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

Extraversion and the Four Functions 41The extravert's tendency is to sacrifice inner reality to outercircumstances. This is not a problem so long as the extraversionis not too extreme. But to the extent that it becomes necessaryto compensate the inclination to one-sidedness, therewill arise an unconscious exaggeration of the subjective factor,namely, a markedly self-centered tendency in the unconscious.All those needs or desires that are stifled or repressed bythe conscious attitude come in the back door, so to speak, inthe form of primitive and infantile thoughts and emotions thatcenter on oneself.The extravert's adjustment to objective reality effectivelyprevents low-powered subjective impulses from reaching consciousness.The repressed impulses, however, do not therebylose their energy; only since they are unconscious they willmanifest in primitive and archaic ways. As more and moresubjective needs are suppressed or ignored, the build-up ofunconscious energy works to undermine the conscious attitude.The danger here is that the extravert, so habitually—andapparently selflessly—attuned to the outside world and theneeds of other people, may in fact become completely indifferent.Writes Jung:The more complete the conscious attitude of extraversion is,the more infantile and archaic the unconscious attitude willbe. The egoism which characterizes the extravert's unconsciousattitude goes far beyond mere childish selfishness; itverges on the ruthless and brutal. 43Whenever the unconscious becomes overactive, it comes tolight in symptomatic form. The egoism, infantilism and primitivism,normally a healthy compensation and relatively harm-43 Ibid., par. 572.