Personality

Carl G Jung, a Swiss psychoanalyst and a pioneer in the study of personality, proposed the fundamental idea that a person responds by either drawing away and pulling inward, or by reaching out and pushing outward. These he termed as introversion (from the Latin intro to the inside) and extroversion (from the Latin extra to the outside). If you are introverted you get your energy from within and from quiet isolation. If you are extroverted, you get your energy from interacting with others, and can feel isolated if you are on your own too much.

Jung also introduced the concept - the "four functions"– thinking, feeling, sensing and intuition, which reveal core ways people process information. The thinking person makes decisions without emotion and in a logical way. The feeling person makes decisions by evaluating the options and considers the human element. The sensing person deals with data as it comes and with realism, sometimes with an almost photographic memory. They are objective. The intuitive person deals with data in terms of their relationships to everything else, forming ideas and creating possibilities. They form concepts well.

Myers Briggs typology system uses the four functions terminology of Jung’s with 16 different personality types.

Examples of the types using the Myers Briggs Indicator:

Extrovert Thinker - organisers, executives, government/high office – Oprah

Introvert Thinker – the academic/psychiatrist/writer – Jodie Foster

Extrovert Feeler – people person, detective, actor – Julia Roberts

Introvert Feeler – care worker, peace activist, artist – Meryl Streep

Extravert Sensing – architect, graphic designer – Vera Wang

Introvert Sensing – computer programmer, photographer – Annie Leibovitz

Extrovert Intuitive – trendsetters, visionary – Diablo Cody

Introvert Intuitive – prophets, poet, songwriter – J K Rowling

David Keirsey, another modern and popular typologist, developed the Keirsey Temperament Sorter which categorises people into 2 groups, then 4, then 8, finishing with 16 variants of temperaments using the questions: abstract or concrete, cooperative or utilitarian, directive or informative, expressive or reserved. The four main categories are Idealist (intuitive feeling), Rational (intuitive thinking), Guardian (sensing judging), and Artisan (sensing perceiving).

The ‘four temperaments’ is often examined as a theory in Psychology, and is derived from the ‘four humours’ theory of Hippocrates - sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phelgmatic.

Sarah uses the different typology systems to explain her own archetypes and Image Types, giving you a clearer understanding of your own personality and image.

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