|
You Are Secure!
Jungian Typology consists of three sets of diametrically-opposed pairs, a set of attitudes and two sets of ego-functions. Each person has a dominant preference for each set. Isabel Briggs-Myers and Katheryn Briggs added to Jung’s structure to include a fourth set. They determined that there is also a primary preference between perception and judging, the two ego-functions. Due to this the Myers-Briggs fourth category looks back to the two pairs of ego-functions and reveals which a person prefers when dealing with the outside world (extraverted attitude). The pairs within each set are light and shadow to one another, thus the shadow components surface for integration during midlife.
|
INTP INTJ INFP INFJ ISTJ ISFJ ISFP ISTP ENTP ENTJ ENFP ENFJ ESTJ ESFJ ESFP ESTP |
1° Primary Ti Ni Fi Ni Si Si Fi Ti Ne Te Ne Fe Te Fe Se Se |
2° Adolescence Ne Te Ne Fe Te Fe Se Se Ti Ni Fi Ni Si Si Fi Ti |
3° Midlife S F S T F T N N F S T S N N T F |
4° (Inferior) Late Midlife Fe Se Te Se Ne Ne Te Fe Si Fi Si Ti Fi Ti Ni Ni |
TiNeSFe NiTeFSe FiNeSTe NiFeTSe SiTeFNe SiFeTNe FiSeNTe TiSeNFe NeTiFSi TeNiSFi NeFiTSi FeNiSTi TeSiNFi FeSiNTi SeFiTNi SeTiFNi |
Since Midlife Crisis is about avoiding the inevitable transitions of life, MLCers resist the surfacing of less developed preferences. This may result in cycling behaviour where a lesser preference surfaces and is quickly subdued by the more comfortable preference, or it may surface for longer periods within Replay behaviour as a rebellion. Rather than accepting and integrating the preference, an MLCer may use it to enable avoidance and a new bad-boy persona. Since MLCers have often had difficulty with previous life transitions, their dominant introverted function may not have developed and matured in a healthy manner. An MLCer may thus be dealing with the surfacing and development of multiple function-attitudes.
Integration: The Function-Attitudes
Introverts and Extraverts experience life differently and thus have different fears and defend against the threat of personal destruction in different ways.
Extravert
Extraverts lack internal stimulation and thus must seek stimulation from external sources. To them, existence is about community and relationship; they require a connection between their individual Self and others. Relationships provide the means to stimulation. Without relationships their brains do not receive the necessary stimulation to prevent the invasion of nothingness. Solitary confinement is torture for an extravert who does not have enough inner stimulation to function. An extravert thus fears abandonment and being alone, the result of this torture would be to fade away to nothing. They are fixers; they use their dominant functions to make themselves useful as a prevention against abandonment.
Introvert
Introverts have an overabundance of internal stimulation and thus become overwhelmed with additional external stimulation. For introverts, existence is an individual rather than community experience; they value personal growth and development, clarity, achievement and authenticity of their individual Self. Solitude provides time for sorting through internalizations without the interruption from outside stimuli. Without solitude their brains receive too much stimulation. An environment of constant interruptions is torture for an introvert who cannot still the chaos; it threatens mental clarity and thus a loss of control of the Self. An introvert fears chaos and loss of control, the result of which is for the Self to shatter into fragments and drift apart. They are Self-controllers, using their dominant functions to maintain inner clarity and order.
| 1˚ | Extravert Fear: Isolation, Abandonment Solution: Relationships, Kinship |
Introvert Fear: Chaos, Mental Confusion Solution: Inner Control |
| Sensing | Se: ESTP, ESFP Sensors are action-oriented; they manifest ideas through active contributions to their communities or relationships. They make themselves useful by being handy; they are hands-on tangible fixers. |
Si: ISTJ, ISFJ Because a person cannot control what he does not know or expect, Si-s label, organize and plan their lives. Without intuitive ability to recognize alternatives, they resist change of all varieties. This self-imposed structure provides a defense against chaos. |
| Intuition | Ne: ENTP, ENFP Ne-s fear stagnation and boredom. To feel useful, an Ne offers ideas; stagnation and boredom prevent the flow of ideas. They are innovators and idea-makers. As imaginative fixers, Ne-s are not active problem solvers; they imagine solutions which others put into action. |
Ni: INTJ, INFJ Ni-s fear the inability to reflect inward. If an Ni cannot reflect, his intuition falters. External stimuli overwhelms the Ni, confusing the flow of ideas. Ni-s use their intuitive leaps of imagination to explore their inner-selves, gaining self-knowledge and clarity. |
| Thinking | Te: ESTJ, ENTJ Te-s are leaders; they make themselves useful through their intellect and certainty in their thoughts and plans. Their contribution to problem-solving is through leadership and planning. As mental fixers, they are consultants offering plans, advice and opinions. |
Ti: ISTP, INTP Ti-s seek to know themselves through understanding of their thoughts, while avoiding feelings which lack logic thus and control. They maintain inner clarity and control through internally organizing and analyzing their thoughts and resisting their emotions. |
| Feeling | Fe: ESFJ, ENFJ Feelers seek to harmonize; they are counselors, negotiators, mediators—bringers of peaceful resolutions. Fe-s are emotional and social fixers. |
Fi: ISFP, INFP Fi-s seek harmony with their personal ideas and values. Life happens; they realize inner control and clarity through immersion in the experience and acceptance of what life brings, which allows inner exploration and thus development. |
More detailed descriptions of the function-attitudes can be found here.
Return to Home Page
Return to Midlife Crisis Articles Main Page
