Carl Gustav Jung: Analytical Psychology

Carl Gustav Jung: Analytical Psychology

• Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst
• He founded analytical psychology
• Jung worked alongside Alfred Adler as a first-generation follower of Freud
• Jung conducted studies in word association (1906) for Freud
• Jung published "Psychology of the Unconscious" (1912)
• Jung was the first president of the International Psychoanalytic Association (1910) and, initially, Freud's "crown prince"
• Jung had a divergence from Freud's psychoanalysis in 1913 due to disagreements, specifically on sexuality

Main Divergences from Psychoanalysis

• Initially, Jung agreed with Freud's ideas, but their relationship later deteriorated due mainly to disagreements on sexuality.
• Jung asserted that spirituality was more significant than sexuality.
• Jung added a teleological lens to Freud's causality, analyzing both past and future causes for behavior.
• While Freud focused on past experiences and childhood conflicts' impact, Jung stressed the importance of intentions, hopes, and future objectives.
• Jung emphasized the pursuit of wholeness and creative development, contrasting with Freud's focus on the repetition of instinctual patterns.
• Jung recognized the sophistication of the unconscious mind, viewing it as a guide for personal growth and not just a repository of repressed material.

Main Divergences Continued

• Jung believed personality is a combination of innate, archaic, universal, unconscious elements shaped by past cultures and generations.
• He theorized about a racially pre-formed 'collective unconscious' – a shared, inherited experience, shaped by experiences that's modified over time.
• Jung highlighted the importance of middle age in the development of individual personality
• Jung's work significantly influenced various areas like psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philosophy, and religious studies

Main Tenets of Jungian Analytical Psychology

• Jung's theories concern the structure, dynamics, and development of personality.

Structure of Personality

• Jung viewed personality as multifaceted systems interacting together
• He outlined the Ego, personal unconscious, and collective unconscious–and related elements such as, persona, anima/animus, and shadow.
• Jung also considered attitudes (introversion and extraversion) and functions (thinking, feeling, sensing, and intuition) as constitutive parts of the psyche.

Attitudes

• Extraversion focuses on the external world and social interaction
• Introversion emphasizes internal thoughts and feelings

Functions

• Thinking involves logic and analysis
• Feeling relates to values and judgment
• Sensing perceives immediate experiences
• Intuition understands patterns and possibilities

The Ego

• The ego acts as the conscious mind's gatekeeper.
• It selects and filters information to maintain identity and continuity

The Personal Unconscious

• The personal unconscious holds forgotten memories and experiences that have lost intensity
• Complexes are clusters of feelings, thoughts, perceptions, and memories that center on a particular theme.

The Collective Unconscious

• The collective unconscious comprises latent memories, inherited traits, and ancestral experiences.
• It's influenced by ancient and tribal human experiences.
• Archetypes are universal symbolic images and themes with emotional significance that influence behavior. Examples include the hero, the mother, and the shadow.

Archetypes

• Archetypes are universal symbolic patterns found in literature, mythology, and dreams
• These primal images unconsciously shape human thoughts, emotions, and behaviors
• Archetypes encompass diverse themes from caregiving to rulership and exploration.
• The presentation of the Maltese archetype illustrates archetypes in conjunction with geographical/cultural entities.

Personality Archetypes

• Individuals have various unconscious personality archetypes like those embodying birth, rebirth, death, power, magic, unity, the hero, the child, God, the demon, the wise old man, the earth mother, and the animal.

The Hero's Journey

• A standard narrative archetype involving a hero's journey through challenges and trials to achieve self-discovery and personal growth.

Important Archetypes

• Persona, Shadow, Self, Animus, and Anima are primary archetypes in Jungian theory

The Persona

• It's a public mask adopted in response to the demands of social conventions.
• It contrasts with the true or underlying personal personality

The Shadow

• Archetype representing the darker or less desirable aspects of human nature
• Embodies the instinctive side of human nature—inherited from animal ancestors

The Anima/Animus

• Anima represents the feminine aspect in males
• Animus represents the masculine aspect in females

The Self

• The Self is the central archetype around which all other parts of personality are organized.
• It represents personal wholeness and unity

The Dynamics of Personality

• Personality is a partly closed system affected by outside factors.
• Jung related psychic energy to physical energy, and the flow of psychic energy between different facets of personality is the focus of his dynamic theory
• The principles of opposites, equivalence, and entropy explain energy dynamics in the psyche; this theory relates to the principles of thermodynamics

Sublimation and Repression

• Sublimation involves the transformation of primal impulses into acceptable behaviors.
• Repression is the forceful removal of undesirable ideas or emotions, and this affects the psyche's dynamic function

Development of Personality

• Jungians believe in forward-oriented personality development that progresses towards completeness
• Individuation - the process through which personality is integrated into a cohesive and harmonious state—is a central tenet of Jungian psychology
• This process emphasizes the importance of various personality systems' full development

Two Main Goals of Jungian Analysis

• Expanding consciousness through the assimilation of personal and collective unconscious material
• Achieving complex wholeness through the individuation process

Criticism of Jung's Theory

• Some find Jung's ideas overly mystical, esoteric, and lacking scientific rigor
• Others criticize Jung's abstract, subjective nature and the difficulty of empirically validating his theories

Strengths of Jung's Theory

• Jungian typologies are influential in personality assessments
• His concepts of self-realization, healthy persons, and the collective unconscious are unique and insightful.
• Middle age is highlighted as a formative time for personal growth and individuation
• Jung's ideas offer a forward-looking approach and go beyond childhood experience to address the entirety of life

Explore the life and contributions of Carl Gustav Jung, the founder of analytical psychology. This quiz delves into Jung's relationships with Freud, his divergence on concepts such as spirituality and sexuality, and his influential works. Test your knowledge on the key concepts and milestones in Jung's psychological theories.