Fundamentals of Personality Type 4. Psychological ...

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Fundamentals of Personality Type APTi Webinar Series October–November 2013

Peter Geyer Melbourne, Australia [email protected]

4. Psychological Type, Other Ideas, and Society Every conceptual formula is psychological in its essence

C.G.Jung

Ideas, Presuppositions and Reality Nothing is more real than an idea to a person who thinks

C.G.Jung

Any idea that has people in mind or includes them in some way can be said to have within it some presupposiitions about what human beings are like – how they behave, or should behave, what they value and desire. A person writing about emotional intelligence makes presumptions that a neuroscientist mightnʼt make, or an economist for that matter. Ideas like this also contain preconceptions about the past, present and future. What life was like 2000 years ago, the world of the Founding Fathers of the United States, for instance, or what equality in todays society compared with Ancient Greece or in 1783. The implications of scientific advances for the future, or even an end of time itself in the apocalyptic sense are other examples. These ideas can be in any field, more particularly social, political, educational, economic and cultural ideas, but also presumptions about how to go about science and what should be applied or rejected.. Presuppositions can be both implicit and explicit in the ideas themselves. Users or implementers donʼt have to be aware of them, and many are not. For them the ideas just “are” or maybe theyʼre not thought of as ideas at all. Psychological type is one of those ideas. As an example, organizational presumptions about people can be found in their communication methods (external and internal); dress codes (particularly those with an element of compulsion); management procedures and processes; meeting style and frequency. Office designs e.g. open plan, hot-desking, locked rooms, all say something about the conditions in which employees are expected to work. My local bank has recently replaced closed offices for interviews with customers with desks out on their own, presuming that people wonʼt mind talking about financial matters in these situations. The bank officers wear corporate polo-shirts. Loud contemporary popular music plays in the bank itself and they ask “can I help you?” when the reason for anyone being in a line for a teller would seem blindingly obvious. Decisions made in these kinds of instances to create such working and communication spaces say something about an organisationʼs ideas about people employees and otherwise. Ideas about people vary in their perceptions of good or bad, or what kind of development is appropriate and who should encourage it. Certain elements of society may have a vested interest in keeping people unconscious, as consumers, for instance

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Some Typological Presumptions C.G.Jungʼs theory of psychological types is, ultimately, a theory of normal behaviour, presuming that there is such a non-pathological state. Isabel Myersʼ interpretation of Jungʼs idea is a more explicit expression of this perspective. This view holds that there are different kinds of people; and that all these kinds are valuable in themselves and to society. These different kinds of people result from innate predispositions, combined with individual experience. They desire different things e.g. money, material success for some, music and dancing for others. Many desires can be opposite to the desires of others, but this is not necessarily the general case. However, a behaviour identified as a pathology by some may be normal and healthy for a particular kind of person. Different kinds of people also have different reasons for the same behaviour and different perspectives on life, and living. They are not stereotypes as there is difference within each category or kind, which possess different psychological orientations. These orientations are an outcome of nature-nurture entanglement. There is a deep contradiction between the demands “be yourself” and “change and adapt all the time” Svend Brinkmann

For different kinds of persons therefore, flexibility and adaptability are not simple processes to switch on and off at will. They need to be understood in the context of orientation, and have meaning to the person concerned. A person will also be flexible and adaptable in situations they donʼt care much about.

Nature and Nurture Nature and nurture are not exhaustive. Indeed the action is mostly at the interplay between the two. They should be regarded only as signposts. Moreover, you should not assume that nature gives what is universal in the human condition, while nurture gives all the variety. G.E.R. Lloyd

Debates about nature or nurture i.e. as opposites arose in the past 150 years or so because of different perspectives on people as well as the prospects for improvement or development. Are criminals born not made, for instance? If you think they are born, then the social policies you would propose and want to implement are different to those you might offer if you think they are made. The first position might be to suggest methods of detecting these people that relate to acquired characteristics, and you might suggest sterilisation, or some kind of brain manipulation for instance, perhaps medication. On the other hand, you might look for social reasons and look to alleviate poverty, promote education, provide employment and so on. This debate was particularly important in both psychology and sociology or anthropology and current discussions about the role of culture or inherent traits still ensues. Social psychology presumes that environment is all; measurement has an historical role in eugenics and similar movements. The experiences of Nazi policy in and before World War II regarding minorities and the disabled, and in particular Jewish people and reflection on eugenics policies elsewhere meant an emphasis on nurture i.e social development rather than intrinsic characteristics. The popularisation of genetics and the knowledge of the brain today runs the risk of having people consider that genes etc are foundational on their own and donʼt require an environment, or the brain does it all by itself. To deny such things as human variation for instance also doesnʼt help people from various backgrounds who may be more susceptible to a particular disease than the general population.

