Carl Gustav Jung's Theory of Personality

Jung's most outstanding contribution to psychology is probably his discussion of his eight personality types. In particular, Jung's concepts of introversion and extraversion are especially valuable, and similar concepts can be found in other personality theories. Jung's concepts of introversion and extraversion are especially valuable, and similar concepts can be found in other personality theories.

Jung's discussion of his functions (thinking, feeling, intuiting, and sensing) are also very significant and are key components in the widely-used Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a popular personality assessment instrument. In fact, the MBTI is used in a large variety of applications including assisting people in their career choice and identifying learning styles that are most effective.

Ashcraft, D. (2015). Personality theories workbook, 6th Ed. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Jung Typology Test
The full Myers-­Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a copyrighted psychometric instrument that is not available to the general public. Many shorter versions have been developed that follow the Jungian theory which assess the same characteristics and yield the characteristic four ­letter descriptive type.

Take the free Humanmetrics.com version of Jung's typology test (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

After you have received your score, read the in­-depth description of your type (available from the links on your results page and the original page). Also, read through the description of the type that is your opposite (i.e., the other letter for each of the four scales).

Discuss
Post a thoughtful answer to the following questions. Be sure to answer all parts of the question:

Do your results (the descriptions of each of the letters in your type) reflect your personality? Explain what aspects fit and what (if any) do not.
Do you think a test like this is helpful in gaining insight about yourself and/or others? Why or why not?

Overview
Erik Erikson's eight stages of psychosocial development are his most significant contributions to the field of psychology. While Erikson emphasized the lifespan development of personality, his early stages especially are significant because they can be seen as a guide for parents. For example, during the first stage, where the crisis is one of trust versus mistrust, Erikson discussed the importance of parents fulfilling the needs of the infant so that the child develops a sense of hope that future needs will also be met. In this stage, the infant determines whether his or her caregivers are dependable and trustworthy, and this can serve as a basis for future relationships, as noted by object theorists and, more recently, attachment theorists.

Similarly, Erikson notes the important roles that parents play in developing a child's sense of competence and confidence in his fourth psychosocial stage, where the crisis of industry versus inferiority needs to be resolved. During this stage, children begin to compare themselves to other children, especially in the school setting. Children can potentially notice that they compare unfavorably with other children; they might notice that they are not as smart, not as attractive, or not as athletic as other children. If children focus on the ways that they do not measure up, they can develop feelings of inferiority and incompetence. Erikson thought that it is the parents' job to help the child feel competent in some other way. Thus, the implications of Erikson's psychosocial stages have had a significant impact on developing successful parenting strategies.

These two examples demonstrate the impact of Erikson's writings on childhood issues, but Erikson had an even greater influence on understanding adolescent development. Most notably, he discussed the importance of the development of a sense of identity during the teen years and the fact that if parents push their children to conform to what they want them to be, their child's own identity will not develop. Instead, role confusion will develop and acting out can occur in response to this confusion.

Erikson's theory added to the understanding of personality development throughout the lifespan.

Ashcraft, D. (2015). Personality theories workbook, 6th Ed. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning

Guidelines
Submit a 400-­600 word paper that provides a deep explanation of Erickson's stages. In your paper,

Choose 2 of Erikson's stages and explain the major ego crisis at that stage.
Describe how each of your chosen stages manifested in your own life experience at that stage. How was the characteristic crisis resolved (or not resolved) for you?

Based on your life experiences, comment on how well you think Erikson's theory of ego crises explains development over the life span.