Carl Jung

Case Study 3
Application Questions

Using Jung’s theoretical concepts and stages assess ’s personality by answering the following
questions.

1. What is Robert’s attitude according to Jungian theory? Provide evidence for your
answer.
Robert is an introvert because introverts are tuned in to their inner world and have
individualized perceptions. Robert’s perceptions are very unique. No one else can really
understand what it is that he is experiencing when he talks to others “on the other side” or when
he experiences premonitions.
2. What is Robert’s superior function according to Jungian theory? Provide evidence for
your answer.
Robert’s superior function is intuiting because intuiting involves the working of things
other than the conscious. Robert does not understand how he knows things.
3. What are archetypes? In what level of consciousness are they contained, according to
Jung’s theory? What archetype has Robert been influenced by? Provide evidence for your
answer. How does it influence his behavior?
Archetypes are the contents of the collective unconscious. They are primordial images
inherited from our ancestors. The wise old man archetype influences Robert because it
symbolizes our preexisting knowledge of the mysteries of life. Others perceive him as a guru or
wise man.
4. At what stage is Robert presently, according to Jungian theory? What types of events
should he be experiencing at this stage? Is there evidence for these experiences in the case
study? Explain.
Robert is in middle age according to Jung. Jung thought that people at this stage should
become increasingly introverted. There is evidence for Robert becoming increasingly
introverted in that his interest in the paranormal increased as he was turning 40. This is similar
to Jung’s idea that many people in middle age will become increasingly interested in religion and
life after death. Jung also thought that people would be attempting to change their earlier
(younger) social and moral values to those more suited to someone of middle age. Jung was
concerned about people attempting to hold onto youthful physical attractiveness and values as
they advanced in age. Attempting to hold onto youth could negatively affect the second half of
their life. This is called the conservative principle. There is no mention of this in the case study.
Theory Comparison Questions
1. At what stage of development would Erikson place Robert? Why? How do Erikson’s
psychosocial stages differ from Jung’s stages of development?
One could place Robert in Erikson’s “middle adulthood” stage because of his age (56);
middle adulthood extends from about the age of 35 to 59. However, one could also argue that
Robert is in the “mature adulthood” stage because of his contemplation of death; it is in the
mature adulthood stage that one examines one’s life because of advancing age.
Erikson’s stages differ from Jung’s in a number of ways. First, they differ in number.
Erikson divides up the lifespan into a larger number of stages: Erikson discussed eight stages,
whereas Jung only discussed four. More specifically, Jung combined all of childhood (from birth
until puberty) into one stage (although he did talk about three substages), whereas Erikson
discussed four stages that occur up until puberty. Similarly, Jung only discussed two stages
during adulthood but Erikson discussed three.
The two sets of stages also differ in that according to Erikson a crisis occurs at each of his
eight stages that had to be resolved. No such crisis exists in Jung’s stages. Finally, they also
differ in that Erikson’s stages are based on social influences on personality, whereas Jung’s are
not.
2. How could Fromm’s concept of the existential dilemmas explain Robert’s experiences
with mysticism? Compare this concept with Jung’s archetypes.
Fromm believed that because human beings have reasoning abilities we will attempt to solve
basic insoluble existential dichotomies. One of these dichotomies involves the issues of life and
death. This dichotomy suggests that while we all understand that at some time we will die, we
also tend to believe that there is life after death. Clearly, this is consistent with Robert’s mystical
experiences. It is also similar to Jung’s archetypes in that archetypes are primordial images that
we inherit from our ancestors. These inherited archetypes influence our behavior. If people
believe in life after death, they can believe that their ancestors continue to exist even though they
have died. Potentially, the deceased ancestors could still have an influence on the living, just as
the archetypes inherited from ancestors do. More generally, both Fromm’s existential
dichotomies and Jung’s archetypes are philosophical or spiritual in nature. On the other hand,
the archetypes and the dilemmas are different from each other in numbers (there are more
archetypes than dilemmas) and in that archetypes affect a greater range of behaviors in
comparison to the existential dichotomies.
 Carl Jung
Case Study 4
Application Questions
Using Jung’s theoretical concepts and stages, assess Mark’s personality by answering the
following questions.
1. What is Mark’s attitude according to Jungian theory? Provide evidence for your
answer.
Mark is extroverted because he is oriented toward the real world as opposed to the
internal world.
2. What is Mark’s superior function according to Jungian theory? Provide evidence for
your answer.
Mark’s superior function is sensing because of how much he depends upon and enjoys
the use of his senses: He describes the heat of the fire, the smell of wood, the feel of tools, etc.
3. According to Jung’s theory, what archetype has Mark been influenced by? How do you
know this? How does it influence his behavior? Is Mark aware of its influence? Explain.
Mark is influenced by the hero archetype as evidenced by his boyhood games. It also
influenced his career choice. Mark is probably not aware of its impact because it is an
unconscious influence and because he is described as not very introspective.
4. At what stage is Mark presently, according to Jung’s theory? Specify substage, if
appropriate. What types of events should be occurring at this stage?
Mark is presently in the youth stage, which occurs between puberty and the age of 35 or
40. The primary concern at this stage is to separate both physically and psychologically from
parents. Mark has done this in that he made his own career choice even though his parents
disapproved of the choice and he lives on his own.
5. At what stage in Jungian theory, was Mark when he was pretending to be a super hero?
Specify substage, if appropriate.
He was in the dualistic substage of the childhood stage because he was aware that his
existence was separate from that of others, such as his little sister.
Theory Comparison Questions
1. Use another theory, besides Jung's, to explain Mark's career choice.
Another theory that could explain Mark’s career choice could be Erikson’s Psychosocial
Theory. Career choice occurs during Erikson’s fifth stage (puberty and adolescence) in an effort
to resolve the identity versus role confusion crisis.
2. How could environmental factors, such as reinforcement and punishment, explain
Mark’s career choice? What are some reinforcements that encourage this behavior? How
is the focus of this explanation different than that of Jung’s theory in explaining Mark’s
career choice?
Behaviorism could explain Mark’s career choice by suggesting that Mark’s heroic feelings
are reinforcing, as is his feeling good because he has helped someone. Similarly, his feeling
important because school children look up to him is probably also reinforcing.
The focus of behaviorism is different than that of Jung’s theory in that behaviorism relies on
the concept that when behavior is reinforced, it is more likely to occur (or if it is punished it is
less likely to occur) but Jung’s theory suggests that our behaviors are at least partly influenced by
archetypes which are primordial images that we have inherited from our ancestors. Thus,
behaviorism suggests that our behavior is influenced by external factors, whereas Jung’s theory
suggests that our behavior is influenced by internal factors.
3. How could Eysenck’s concept of extraversion explain Mark’s career choice? What
other behaviors could this concept explain?
Eysenck’s trait approach suggested that there were three general types or superfactors in
personality, one of them being extraversion/introversion. Extraverts are characterized by
sociability and liveliness, but also have a low level of cortical arousal, according to Eysenck.
Thus, they need a high level of sensory stimulation to maintain an optimal level of arousal.
Extraverts would, therefore, seek out exciting activities to maintain this level of
arousal/stimulation. Certainly, firefighting would be considered one of these activities. His
childhood activities also indicate a need for a high level of stimulation such as making noise
when it was “too quiet.”
Suggestions for additional discussion on Jung’s theory
1. Compare Jung’s stages with that of other theorists such as Sullivan and Erikson.
2. Substitute another profession for Robert’s (case study 3) in order to show a less pathological
example of an introvert.