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Type Presumptions from Research Type determines and limits our judgements

C.G. Jung

One of the beneficial outcomes from the MBTI has been that many people have reported on their use of it, whether in work or research settings. Parts of this research also inform the presumptions of a type perspective. For instance, the types are unevenly distributed i.e. there isnʼt the same percentage of each of the 16 types in the community at large and that the percentages vary over time and place. This annoys the mathematically and symmetrically inclined who may conceive of an elegant universe where, as one INFJ dies, another is born and so on, or that everything resembles a bell-curve. Jung thought that more males preferred thinking and more females feeling. Curiously, Isabel Myers didnʼt appear to know that he held this view, but she discovered it for herself by accident. My own research from MBTI Qualifying programs suggests a 60-40 split in each case (2008). Other data suggest 70%+ may prefer sensing, the remainder intuition and the existence of intuitive cultures is thereby called into question as a possibility. There are also different type distributions in different occupations. These may change over time depending on whatʼs required in the occupation e.g. technology becoming regular rather than new, for instance. This information is indicative in a particular way – it doesnʼt tell you whether people are happy, good at job, for instance. It may demonstrate restrictive employment practices, or “cloning” in some circumstances. Typeʼs also not skill. Managers appear overwhelmingly TJ regardless of gender. There are implications here for who might be considered a manager, or how managers should operate. Some management or leadership processes also favour other types. Psychologists, counsellors in particular, appear to favour NF. There are implications for process and presumptions about what clients are there for e.g. identity issues, or why some people donʼt want to seek help from them, partly because of a different language and worldview. Climate Scientists. A recent study indicates a modal type of ENFJ for this group, which may help explain, or have implications for the effective communication of research results to other types, who may experience a values avalanche.

Type as a Metaphor C.G.Jung developed type to identify different kinds of ideas, as well as different kinds of people. He thought that a personʼs own views or ideas were intimately connected with their type, and that it may also be the case with the acceptance and implementation of someone elseʼs idea. However, people may also accept or implement an idea without it being typologically compatible. This may relate to either not investigating or being interested in an ideaʼs presuppositions; adapting understanding to their own perspective, such as helping people via choice theory or positive psychology and not preferring extraverted thinking. Seeing ideas as tools to be used, more than as being philosophies with implications is also a possibility. Using whatʼs available because itʼs available is very much a “tool” approach. If a group of people have shared roughly the same conditions over long periods of time, it would be astonishing if they were not to manifest some cultural and psychological traits in common. This does not mean that such people will all be clones of one another, but habits of mind, patterns of behaviour and emotional dispositions are bound up with the way we live with others, rather than being purely personal affairs Terry Eagleton

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Cultural metaphors. Type can be used in this way to explain aspects of cultures. American culture for instance has a theme of extraverted thinking and Americans are perceived as behaving more extravertedly than others. None of that says anything about the type preferences of Americans as a whole. This theme, though, is quite different to Native American cultures, or Middle East and some Asian cultures. Other cultures (mostly Northern European and Anglophone) may also possess this theme, but apply it in a different way, due to historical and cultural considerations. Engagement with other countries may mean imposing an incompatible theme, unwittingly or otherwise.

Type and Choice “Choice” and “closure” appear to be two of the most used words in Western culture these days. Choice as a construct derives from economic as well as psychological origins, in the overall context of logical positivism, an idea that also drives psychometric measurement. In psychology it has its origins in the work of Aaron Beck. and follows others in privileging rational logical choice as defining human beings. No unconscious is presumed, perhaps because itʼs illogical. This can be an effective way of teaching an element of thinking to feeling types or to encourage thinking types to develop their thinking. Presuming a high degree of logical rationality, it also promotes a view that every situation has a solution or a choice and that a person consciously chose to be wherever they are or end up in life, with blaming or self-blaming behaviours following Sometimes there may be no choice available, for any number of reasons. The whole nature of making good decisions is very complex. Isabel Myers thought it was the hardest thing to learn how to do. Some people promote physical fitness as a means to good decisions, but you can be fit and still be a poor decision maker, so you need other attributes in order to make good decisions. At the supermarket it may include what used to be called mental arithmetic, a qualification in early childhood development, or negotiation skills. Perhaps there are too many things to make decisions about: e.g. banking, education, superannuation, gas, electricity and so on, where a need may be simply functional, or require special knowledge and skills. Regular reports surface stating that too much choice is stressful for human beings, who can feel overwhelmed about making the right choices, including what others might think of what they have done. This leaves aside individual personality attributes.

