Chapter 8 Jung’s analytic theory of the development of personality

The structure of the psyche the range of experience of which we are aware the reservoir of our own forgotten or repressed experiences a patterning of behaviours that occurs across cultures and races

Complexes & Archetypes ARCHETYPES The typical patterns of adaptations, which have been passed on through phylogenic history COMPLEXES Personalised psychic structures within the personal unconscious, which act as organising principles

Archetypes The distinction between archetype & archetypical image Hierarchy of archetypes: - The persona archetype - The shadow archetype - The animus and anima archetypes (the contra-sexual archetypes) - The self (the archetype of all archetypes)

The persona archetype: - The social mask - To enable the containment of strong, primitive emotions and impulses The shadow archetype: - Contains whatever is unacceptable to one’s culture and to one’s self (greed, envy, prejudice, racism) - Contains repressed aspects of instinctual life (sexuality and aggression) Animus and anima: - The contra-sexual archetypes - The masculine in women (animus) - The feminine in men (anima)

THE SELF THE SELF: the archetype of all archetypes The function of the self Synthesiser & mediator of the opposites within the psyche The self is the source of human life The initial unconscious state of the infant The goal of human life AND The widening & deepening of consciousness through progressive integration of archetypal energies

Dynamics of personality The role of opposites - motivation for psychic activity is primarily relational - relational needs express themselves through conflict and resolution of opposite archetypal tendencies Psychic activity - polarities of archetypes - environmental experiences mediate the archetypical imagery - extreme concentration at either end of the polar continuum Inflation Alienation

Individuation and the self Individuation is the process of becoming an individual It occurs through acceptance & integration of the polarities of life It is an increased consciousness of conflict and its potential The self becomes an image of a more complete person as well as being the goal of life The ego ideal is given up in favour of self-acceptance The collective ego norms are replaced with the self as an inner guide

Two stages of adult development The afternoon of life: Move towards the realisation of the self Journeying towards individuation Through the workings of dreams and the integration of the archetypes The morning of life: Focus on development of the ego Immersed in collective consciousness and social conformity Establish a social identity Forge a place in the world independent of parents Lasts until 50 to 55 years Mid-life crisis

Pathology Inflation The philanderer who is inflated with the peura eterna archetype - the youth who never grows up. Participation mystique The cult leader who becomes fused with the myth about a saviour or great leader and lives as if he/she is this mystical leader.

Pathology Neurosis The obsessive tidier defends against the potential wisdom of chaos by tidying and ordering life’s experiences. Alienation An adolescent who commits suicide may have become detached from the life-giving archetypical energies.

Psychological types The extroverted type sociable and confident world shaper superficial unable or dislikes being alone lacks self-criticism or insight popular with world rather than own family conventional The introverted type independent judgement & values prefers being alone or in small groups self-reflective lacks interpersonal confidence sensitive to criticism overconscientious, pessimistic, and critical

Functions of psychological types Rational functions from the level of consciousness: 1. Thinking: organising meaning & understanding through thought 2. Feeling: understanding through assessing & judging values

Functions of psychological types Irrational functions from the level of the unconscious: 3. Sensation: perception through the senses. 4. Intuition: sensing future or past possibilities.

Dreams from a Jungian analytic perspective The principal Jungian therapeutic method A psychic phenomenon The language of the unconscious Expressing the archaic potentialities in the collective unconscious Articulating exactly what the unconscious means about a situation The self is the source of dream images

Dream-work or Amplification To access the personal significance of a dream symbol To make associations to each of the dream images To establish the context of the dream images To enrich the dream content with analogous images & personal associations To provide convincing interpretation/s

Conceptualising a series of dreams around a central point THEMES A B C D F E