HOW COULD WE ALL KNOW ABOUT THE MBTI BUT NEVER SEE IT ACCREDITED TO CARL G. JUNG's work!? The Meyer-Briggs Type Indicator was developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother Katharine Cook Briggs in1942 based on the works of CARL JUNG! That's right, what most people thought was a Myspace-gimmick Personality Test, is actually an organized and detailed analysis of the human psyche and how it's expressed. This isn't about learning personalities - but rather what makes certain personalities. The MBTI is a solid measuring system still used in psychology today and also still used by Fortune 500 companies.
Often times Jung is either referred to in regards to his dedicated work in psychology or his dedicated work in esoterica, however he's rarely ever contextualized as doing both a favor and bridging the gap between the two. Carl Jung was somehow able to deduce the basic archetypes and functions of all human psyches. I say "functions," because this is not a personality test - it's straight up analysis of cognitive functions in an individual, breaking down the basic primal aspects of the self that we consider is unknown and "uncontrollable." We're talking about an actual system based off of the human psyche, it breaks down how we perceive the world and how we make decisions; with that data, you can get deep insight into things like: someone's communication styles, their thought processes, their values (if they have any), and much much more. This not only helps improve your relationships with others but also yourself. The MBTI explains strengths, weaknesses, and ways that one is prone to self sabotaging. It helps whoever is using it to become aware of the unconscious parts of themselves and address what may be unknowingly sabotaging their goals and keeping them from wholeness.
Everyone is always asking "How do I do shadow work?" And I could've really given y'all basic easy answers and explained how you could go back to your deepest traumas and what not, but that's all already out there. I instead decided I wanted to try and get as detailed of a response for everyone and of course that would also require quite a bit of homework on your end.
Fortune 500 companies will have their employees take an MBTI test during the application/interviewing process, you can see a few of them talking about this in Quora (lol!). This helps employers find the type of person that is fit for the type of job and is essentially assisting rich guys in selecting who they should be trusting with a bunch of money and multiplying it. It's believed that people's MBTI type do not change throughout their lives, but the test results may be slightly skewed based on how people have adapted to their primary functions. This can easily be distinguished by knowing the core fundamentals (which I'm going to teach you), so that you know how to figure out exactly what you are (you're MBTI) and how you express yourself (sometimes a different MBTI type).
SO! Let's talk about what these "personality" tests aren't saying and what you should look for when researching information regarding MBTI types. I'm going to elaborate on this entire system as quickly and as straightforward as I can. I'm not going to breakdown every personality type, but I'm going to give you the tools to figure out personality types at their core. To evaluate someone's inner psyche based on the metrics of MBTI, you look into their cognitive functions and the placements/positions they're in - knowing that alone can ultimately point in the direction to help you heal your wounds, become a more wholesome being, and to get familiar with your strengths and weaknesses. The MBTI is also extremely helpful when you need help in your relationships and connections with people as it explains the different ways that people communicate and understand the information being presented to them.
Carl Jung wrote about there being 4 main psychological functions that we call Cognitive Functions: thinking, feeling, sensation and intuition. These 4 main psychological functions can be broken down into 4 dichotomies thus become 8 different cognitive functions, however there are 4 main "primary" functions that every individual relies on differently.
The 4 Core Dichotomies
The core base of this entire test is based on the cognitive functions which indicate how someone perceives the world and how they make decisions. Cognitive functions derive from the 4 psychological dichotomies as listed below👇
Introversion (I) or Extraversion (E)
Sensing (S) or Intuition (N)
Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)
Judging (J) or Perceiving (P)
The 8 Different Cognitive Functions:
The 8 different functions are the polarities within the 4 Dichotomies. Each Cognitive Function is, for better understanding, a "mode of operation." These are the 8 different modes of operation within all humans, some modes of operation are just easier for us than others and that's what the MBTI test aims to demonstrate.
Si: Introverted Sensing
Se: Extraverted Sensing
Ni: Introverted Intuiting
Ne: Extraverted Intuiting
Ti: Introverted Thinking
Te: Extraverted Thinking
Fi: Introverted Feeling
Fe: Extraverted Feeling
Refer to the photos to see the breakdown of each different cognitive function.
As an example of how these are employed, someone who's dominant function (a POSITION, which I teach in the following section) is Ni (Introverted Intuiting), is always living mainly in their head and because of such, is constantly thinking of the future, as opposed to someone with Si (Introverted Sensing), as their dominant function, a Si person is also someone that is in their head, but is constantly extrapolating and comparing/analyzing data from the past. So how do we gather information from this? Let's break it down: The Ni & Si dominants (remember, there are different categories/positions that the 8 cog functions fall into) are both introverts, so they are mainly operating from inside their own heads and shells, however the subtle differences in their functions change a LOT about them. The Ni is Intuiting and the Si is Sensing. The Ni thinks about the future because it's intuiting, in other words "predicting" and "feeling" (without logical sense sometimes) about the future - it doesn't have time to think about the past unless it deems it is necessary. Meanwhile, the Si is Sensing, which has a lot to deal with familiarity and association which by default is associated with heavy memory use; this means that SI users are perceiving based off of what it has already FELT and SENSED, which makes the Si person think A LOT about the PAST (some may even say it is necessary for them). The reason for this explanation is to further explain that one cannot CHANGE these core functions. You couldn't tell a Ni or Si to stop thinking about the past/future nor expect them to understand how to do so. The purpose is to recognize that we all think differently - some people are better at empathizing and thus won't need this tool, while others can learn how to communicate with or understand others by approaching it from others' perspectives.
