122 Part II Psychodynamic Theories
Jung (1961) believed that the regressive step is necessary to create a balanced
personality and to grow toward self-realization.Psychological Types
Besides the levels of the psyche and the dynamics of personality, Jung recognized
various psychological types that grow out of a union of two basic attitudes—
introversion and extraversion—and four separate functions—thinking, feeling,
sensing, and intuiting.Attitudes
Jung (1921/1971) defined an attitude as a predisposition to act or react in a char-
acteristic direction. He insisted that each person has both an introverted and an
extraverted attitude, although one may be conscious while the other is unconscious.
Like other opposing forces in analytical psychology, introversion and extraversion
serve in a compensatory relationship to one another and can be illustrated by the
yang and yin motif (see Figure 4.2).Introversion
According to Jung, introversion is the turning inward of psychic energy with an
orientation toward the subjective. Introverts are tuned in to their inner world with
all its biases, fantasies, dreams, and individualized perceptions. These people per-
ceive the external world, of course, but they do so selectively and with their own
subjective view (Jung, 1921/1971).
The story of Jung’s life shows two episodes when introversion was clearly
the dominant attitude. The first was during early adolescence when he became
cognizant of a No. 2 personality, one beyond awareness to his extraverted person-
ality. The second episode was during his midlife confrontation with his uncon-
scious when he carried on conversations with his anima, experienced bizarre
dreams, and induced strange visions that were the “stuff of psychosis” (Jung, 1961,
p. 188). During his nearly completely introverted midlife crisis, his fantasies were
individualized and subjective. Other people, including even Jung’s wife, could not
accurately comprehend what he was experiencing. Only Toni Wolff seemed capa-
ble of helping him emerge from his confrontation with the unconscious. During
that introverted confrontation, Jung suspended or discontinued much of his extra-
verted or objective attitude. He stopped actively treating his patients, resigned his
position as lecturer at the University of Zürich, ceased his theoretical writing, and
for 3 years, found that he could not even read any kind of scientific book. He was
in the process of discovering the introverted pole of his existence.
Jung’s voyage of discovery, however, was not totally introverted. He knew
that unless he retained some hold on his extraverted world, he would risk becoming
absolutely possessed by his inner world. Afraid that he might become completely
psychotic, he forced himself to continue as much of a normal life as possible with
his family and his profession. By this technique, Jung eventually emerged from his
inner journey and established a balance between introversion and extraversion.