Page 25 - History of Psychology

Jung also described two major orientations, or attitudes, that people take in
relating to the world. One attitude he labeled introversion, the other extraversion.
The introverted person tends to be quiet, imaginative, and more interested in ideas
than in interacting with people. The extroverted person is outgoing and sociable.
Although most people tend toward either introversion or extraversion, Jung
believed that the mature, healthy adult personality reflects both attitudes equally.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a widely used personality assessment
based in part on these ideas.

Causality, Synchronicity, and Dreams
Freud and Jung were determinists. Both believe that the important cause of a
person's personality is found in his past experiences. However, Jung believed that
to truly understand a person, the individual must understand that person's
previous experiences—including those recorded in the collective unconscious—and
that person's goals for the future. Thus, Jung adhered to teleology (goals). For Jung,
another important determinant of personality is synchronicity or meaningful
coincidence. Synchronicity occurs when two or more events, each with its
independent causality, come together in a meaningful way.

In interpreting dreams, Jung is very different from Freud. Freud believed that
repressed traumatic experiences arise in dreams because a person's defenses are
reduced during sleep. During the waking state, these experiences are actively

stored in the subconscious mind because entertaining them consciously triggers
extreme anxiety. Jung believed that everyone has the same collective unconscious
but individuals differ in their ability to recognize and give expression to various
archetypes. For Jung, dreams are a means of revealing undeveloped aspects of the
soul. Dream analysis, then, can be used to determine which aspects of the soul are
given adequate expression and which are not.

Criticism and Contribution
Jung's theory is often criticized for embracing spiritualism and mysticism. Many see
Jung as unscientific or even anti-scientific because he used things like symbols
found in art, religion, and human fantasy to develop his theories. In particular,
however, Jung's notions of introversion and extroversion prompted much research
and are part of every major personality measure.

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