The 8 POSITIONS of the MBTI
Next component to the MBTI is the "Functions" Stacks. The first 4 primary positions are most commonly known and used for this test, but there are 4 other positions that aren't talked about simply because most personalities are able to be described with just the first 2 positions (on a good day). Positions 5-8, are VERY important and intensely insightful because they describe what we don't understand about ourselves and where we FAIL in life. It is often what is presenting itself when people are having mental breakdowns, overwhelmed, under immense stress, and in states of trauma.
Dominant: Your strength, your main mode of operating; also known as the Hero role. Develops, usually, by age 13.
Auxiliary: The co-pilot to the Dominant function, it supports the dominant function and is known as the Parent role because of it. Develops usually by age 21.
Tertiary: Aspects that are not totally conscious or aware of, develops later in life if they receive a lot of practice. Is known to be the aspects that are weaker, but still dependable. Is typically the function we find relaxation and solace in.
Inferior: Aspects that one is unconscious and unaware of. A weakness that is associated with failure or shame. Known to be a doorway to unconscious and helps us become more well rounded and enables clarity in our "blind spots"
Opposing: Used as a defense mechanism, can be where we become unhealthily defensive. When/How someone becomes disobedient, rude, stubborn, obstructive
Critical Parent: It's the critical parent in our head that causes us to criticize ourselves and others. It is where there is the most self criticism (or isn't).
Trickster: What causes grief throughout life. It's where we deceive or are deceived, where we can be delusional. This position is activated when stressed, overworked, or when feeling overwhelmed. Cannot trust when the function of this position is in charge.
Demon: This is the most destructive role, this is where we self sabotage, where we make bad decisions, and cause chaos.
Different functions in different positions change the ways in which the functions operate in an individual. For example if the Ni and Si we were talking about above were to NOT in the 1st position (Dominant Role), and were instead in the 5th-8th positions, their tendencies of thinking too much in the future or past may actually be detrimental to their growth, but since it it's in the "Hero Role," it's actually working in a productive way for them. There is balance to all things, so usually the 4th and 5th positions are considered "balance" to the Dominant Positions, which can obviously be detrimental without a counteractive measure. Thinking too far into the future/past without any doubts worries or fears can cause someone to never be present or make decisions based on the present and that can be dangerous.
That concludes the entire MBTI breakdown! Since the MBTI wasn't created while Jung was still alive, we can only assume that he is an INTJ, INFJ, or INTP. Jung knew his cognitive functions and said that he was an introverted intuition type. He was always looking for "why," which would most immediately place him among the INJs. People who look at "what" something is and not "why" are more likely to be ISPs, and we know that Jung was definitely looking at the "why." There is strong belief that he is INFJ or INTP, these types tend to be a lot more sensitive to others' needs, especially over their own needs (which is a Fe Function - Extraverted Feeling); these people are introverted thinking types (INFJ \ INTP), which means they become extremely fixated on subjects and problem solving - Jung was obsessed with the psyche and the mind, constantly seeing and studying patients and trying to heal them. Because of his dedication to the work, I believe he is more likely an INTP. INTJ and INFJs are more like CEOs and business owners.
All I'm doing is giving you the keys to run with this on your own, there's tons of extensive websites to test your type and read all about it. I definitely am no expert, but hope that one of you go on to become one and to continue to spread Mr.Jung's good work. A lot of people usually become fascinated with the MBTI because of trying to understand other's actions or because they fell for the ego boosting personality test gimmick - either way, its more than what it seems and is worth looking into for the sake of being able to see your blind spots!
This is reported to be one of the most accurate MBTI tests (according to redditors): http://keys2cognition.com/explore.htm
Here is a more commonly used MBTI: https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test
When looking into your MBTI, be sure to check the cognitive function stack associated with it and how they function in each position to see more details about how you operate and process information. Knowing this part of your MBTI assists the individual in seeing where they can do shadow work and work on their unconscious self. It's definitely worth a look. You can look up the strengths and weaknesses of your MBTI through Quora, as Quora responders share their close experiences (good and bad) about each personality type. If you're neurotic like me, you'll probably find all the flaws and details to be quite satisfying, and it will definitely take you down a rabbit hole. If you want to a practical approach towards the MBTI, I would choose a person that you don't communicate well with and see if you can find their personality type and their communication styles - yes, I'm also dropping this amidst Venus Retrograde and Mercury Retrograde because every Mercury Rx I always get an influx of clients asking for help in their relationships. Before asking for spellwork, I would definitely first recommend a good ole psychological lesson and practice. MBTI is a life hack.
Thank you for making it through this entire post, I spent a lot of time on it! I hope you all learn to integrate your shadow - homage to Jung!
***This isn't like astrology and/or numerology which are systems that were not originally applied to the humans psyche, they were originally applied to the world/life/events/natural disasters/etc. Astrological systems have thousands of years worth of records on how the stars correlated to certain natural disasters, political events, or wars happening on Earth, but there isn't much ancient documentation on how the astrology and numerology applied to the individual's psyche, applying it to such is something that started being done more seriously within the past few hundred years - but that's a different tangent. You can call the MBTI the skeptic's version of neurotic astrology usage to figure out how someone ticks.