Type and Economics Classical economics is similar to choice theory in that it also presumes people make logical rational choices to do with self-interest. Homo economicus, or “economic man”, is accordingly the core position of a person in todayʼs society, and for many societies in the past, according to this view. A human beingʼs natural habitat is trading and similar activities, to personal advantage, rather than for altruistic reasons This is also considered a general life perspective, not just economics. Free marketeers presume all players in the market act logically and in the same context, equally informed. This view privileges a particular belief system, usually identified as Social Darwinism or survival of the fittest. Mechanistic or technological views of humanity (men as machines), computer-based scenarios and scientific perspectives like the “selfish gene fit in here.. There are obvious benefits with this approach, however one-sided typologically it might be. It tends to ignore the irrational and short-term aspects of the market as well as a broader view of social obligation and social good. It can also include narrow views of productivity (usually time/output) and limited concepts of motivation and reward systems (see e.g. Mackenzie 2002). Research from elsewhere suggests people act in a variety of ways and the recent ield of behavioural economics takes account of some of this data to provide a more wholistic perspective.

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Type and Positive Psychology I never had any doubt that it wasnʼt a good idea to be me

Isabel Myers

...psychologists tell people whatʼs wrong with them. I want to tell people whatʼs right with them Isabel Myers A thinker has the right to be critical

Isabel Myers

Positive psychology has been described by its originators as the scientific study of ordinary human strengths and values. Its intellectual presumptions, similar to the other areas examined, are that of logical positivism. There are similarities with general cognitive approaches to personality, including choice theory. Typologically, itʼs an extraverted thinking perspective, no unconscious. Initially opposed to the self-help genre and critical of humanistic psychology, its current use seems to have included these areas. The positive psychology movement promotes positive societies and institutions, according to its own definition. This is seen by some critics as being opposed to social critique, also movements for social change. Certainly references made to “ideal societies” in the past have been identified by historians and others as flawed, incorrect. The movement uses terms like resilience, happiness, flourishing, etc. which appear to have narrow implications. If expected “resilience” can be forced or a kind of oppression for those outside a defined norm, fitted in against their desires. According to other studies, happiness isnʼt the same for everyone, doesnʼt have to involve being positive and may not even be an aim for some. The French thinker Pascal Bruckner has commented on what appears to be its compulsory nature, at least in Anglophone countries (2010) Being “positive” i.e. seeking it or desiring others take that perspective, has a natural appeal, although itʼs not universal. It can also be problematic, avoidant, distinctly unhelpful and lead to inappropriate decisions made against strong evidence. For Isabel Briggs Myers, her work was about the "constructive use of differences" (McCaulley 1980). This didn't mean there was no argument or discussion involved in her philosophy, or disagreement for that matter. A robust exchange of views was necessarily a part of her world and is one of the reasons why her work has survived and prospered. Whatʼs right about people isnʼt necessarily being positive. Myers once described someone as “over-positive.” Psychology can often be less than helpful in this age of self-improvement (a Calvinist idea, actually) because it all redounds back on ourselves in the event of some personal inadequacy or failure. We can all improve, I suppose, but “why?” and “by how much?” are useful questions to ask and, I suspect, difficult to answer. There are times when the improvement approach to life is fairly useless and dangerous. Perhaps the rise of taking anti-depressants has to do with the prospect of changing society being put out of the question in the clinical setting, or even in the office. These critiques donʼt mean that this idea isnʼt useful, simply that itʼs a question of context and limitations. If aimed at the “average” person, it may not be for anyone in particular. Jungʼs individuation idea is about acknowledging and integrating flaws, the good and the bad

A Type Society What would a Type Society be like? In a simple way, it may be more a society in which all kinds of people have genuine respect than anything else, rather than a place where everyone knows their type. One might expect it to be pluralistic, valuing a variety of approaches to life. It couldn’t include measurement or labelling as that would imply a kind of compulsion. As a utopian ideal, it’s also not really feasible, but might be better situated as a philosophical aim. Human complexity means that the aim must be indirect, particularly as ideals and ambition can get in the way of the truth or at least reality. It wouldn’t be a society of “evolved beings’ as that has to do with ideas outside type. and is implausible, anyway.

