Personality types: Jung's model of typology - Inner City Books

The Clinical Significance of Extraversion and Introversion 109yet undeveloped extraversion and a distorted, basically alienintroverted consciousness, can lead to a very complex, evenpathological state. An introvert can be subjected to a correspondingdistortion. The details of this problem have not yetbeen sufficiently studied. I believe, however, that the distortionof the constitutional attitude by environmental factors isone of the principal sources of psychotic symptoms and of theso-called psychopathic pattern.It would, of course, be ideal if the normal development ofthe opposite tendency were to take place without disturbance.But, in medicine and particularly in psychology, we seldomobserve such cases, as a normal development leaves little tobe observed. Where there are disturbances, naturally everyshade and variety is forthcoming.One might add a few further details: the introvert, who hasto develop his extraversion, is relatively liable to peptic ulcers.In extraverts, who should introvert, there is, in my experience,a danger of premature arterio-sclerosis. It is wellknown that sufferers from peptic ulcer may derive relief ofsymptoms from psychotherapy. But it is perhaps less wellknown that even relatively serious arteriosclerotic conditionscan be helped considerably by suitable psychotherapy, despitethe defeatist psychiatric prognoses to be found in all textbooks. So that in the case of an extravert who has to work outhis introversion, and has become depressive, arterio-scleroticsymptoms should not be allowed to influence the prognosistoo seriously, and psychotherapy should by no means be neglected.Let me sum up the effect of the two basic attitude typesfrom the medical aspect:The introvert lives primarily in his affect and comes intoconflict with the world. He is liable to slight or moderately serious accidents. The extravert adapts himself to the world andneglects the affect. For him the danger lies in the heart and