Introversion

Introversion in Jung‘s technical sense is the attitude of consciousness in which psychic energy flows primarily toward the subject: toward the inner image, the subjective factor, the form-giving pattern of the psyche rather than toward the object. It stands as the polar opposite of extraversion.

The introvert is not the shy person of popular psychology; Jung’s term names a structural disposition of the psyche, not a social manner. The introvert may be lively in company and the extravert reticent; what matters is where the center of gravity of the psychic life lies. Jung developed the concept in [[jung-psychological-types|Psychological Types]] (1921) partly in response to the Freud-Adler split, which he read as a type-clash: Freud’s emphasis on the object (the loved or lost other as determinant of neurosis) is extraverted; Adler’s emphasis on the subjective will-to-power is introverted. The two rival theories, Jung proposed, were each valid for their respective types, and the typology was needed to account for the typological character of psychological theorizing itself. See extraversion and jung-psychological-types.

Relationships

• extraversion
• jung-psychological-types
• psychological-functions