Psychological Types () is a book by Carl Jung that was originally published in German by Rascher Verlag in 1921, and translated into English in 1923, becoming volume 6 of The Collected Works of C. G. Jung. It is the baseline of many personality typology systems, particularly Myers Briggs.
In the book, Jung proposes four main functions of consciousness: two perceiving or non-rational functions (Sensation and Intuition), and two judging or rational functions (Thinking and Feeling). These functions are modified by two main attitude types: extraversion and introversion.
Jung proposes that the dominant function, along with the dominant attitude, characterizes consciousness, while its opposite is repressed and characterizes the unconscious. Based on this, the eight principal psychological types are: Extraverted Sensation, and Introverted Sensation; Extraverted Intuition, and Introverted Intuition; Extraverted Thinking, and Introverted Thinking; Extraverted Feeling, and Introverted Feeling.Daniels, M., Jung's Theory of Psychological Types, published in 1996, archived on 29 March 1997, accessed on 15 March 2026
Jung describes in detail the effects of tensions between the complexes associated with the dominant and inferior differentiating functions in highly and even extremely one-sided types.
Historical context
Jung's interest in typology grew from his desire to reconcile the theories of Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler, and to define how his own perspective differed from theirs. Jung wrote, "In attempting to answer this question, I came across the problem of types; for it is one's psychological type which from the outset determines and limits a person's judgment."Jung, C. G. 1989. Memories, Dreams, Reflections, New York: Vantage Books. . He concluded that Freud's theory was extraverted and Adler's introverted.Jung, C. G. 1971. Psychological Types, Collected Works of C.G. Jung, vol. 6. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. . Jung became convinced that acrimony between the Adlerian and Freudian camps was due to this unrecognized existence of different fundamental psychological attitudes, which led Jung "to conceive the two controversial theories of neurosis as manifestations of a type-antagonism."Jung, C. G. 1966. Two Essays on Analytical Psychology, Collected Works of C.G. Jung, vol. 7. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. .
Due to the multifarious nature of fantasy, the fantasies of both Adlerian and Freudian patients contained ample empirical evidence to reinforce the steadfast belief of each side in their respective theories.
Each side can demonstrate the truth embodied in its theory. However, it is only partial truth and not generally valid because it excludes the principle and truth embodied in the other.
Jung still used Adler's and Freud's theories, but in restricted circumstances.
Contents
Chapter I In this opening chapter, Jung traces the history of typology back to Gnosticism and early Christian theology. He suggests that the psychological differences between Platonism and Aristotelianism, as well as the theological disputes between early church fathers, were driven by type differences. Specifically, he contrasts Tertullian (whom he characterizes as an introverted thinker who sacrificed his intellect to feeling) with Origen (an extravert who sacrificed his sensuality to the spirit). Jung further analyzes the controversy over transubstantiation, proposing that the divergent views on whether the Eucharist was a symbolic or literal transformation arose from the fundamental psychological differences between introverted and extraverted attitudes toward the object.
Chapter II Jung devotes this chapter to Friedrich Schiller's Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man. He analyzes Schiller's division of poets into the "naïve" (one who is one with nature, corresponding to extraversion) and the "sentimental" (one who reflects on nature, corresponding to introversion). Jung credits Schiller with recognizing the tension between the instincts of feeling and thinking (or the "sensuous" and the "formal" drives) and praises Schiller’s concept of the "play drive" as a transcendent function that unites the opposites through the creation of symbols.
Chapter III Here, Jung examines Friedrich Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy (1872). He aligns the Apollonian impulse—associated with dream, measure, restraint, and the inner world of images—with introversion. Conversely, he aligns the Dionysian impulse—associated with intoxication, the breaking of boundaries, and the merging with the collective instinct—with extraversion. While acknowledging Nietzsche's insight, Jung critiques the philosopher for treating the extraverted release of the Dionysian as a purely aesthetic phenomenon rather than a psychological mechanism of release for the introvert.
Chapter IV This chapter focuses on the work of the 19th-century British surgeon Furneaux Jordan. Jung discusses Jordan's classification of character into "the less impassioned, active" type (extravert) and "the more impassioned, reflective" type (introvert). Jung notes that Jordan’s observations were largely ignored because they contradicted the prevailing view that introversion was a form of pathology, whereas Jordan viewed the reflective nature as simply a different mode of functioning.
Chapter V By far the longest chapter in the book, this section is a detailed psychological analysis of Carl Spitteler's epic poem Prometheus and Epimetheus. Jung interprets the two brothers as personifications of the conflicting mechanisms within the human psyche. Prometheus represents the introvert who sacrifices the present for the future and the object for the inner image (foresight), while Epimetheus represents the extravert who is orientated by the object and the demands of the moment (hindsight). Jung uses this analysis to explore the concept of the "soul-image" (later developed as the Anima and Animus), arguing that the repression of one function leads to its accumulation in the unconscious, eventually forcing a "enantiodromia," or conversion into the opposite.
