Myers-Briggs Typology vs. Jungian Individuation: Overcoming One-Sidedness in Self and Society

by Steve Myers

In Myers-Briggs Typology vs Jungian Overcoming One-Sidedness in Self and Society , Steve Myers unravels the century-long misinterpretation of Jung’s seminal text, Psychological Types , to show how Jung’s thinking offers solutions to the conflicts that have torn apart our societies. By challenging the popular interpretation of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ® and similar instruments, Myers argues that we have not only missed Jung’s main proposition, but our contemporary interpretation runs counter to it. Myers aims to rediscover the overlooked argument of Jung’s Psychological Types and make it of practical relevance to contemporary issues. He intends to refocus rather than discard Myers-Briggs typology, showing that there are further stages of development after becoming a type and that typological principles have a much broader application. Raising queries about the way typology is used in contemporary society, Myers uses literary examples, such as Romeo and Juliet and Carl Spitteler’s Prometheus and Epimetheus , to show how one-sidedness leads to conflict and to illustrate Jung’s solution to the problem of opposites. He also applies this to real-life political crises by examining the decision-making of key political figures, such as Nelson Mandela, Robert Mugabe, and those involved in Brexit or the Northern Ireland peace process. The latter part of the book relates Jung’s process of typological development to his later writings on alchemy, notably the axiom of Maria, to show how they all have a common goal, the transformation of attitude. The book concludes by analysing the implications of the divergence of Myers-Briggs typology and Jungian individuation for the communities who use those ideas. This book puts Jungian individuation back at the forefront of debate and will be essential reading for intermediate and advanced users of Myers-Briggs typology. Due to its political relevance, it will also be of interest to Jungian analysts and their clients, and to academics and students of Jungian and post-Jungian ideas and political science.

228 pages, Paperback

Published November 16, 2018

Reviews

[Anita Ashland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a superb book about how Jungian typology and individuation differs from Myers-Briggs. Jung's theory has been misunderstood. It is not about categorizing people. Developing a unique personality through individuation is the goal. Personality type is only a stepping stone to individuation. A personality type indicates how we are one-sided. After midlife we should strive to transcend our type, with a new unique type emerging to take its place.

There is a 20 page appendix at the end of the book where the author distills Jung's Psychological Types book, which was published 100 years ago and is very difficult to read. This appendix alone is worth the price of the book.

Here is a quote from the book:

"One of the criticisms of Myers-Briggs typology is that it lacks a means of 'changing how we see the world' (Bennet 2010, p. 32). Yet this change of attitude is the gravamen of Psychological Types. In Jung's original vision, typology is the scaffolding of individual identity. It is not the individual building itself but it is a necessary step in the construction process. Another analogy is that type is a stepping stone, a 'necessary transitional stage on the way' (Jung 1921, p. 440). However, just as one needs to step onto a stone to make progress, so too we then need to step off it to make further progress. There is great value in the stepping stone of Myers-Briggs typology, but if we linger there too long the danger is that it becomes an obstacle to individuation."