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Jung and Society C.G. Jung was a conservative man in his outlook, who acknowledged he wasnʼt good at politics.. He disliked mass movements e.g. fascism, communism, hence utopias as well, and more than likely organisations established in his name. He thought most people were unconscious, and that democracy depended on it, something to reflect on when looking at election campaigns. His various comments on mass man, made over some decades, are quite relevant for the current world of technology and entertainment. Notwithstanding such criticisms, he thought individuation happened in society, not apart from it, and was a benefit to it, much more than someone being an unthinking follower of the herd. The serious problems in life, however, are never fully solved. If ever they should appear to be so it is a sure sign that something has been lost. The meaning and purpose of a problem seem to lie not in its solution, but in our working at it incessantly. C G Jung So if Itʼs desirable to work for a better world, itʼs also something that has to be continually worked at.

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Some References to Consult Svend Brinkmann (2008) Identity as Self–Interpretation Theory & Psychology 18(3) 404–22 Pascal Bruckner (2010) Perpetual Euphoria: On the duty to be happy Princeton Barbara Ehrenreich (2009) Bright–Sided: how the relentless promotion of positive thinking has undermined America Metropolitan Books Farnborough, Mary J. Farnborough and Rama Kaye Hart (2008) Emotions in leadership development: a critique of Emotional Intelligence Advances in Developing Human Resources 10(5) 740-757 Peter Geyer (1995) Quantifying Jung: The Origin and Development of the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator MSc Thesis University of Melbourne Peter Geyer (2002) Evolving, revolving, devolving; type, humans, development Australian Psychological Type Review Vol4 Nos 1 and 2, July 2002 pp37–39 Peter Geyer (2003) Truth and Forgiveness: Both, either, neither? Australian Psychological Type Review Vol5 No 3, Nov 2003 pp51–52 Peter Geyer (2007) Type as Dissent: some pointers Australian Psychological Type Review Vol9 No 1 April 2007 pp41–43 Peter Geyer (2007) Deceptive Appearance(s): Observations on some observations Australian Psychological Type Review Vol9 No 2 October 2007 pp39–41 Peter Geyer (2008) People and Qualities: The nature and type of participants in an Australian MBTI Qualifying Workshop 6th Psychological Type and Culture Conference Honolulu Hawaii USA 4–6 Jan 2008 Peter Geyer (2009) Turbulent Life: On menus and other consuming decisions Australian Psychological Type Review Vol 11 No 1 May 2009 pp13-18 Peter Geyer (2011) Pumping up the volume: Social Incongruities in modern times Australian Psychological Type Review Vol 13 No 1 August 2011 pp37-40 Peter Geyer (2011) Pioneers and Fellow Travellers? A brief note on Positive Psychology, Isabel Briggs Myers and C.G. Jung Bulletin of Psychological Type John Giannini (2004) Compass of the Soul CAPT Gary Greenberg (2010) The War on Unhappiness Harpers Magazine September 27-35 Gideon Haigh,(2006) Asbestos House: the secret history of James Hardie Industries Scribe Melbourne Barbara Held (2004) The Negative Side of Positive Psychology Journal of Humanistic Psychology 45 (1) 9-46 Jolan Jacobi (1942) The Psychology of C.G.Jung Trans. K.W.Bash Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co C.G.Jung (1921/1990) Psychological Types CW6 Princeton C.G.Jung (1969) The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche CW8 Princeton C.G.Jung (1991) The Development of Personality Princeton Lewis H. Lapham: Fortune's Child: A Portrait of the United States as Spendthrift Heir Franklin Square Press 1994 Donald Mackenzie (2002) The Imagined Market London Review of Books 31 October 2002 Isabel Myers; Mary McCaulley, Various letters papers, audio tapes and other documents Private Collection Walter Odajynik (1976) Jung and Politics Harper Kate Soper (2011) Re-thinking the “Good Life”: The citizenship dimension of consumer disaffection with consumerism Journal of Consumer Culture 7:2 205-229 Martin E.P. Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, (2001) Positive Psychology: An Introduction American Psychologist 5-14 Kennon M Sheldon and Laura King (2001) Why Positive Psychology is Necessary American Psychologist 216-7 Richard Stivers (2008) The Fate of Equality in a Technological Civilization Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society 28:5 363-371 Voltaire (1950) Candide Penguin C.Susan Weller, Jason K. Keller and ChristinaOlex (2012) Personality Type Differences between Ph.D. climate researchers and the general public: implications for effective communication Climatic Change 112 233-42

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