Chapters VI–IX In these intermediate chapters, Jung surveys how the type problem appears in psychiatry, aesthetics, philosophy, and biography: Chapter VI (Psychopathology): Jung reviews the work of Otto Gross, contrasting "deep" consciousness (introversion) with "shallow" or broad consciousness (extraversion). Chapter VII (Aesthetics): Jung analyzes Wilhelm Worringer's Abstraction and Empathy. He correlates "empathy" with the extraverted willingness to merge with the object, and "abstraction" with the introverted need to withdraw from the object due to an underlying fear of its overwhelming influence. Chapter VIII (Modern Philosophy): Jung discusses William James's distinction between "tender-minded" (rationalist, idealist) and "tough-minded" (empiricist, materialist) thinkers, equating them broadly with introversion and extraversion, respectively. Chapter IX (Biography): Jung briefly touches upon the subjectivity of biographers, noting that the psychological type of the biographer inevitably colors their interpretation of the subject's life.
Chapter X: "General Description of the Types"
Attitude-types Consciousness is directed by a tendency to form objective (from the environment) or subjective (from the psyche) motives and ideas. Respectively, they are extraversion and introversion, giving rise to extraverts and introverts. The unconscious has its own attitude, opposite of consciousness.
Function-types Psychological functions are a form of mental activity that remain the same in principle under different conditions and cannot be reduced to each other. They can be rational and judging (thinking/feeling) or irrational and perceiving (sensation/intuition).
Thinking is the function which, in accordance with its logical laws, uses concepts to connect information. Feeling is a function that, according to its subjective value, accepts or rejects a concept. Sensation is the function that transmits physiological stimulus to conscious perception. Intuition is the function that transmits invisible, mental associations.
Just as consciousness is directed by an attitude, it is also directed by a function, giving rise to thinking types, feeling types, sensation types, and intuitive types. Likewise, the unconscious opposes the function-type with an opposing function. A thinking type's unconscious is characterized by feeling, and a sensation type's unconscious by intuition. The functions of the other group are more or less susceptible to conscious influence, that being their differentiation. For a thinking type, those are intuition and sensation; for a sensation type, those are thinking and feeling. The unconscious functions exist in an archaic state, and are often present in dreams and fantasies.
Psychological types There are eight total combinations of the attitude-type and the function-type; the psychological types. They are categorised as extraverted rational types, extraverted irrational types, introverted rational types, and introverted irrational types.
Extraverted rational types judge concepts and situations by what is generally considered to be rational. They suppress subjective reason and perception, and if repression occurs, they fall under their influence via the unconscious. Repressed sensation can express itself in the form of compulsive pleasure-seeking, and suppressed intuition in the form of compulsive suspicion of the unpleasant and evil. The extraverted feeling type dispenses judgement according to what is acceptable for and in tune with the environment. The extraverted thinking type judges according to the objective facts and valid ideas of the environment. Repressed subjective judging in an extraverted feeling type leads to a surfacing of undeveloped, negative ideas that deprecate what is valued, and an absolutist character for them. In an extraveted thinking type, selfish intentions surface, the person becomes overly sensitive and dogmatic, and loses sight of everything not relevant to the formula or cause.
Extraverted irrational types are guided simply by events as they happen, without constant judgement, and they base themselves on experiences. They suppress subjective perception and reason. If judging is repressed, they become calculating and the person never stays put long enough to reap the fruits of their work. Thinking takes the form of apparent sophistries or pedantry, and feeling of ruthlessness or puritanism. The extraverted sensation type is guided by experiences and is always on the lookout for new ones that excite the senses and are enjoyable. The extraverted intuitive type is guided by new ideas and possibilities in the making. Repressed subjective perception in an extraverted sensation type causes an unscrupulous search for stimulation, and unconscious intuition supplies wild suspicions, phobias, superstitions, and religious streaks. In an extraverted intuitive type, hypochondria and absurd bodily sensations surface, and compulsive attachments to certain sensations given by people.
Introverted rational types judge by their own principles. If objective judging is repressed, they become inflexible, navel-gazing, egotistical, and develop feelings of inferiority that they compensate for in the real world. The introverted thinking type is concerned with developing logical insights for its subjective ideas- an example is Kant. The introverted feeling type is also concerned with these ideas, but the person judges them with their feeling-values. Repressed objective judging in an introverted thinking type makes the person isolated, unsympathetic, sensitive to minor things that supposedly secretly concern the person, and aggressive in the face of criticism. In an introverted feeling type, the person becomes domineering, plotting, and forms many rivals.