Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionII. Psychodynamic
Theories- Jung: Analytical
Psychology
(^118) © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
As an archetype, the self is symbolized by a person’s ideas of perfection, com-
pletion, and wholeness, but its ultimate symbol is the mandala,which is depicted
as a circle within a square, a square within a circle, or any other concentric fig-
ure. It represents the strivings of the collective unconscious for unity, balance, and
wholeness.
The self includes both personal and collective unconscious images and thus
should not be confused with the ego, which represents consciousness only. In Figure
4.1, consciousness (the ego) is represented by the outer circle and is only a small part
of total personality; the personal unconscious is depicted by the middle circle; the
collective unconscious is represented by the inner circle; and totality of all three cir-
cles symbolizes the self. Only four archetypes—persona, shadow, animus, and
anima—have been drawn in this mandala, and each has been idealistically depicted
as being the same size. For most people the persona is more conscious than the
shadow, and the shadow may be more accessible to consciousness than either the
anima or the animus. As shown in Figure 4.1, each archetype is partly conscious,
partly personal unconscious, and partly collective unconscious.
The balance shown in Figure 4.1 between consciousness and the total self is
also somewhat idealistic. Many people have an overabundance of consciousness and
thus lack the “soul spark” of personality; that is, they fail to realize the richness and
vitality of their personal unconscious and especially of their collective unconscious.
112 Part II Psychodynamic Theories
FIGURE 4.1 Jung’s Conception of Personality.
Personal
unconscious
Anima (femininity) Animus (masculinity)
Personal
unconscious
Collective
unconscious
Conscious (ego)
Conscious (ego)
Conscious (ego) Shadow Conscious (ego)
Persona