Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsJung’s TheoryJungian Learning StylesCan Learning Style Change?Criticisms
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Jung’s Theory
Jungian Learning Styles
Can Learning Style Change?
Criticisms
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While these are examples ofVARK learning styles, other theories exist as to how we learn best. Here we explore the learning styles that are based on Jung’s theory of personality and the characteristics of each.
Jung’s Theory of Personality
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Analytical psychologistCarl Jungis well known for his theory of personality. This theory suggests that personality is inherited and part of thecollective unconscious—which includes both conscious and unconscious aspects.
According to Jung, personality appears in the form of archetypes, or universal patterns of thought and behavior that affect what we focus on and how we interact with the world.Jungian archetypescategorize people in terms of various personality patterns.
Jung’s theory later led to the development of the famous personality test, theMyers-Briggs Type Indicator.
Your learning style might include elements of extraverted, sensing, feeling, and perceiving learning styles, for example. Here are the different learning styles based on Jungian theory.
Extraverted Learning Style
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This Jungian learning style is based on how learners interact with the outside world.Extraverted learners enjoy generating energy and ideas from other people; they prefer socializing andworking in groups. Activities that benefit extraverted learners include teaching others how to solve a problem, collaborative work, and problem-based learning.
Characteristics of extravert learners include:
Introverted Learning Style
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While introverted learners can still be sociable, they prefer to solve problems on their own. They enjoy generating energy and ideas from internal sources such as brainstorming,personal reflection, and theoretical exploration.Introverted learners tend to like solitary studying, individual work, and abstract ideas.
Characteristics of introverted learners include:
Sensing Learning Style
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Jung described these individuals as being interested in the external world as they are focused on the physical environment. Sensing learners tend to be realistic and practical, preferring to rely on facts and well-establishedproblem-solving methods.While people with a sensing learning style enjoy order and routine, they’re also quick to adapt to changing environments and situations.
Characteristics of sensing learners include:
Intuitive Learning Style
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Intuitive learners focus more on the world of possibility. Unlike sensing learners who are interested in the here and now, intuitive learners enjoy considering ideas, possibilities, and potential outcomes. These learners likeabstract thinking, daydreaming, and imagining the future.
Characteristics of intuitive learners include:
Thinking Learning Style
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Individuals with a thinking learning style place more emphasis on the structure and function of information and objects. Thinking learners use rationality and logic whendealing with problemsand decisions. These learners often base decisions on personal ideas of right, wrong, fairness, and justice.
Characteristics of thinking learners include:
Feeling Learning Style
People with a feeling learning style manage information based on the initial emotions it generates. They are interested inpersonal relationships, feelings, and social harmony. Feeling learners also dislike conflict and make decisions based on what they feel in their hearts.
Characteristics of feeling learners include:
Judging Learning Style
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Judging learners are very decisive, sometimes making decisions too quickly, before learning everything they need to know. These learners prefer order and structure, which is why they often plan out activities and schedules very carefully.They’re alsohighly organized, detail-oriented, and have strong opinions.
Characteristics of judging learners include:
Perceiving Learning Style
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Perceiving learners make decisions impulsively in response to new information and changing situations, focusing more on indulging their curiosity than decision-making. These learners prefer to keep their options open.They start many projects at once (often without finishing any of them), avoid strict schedules, and jump into projects without planning.
Characteristics of perceiving learners include:
Prevalence of Jungian Learning Styles
The Paragon Learning Style Inventory is a 52-item self-scored test designed to measure learning style based on Jungian personality types. Data collected from thislearning style inventoryprovides the following insights into the prevalence of each of these learning styles within the general population.
Can You Change Your Learning Style?
No matter how you feel you learn best, branching out and trying other learning strategies may helpmaximize your learning potential. One reason is that learning styles can change over time.
One study found that learning styles change for a variety of reasons. Factors that can contribute to changes in learning style include:
How to Change Your Learning StyleIf you want to work on changing your preferred learning style, try changing where you study and experimenting with different learning methods. Intentionally incorporate other tactics and learning formats—such as videos, visuals, lectures, readings, and group discussions—into your studies.
How to Change Your Learning Style
If you want to work on changing your preferred learning style, try changing where you study and experimenting with different learning methods. Intentionally incorporate other tactics and learning formats—such as videos, visuals, lectures, readings, and group discussions—into your studies.
Criticisms of Learning Styles
While the concept of learning styles has become very popular, it is also the subject of considerable criticism. Labeling students with one specific style, critics suggest, can hinder thelearning process.
Research has also demonstrated that matching instructional strategies to student learning styles does not improve educational outcomes.So, while you might feel like a certain style matches your learning preferences, drawing on various learning and study strategies is the best way to ensure you get the most out of your educational experience.
Varying your approach to learning can not only help introduce you to new study strategies but can also make learning more fun.
