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

Introduction to Jungian Typology 25and strong emotional reactions of any kind—from falling inlove to blind rage—are a sure sign that the inferior function,along with one or more complexes, has been activated. Thisnaturally gives rise to a multitude of relationship problems.In therapy, when it becomes desirable or necessary to developthe inferior function, this can only happen gradually,and by first going through one of the auxiliary functions. AsJung comments:I have frequently observed how an analyst, confronted with aterrific thinking type, for instance, will do his utmost to developthe feeling function directly out of the uncon-scious.Such an attempt is foredoomed to failure, because it involvestoo great a violation of the conscious standpoint. Should theviolation nevertheless be successful, a really compulsive dependenceof the patient on the analyst ensues, a transferencethat can only be brutally terminated, because, having been leftwithout a standpoint, the patient has made his standpoint theanalyst. . . . In order to cushion the impact of the unconscious,an irrational type needs a stronger development of the rationalauxiliary function present in consciousness [and vice versa]. 19The Two Attitude TypesAccording to Jung, his initial motivation for investigating typologywas his need to understand why Freud's view of neurosiswas so different from that of Adler.Freud saw his patients as being preeminently dependentupon, and defining themselves in relation to, significant objects,particularly the parents. Adler's emphasis was on how aperson, or subject, seeks his own security and supremacy. Theone supposes that human behavior is conditioned by the ob-19 Psychological Types, CW 6, par. 670.