Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsPersonal vs. Collective UnconsciousThe Origins of Jung’s ArchetypesThe Main ArchetypesArchetypical FiguresFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Personal vs. Collective Unconscious
The Origins of Jung’s Archetypes
The Main Archetypes
Archetypical Figures
Frequently Asked Questions
Close
Archetypes are universal, inborn models of distinct aspects of identity and personality that play a role in influencing human behavior. Swiss psychiatristCarl Jung’stheory suggested that these archetypes were archaic forms of innate human knowledge passed down from our ancestors.
In Jungian psychology, these archetypes represent universal patterns and images that are part of the collective unconscious. Jung believed that we inherit these archetypes much in the way we inherit instinctive patterns of behavior.
Continue reading to learn more about Jung’s four main archetypes, their unique characteristics and functions, and how to achieve individuation.
Verywell / Hugo Lin
Jung was originally a follower ofSigmund Freud. The relationship eventually fractured over Jung’s criticism of Freud’s emphasis on sexuality during development, which led Jung to develop his own psychoanalytic approach known asanalytical psychology.
While Jung agreed with Freud that the unconscious played an important role in personality and behavior, he expanded on Freud’s idea of the personal unconscious to include what Jung called the collective unconscious.
Jung believed that the human psyche was composed of three components:
According to Jung, the ego represents the conscious mind, and the personal unconscious contains memories—including those that have been suppressed.
Thecollective unconsciousis a unique component in that Jung believed that this part of the psyche served as a form of psychological inheritance. It contained all of the knowledge and experiences that humans share as a species.
The Origins of Jungian Archetypes
Jung believed that archetypes come from the collective unconscious. He suggested that these models are innate (unlearned), hereditary, and universal. Archetypes organize how we experience certain things throughout life.
“All the most powerful ideas in history go back to archetypes,” Jung explained in his book, “The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche.”
—CARL JUNG
The archaic and mythic characters that make up the archetypes reside within all people from all over the world, Jung believed. Archetypes symbolize basic humanmotivations, values, and personalities.
The PersonaThe persona is how we present ourselves to the world. The word “persona” is derived from a Latin word that literally means “mask.” It is not a literal mask, however.The persona represents all of the different social masks that we wear among various groups and situations. It acts to shield the ego from negative images. According to Jung, the persona may appear in dreams and take different forms.Over the course of development, children learn that they must behave in certain ways in order to fit in with society’s expectations and norms. The persona develops as a social mask to contain all of the primitive urges, impulses, andemotionsthat are not considered socially acceptable.The persona archetype allows people to adapt to the world around them and fit in with the society in which they live. However, becoming too closely identified with this archetype can lead people to lose sight of their true selves.
The Persona
The persona is how we present ourselves to the world. The word “persona” is derived from a Latin word that literally means “mask.” It is not a literal mask, however.
The persona represents all of the different social masks that we wear among various groups and situations. It acts to shield the ego from negative images. According to Jung, the persona may appear in dreams and take different forms.
Over the course of development, children learn that they must behave in certain ways in order to fit in with society’s expectations and norms. The persona develops as a social mask to contain all of the primitive urges, impulses, andemotionsthat are not considered socially acceptable.
The persona archetype allows people to adapt to the world around them and fit in with the society in which they live. However, becoming too closely identified with this archetype can lead people to lose sight of their true selves.
The ShadowThe shadow is a Jungian archetype that consists of sex and life instincts. It is part of the unconscious mind and is composed of repressed ideas, weaknesses, desires, instincts, and shortcomings.The shadow forms out of our attempts to comply with cultural norms and expectations. It is this archetype that contains all of the things that are unacceptable not only to society but also to one’s own personal morals and values. It might include things such as envy, greed,prejudice, hate, and aggression.Jung suggested that the shadow can appear indreamsor visions and may take a variety of forms. It might appear as a snake, a monster, a demon, a dragon, or some other dark, wild, or exotic figure.This archetype is often described as the darker side of the psyche, representing wildness, chaos, and the unknown. These latent dispositions are present in all of us, Jung believed, although people sometimes deny this element of their own psyche and instead project it on to others.
The Shadow
The shadow is a Jungian archetype that consists of sex and life instincts. It is part of the unconscious mind and is composed of repressed ideas, weaknesses, desires, instincts, and shortcomings.
The shadow forms out of our attempts to comply with cultural norms and expectations. It is this archetype that contains all of the things that are unacceptable not only to society but also to one’s own personal morals and values. It might include things such as envy, greed,prejudice, hate, and aggression.