A Word From Verywell
The learning styles based on Jung’s theory of personality represent just one way of thinking about how people learn. While the concept of learning styles remains very popular, research has found little evidence to support the idea that offering instruction based on learning preferences leads to improved learning outcomes.
At the same time, learning styles can still be a helpful way to think about some of the ways that you enjoy learning. As you look at each style, think about which strategies appeal the most to you. In all likelihood, you may find that your own unique learning preferences draw upon several learning styles.
What Is Jungian Therapy?
13 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Alcaro A, Carta S, Panksepp J.The affective core of the self: A neuro-archetypical perspective on the foundations of human (and animal) subjectivity.Front Psychol. 2017;8:1424. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01424Sato J.Additional report about the validity of the Jung psychological types scale.Online J Japanese Clin Psychol. 2017;4:1-7.Yang C, Richard G, Durkin M.The association between Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and psychiatry as the specialty choice.Int J Med Educ. 2016;7:48–51. doi:10.5116/ijme.5698.e2cdSmythe WE.The dialogical Jung: Otherness within the self.Behav Sci. 2013;3(4):634-646. doi:10.3390/bs3040634Tatarinceva AM, Sokolova NL, Sergeeva MG, Bedenko NN, Samokhin IS.The influence of a psychological and a cognitive component of a student’s thinking style on his/her success in life-long learning.Revista ESPACIOS. 2018;39(2):30.Paulus PB, Baruah J, Kenworthy JB.Enhancing collaborative ideation in organizations.Front Psychol. 2018;9:2024. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02024Cabello R, Fernandez-Berrocal P.Under which conditions can introverts achieve happiness? Mediation and moderation effects of the quality of social relationships and emotion regulation ability on happiness.PeerJ. 2015;3:e1300. doi:10.7717/peerj.1300Persky AM, Henry T, Campbell A.An exploratory analysis of personality, attitudes, and study skills on the learning curve within a team-based learning environment.Am J Pharm Educ. 2015;79(2):20. doi:10.5688/ajpe79220San Bernadino Community College District Technology & Educational Support Services.Learning style.Jia X, Li W, Cao L, et al.Effect of individual thinking styles on item selection during study time allocation.Int J Psychol.2018;53(2):83-91. doi:10.1002/ijop.12267California State University, Los Angeles.Paragon Learning Style Inventory.Koohestani HR, Baghcheghi N.A comparison of learning styles of undergraduate health-care professional students at the beginning, middle, and end of the educational course over a 4-year study period (2015-2018).J Educ Health Promot. 2020;9:208. doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_224_20Newton PM, Salvi A.How common is belief in the learning style neuromyth, and does it matter? A pragmatic systemic review.Front Educ. 2020;5:602451. doi:10.103389/feduc.2020.602451
13 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Alcaro A, Carta S, Panksepp J.The affective core of the self: A neuro-archetypical perspective on the foundations of human (and animal) subjectivity.Front Psychol. 2017;8:1424. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01424Sato J.Additional report about the validity of the Jung psychological types scale.Online J Japanese Clin Psychol. 2017;4:1-7.Yang C, Richard G, Durkin M.The association between Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and psychiatry as the specialty choice.Int J Med Educ. 2016;7:48–51. doi:10.5116/ijme.5698.e2cdSmythe WE.The dialogical Jung: Otherness within the self.Behav Sci. 2013;3(4):634-646. doi:10.3390/bs3040634Tatarinceva AM, Sokolova NL, Sergeeva MG, Bedenko NN, Samokhin IS.The influence of a psychological and a cognitive component of a student’s thinking style on his/her success in life-long learning.Revista ESPACIOS. 2018;39(2):30.Paulus PB, Baruah J, Kenworthy JB.Enhancing collaborative ideation in organizations.Front Psychol. 2018;9:2024. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02024Cabello R, Fernandez-Berrocal P.Under which conditions can introverts achieve happiness? Mediation and moderation effects of the quality of social relationships and emotion regulation ability on happiness.PeerJ. 2015;3:e1300. doi:10.7717/peerj.1300Persky AM, Henry T, Campbell A.An exploratory analysis of personality, attitudes, and study skills on the learning curve within a team-based learning environment.Am J Pharm Educ. 2015;79(2):20. doi:10.5688/ajpe79220San Bernadino Community College District Technology & Educational Support Services.Learning style.Jia X, Li W, Cao L, et al.Effect of individual thinking styles on item selection during study time allocation.Int J Psychol.2018;53(2):83-91. doi:10.1002/ijop.12267California State University, Los Angeles.Paragon Learning Style Inventory.Koohestani HR, Baghcheghi N.A comparison of learning styles of undergraduate health-care professional students at the beginning, middle, and end of the educational course over a 4-year study period (2015-2018).J Educ Health Promot. 2020;9:208. doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_224_20Newton PM, Salvi A.How common is belief in the learning style neuromyth, and does it matter? A pragmatic systemic review.Front Educ. 2020;5:602451. doi:10.103389/feduc.2020.602451
