Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

The Psychoanalytic Perspective on Personality429In studying different cultures, Jung was struck by the universalityof many images and themes, which also surfaced in his patients’dreams and preoccupations. These observations led to some ofJung’s most intriguing ideas, the notions of the collective unconsciousand archetypes.Jung (1936) believed that the deepest part of the individual psycheis the collective unconscious, which is shared by all peopleand reflects humanity’s collective evolutionary history. He describedthe collective unconscious as containing “the whole spiritualheritage of mankind’s evolution, born anew in the brain structureof every individual” (Jung, 1931).Contained in the collective unconscious are the archetypes, themental images of universal human instincts, themes, and preoccupations(Jung, 1964). Common archetypal themes that are expressedin virtually every culture are the hero, the powerful father, the nurturingmother, the witch, the wise old man, the innocent child, and death and rebirth.Two important archetypes that Jung (1951) described are the anima and theanimus—the representations of feminine and masculine qualities. Jung believed thatevery man has a “feminine” side, represented by his anima, and that every womanhas a “masculine” side, represented by her animus. To achieve psychological harmony,Jung believed, it is important for men to recognize and accept their feminineaspects and for women to recognize and accept the masculine side of their nature.Not surprisingly, Jung’s concepts of the collective unconscious and shared archetypeshave been criticized as being unscientific or mystical. As far as we know, individualexperiences cannot be genetically passed down from one generation to thenext. Regardless, Jung’s ideas make more sense if you think of the collective unconsciousas reflecting shared human experiences. The archetypes, then, can be thoughtof as symbols that represent the common, universal themes of the human life cycle.These universal themes include birth, achieving a sense of self, parenthood, the spiritualsearch, and death.Although Jung’s theory never became as influential as Freud’s, some of his ideashave gained wide acceptance. For example, Jung (1923) was the first to describetwo basic personality types: introverts, who focus their attention inward, and extraverts,who turn their attention and energy toward the outside world. We willencounter these two basic personality dimensions again, when we look at trait theorieslater in this chapter. Finally, Jung’s emphasis on the drive toward psychologicalgrowth and self- realization anticipated some of the basic ideas of the humanisticperspective on personality, which we’ll look at shortly.Archetypes in Popular Culture Accordingto Jung, archetypal images are oftenfound in popular myths, novels, and evenfilms. Consider the classic film The Wizardof Oz. The motherless child, Dorothy, is ona quest for self-knowledge and selfhood,symbolized by the circular Emerald City.She is accompanied by her symbolic helpers,the Cowardly Lion (seeking courage), theTin Woodsman (seeking love), and theScarecrow (seeking wisdom).The Mandala To Jung (1974), the mandalawas the archetypal symbol of the self andpsychic wholeness. Mandala images arefound in cultures throughout the world.Shown here are a ceremonial buffalo robeof the Plains Indians (left); the Bhavacakra,or Buddhist Wheel of Life, from Tibet(center); and one of many examples fromthe Christian tradition, a beautiful rosewindow in the main portal of the NotreDame cathedral in Reims, France (right).