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Alcaro A, Carta S, Panksepp J.The affective core of the self: A neuro-archetypical perspective on the foundations of human (and animal) subjectivity.Front Psychol. 2017;8:1424. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01424Sato J.Additional report about the validity of the Jung psychological types scale.Online J Japanese Clin Psychol. 2017;4:1-7.Yang C, Richard G, Durkin M.The association between Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and psychiatry as the specialty choice.Int J Med Educ. 2016;7:48–51. doi:10.5116/ijme.5698.e2cdSmythe WE.The dialogical Jung: Otherness within the self.Behav Sci. 2013;3(4):634-646. doi:10.3390/bs3040634Tatarinceva AM, Sokolova NL, Sergeeva MG, Bedenko NN, Samokhin IS.The influence of a psychological and a cognitive component of a student’s thinking style on his/her success in life-long learning.Revista ESPACIOS. 2018;39(2):30.Paulus PB, Baruah J, Kenworthy JB.Enhancing collaborative ideation in organizations.Front Psychol. 2018;9:2024. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02024Cabello R, Fernandez-Berrocal P.Under which conditions can introverts achieve happiness? Mediation and moderation effects of the quality of social relationships and emotion regulation ability on happiness.PeerJ. 2015;3:e1300. doi:10.7717/peerj.1300Persky AM, Henry T, Campbell A.An exploratory analysis of personality, attitudes, and study skills on the learning curve within a team-based learning environment.Am J Pharm Educ. 2015;79(2):20. doi:10.5688/ajpe79220San Bernadino Community College District Technology & Educational Support Services.Learning style.Jia X, Li W, Cao L, et al.Effect of individual thinking styles on item selection during study time allocation.Int J Psychol.2018;53(2):83-91. doi:10.1002/ijop.12267California State University, Los Angeles.Paragon Learning Style Inventory.Koohestani HR, Baghcheghi N.A comparison of learning styles of undergraduate health-care professional students at the beginning, middle, and end of the educational course over a 4-year study period (2015-2018).J Educ Health Promot. 2020;9:208. doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_224_20Newton PM, Salvi A.How common is belief in the learning style neuromyth, and does it matter? A pragmatic systemic review.Front Educ. 2020;5:602451. doi:10.103389/feduc.2020.602451
Alcaro A, Carta S, Panksepp J.The affective core of the self: A neuro-archetypical perspective on the foundations of human (and animal) subjectivity.Front Psychol. 2017;8:1424. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01424
Sato J.Additional report about the validity of the Jung psychological types scale.Online J Japanese Clin Psychol. 2017;4:1-7.
Yang C, Richard G, Durkin M.The association between Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and psychiatry as the specialty choice.Int J Med Educ. 2016;7:48–51. doi:10.5116/ijme.5698.e2cd
Smythe WE.The dialogical Jung: Otherness within the self.Behav Sci. 2013;3(4):634-646. doi:10.3390/bs3040634
Tatarinceva AM, Sokolova NL, Sergeeva MG, Bedenko NN, Samokhin IS.The influence of a psychological and a cognitive component of a student’s thinking style on his/her success in life-long learning.Revista ESPACIOS. 2018;39(2):30.
Paulus PB, Baruah J, Kenworthy JB.Enhancing collaborative ideation in organizations.Front Psychol. 2018;9:2024. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02024
Cabello R, Fernandez-Berrocal P.Under which conditions can introverts achieve happiness? Mediation and moderation effects of the quality of social relationships and emotion regulation ability on happiness.PeerJ. 2015;3:e1300. doi:10.7717/peerj.1300
Persky AM, Henry T, Campbell A.An exploratory analysis of personality, attitudes, and study skills on the learning curve within a team-based learning environment.Am J Pharm Educ. 2015;79(2):20. doi:10.5688/ajpe79220
San Bernadino Community College District Technology & Educational Support Services.Learning style.
Jia X, Li W, Cao L, et al.Effect of individual thinking styles on item selection during study time allocation.Int J Psychol.2018;53(2):83-91. doi:10.1002/ijop.12267
California State University, Los Angeles.Paragon Learning Style Inventory.
Koohestani HR, Baghcheghi N.A comparison of learning styles of undergraduate health-care professional students at the beginning, middle, and end of the educational course over a 4-year study period (2015-2018).J Educ Health Promot. 2020;9:208. doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_224_20
Newton PM, Salvi A.How common is belief in the learning style neuromyth, and does it matter? A pragmatic systemic review.Front Educ. 2020;5:602451. doi:10.103389/feduc.2020.602451
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