Jung suggested that the shadow can appear indreamsor visions and may take a variety of forms. It might appear as a snake, a monster, a demon, a dragon, or some other dark, wild, or exotic figure.
This archetype is often described as the darker side of the psyche, representing wildness, chaos, and the unknown. These latent dispositions are present in all of us, Jung believed, although people sometimes deny this element of their own psyche and instead project it on to others.
The Anima or Animus
These archetypal images are based upon both what is found in the collective and personal unconscious. For example, in regards to the anima in men, the collective unconscious may contain notions about how women should behave while personal experience with wives, girlfriends, sisters, and mothers contribute to more personal images of women.
Jung believed that physiological changes as well as social influences contributed to the development of sex roles andgender identities. Jung suggested the influence of the animus and anima archetypes were also involved in this process. According to Jung, the animus represents the masculine aspect that is often suppressed in women while the anima represents the feminine aspect that is suppressed in men.
The anima/animus serves as the primary source of communication with the collective unconscious.
In many cultures, however, men and women are encouraged to adopt traditional and often rigid gender roles. Jung suggested that this discouragement of men exploring their feminine aspects and of women exploring their masculine aspects served to undermine psychological development.
Integrating both the feminine and masculine aspects of our personality into an authentic unified whole is a healthy part of human development. A good balance would be a person who relies on both emotion and reason, intuition and logic, cooperation and competition, and so on,
The combined anima and animus is known as the syzygy or the divine couple. The syzygy represents completion, unification, and wholeness.
The Self
The self is an archetype that represents the unified consciousness and unconsciousness of an individual. Jung often represented the self as a circle, square, or mandala.
Creating the self occurs through a process known as individuation, in which the various aspects of personality are integrated. Jung believed that disharmony between the unconscious and the conscious mind could lead to psychological problems. Bringing these conflicts into awareness and accommodating them was an important part of the individuation process.
Jung suggested that there were two different centers of personality:
For Jung, the ultimate aim was for an individual to achieve a sense of cohesive self, similar in many ways to Maslow’s concept ofself-actualization.
Other Jungian ArchetypesJung suggested that the number of existing archetypes was not static or fixed. Instead, many different archetypes may overlap or combine, creating new archetypes such as the father (a stern, powerful authority figure), the hero (a champion, defender, or rescuer), and the trickster (a deceiver, liar, and troublemaker).
Other Jungian Archetypes
Jung suggested that the number of existing archetypes was not static or fixed. Instead, many different archetypes may overlap or combine, creating new archetypes such as the father (a stern, powerful authority figure), the hero (a champion, defender, or rescuer), and the trickster (a deceiver, liar, and troublemaker).
Archetypical FiguresJung acknowledged that the four main archetypes can intermingle and give rise to 12 archetypical figures (also known as archetypical images). These include:RulerCreator/artistSageInnocentExplorerRebelHeroWizardJesterEverymanLoverCaregiverFinal ThoughtsJung’s ideashave not been as popular as Freud’s and his archetypes have not been viewed favorably in modern psychology. This might be because it is more complex, and his work tended to veer into the mystical and pseudoscientific. It is therefore often studied more as a historical artifact in realms of literary criticism and popular culture applications of mythology than as a major contribution to the science of the mind and behavior.Other criticisms of Jung’s archetypes suggest that they are overly stereotyped,reductionistic, and culturally biased.Frequently Asked QuestionsIn addition to his theory of archetypes, Jung also introduced a theory of personality that became the basis for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Jung’s eight personality types are:Extraverted - ThinkingIntroverted - ThinkingExtraverted - FeelingIntroverted - FeelingExtraverted - SensingIntroverted - SensingExtraverted - IntuitiveIntroverted - IntuitiveAccording to Jung, your persona is the social mask that you wear and present to the world. It is designed to make an impression on others, but it also serves to conceal your true self.Learning Styles Based on Jung’s Theory of Personality
Jung acknowledged that the four main archetypes can intermingle and give rise to 12 archetypical figures (also known as archetypical images). These include:
Final Thoughts
Jung’s ideashave not been as popular as Freud’s and his archetypes have not been viewed favorably in modern psychology. This might be because it is more complex, and his work tended to veer into the mystical and pseudoscientific. It is therefore often studied more as a historical artifact in realms of literary criticism and popular culture applications of mythology than as a major contribution to the science of the mind and behavior.
Other criticisms of Jung’s archetypes suggest that they are overly stereotyped,reductionistic, and culturally biased.
Frequently Asked QuestionsIn addition to his theory of archetypes, Jung also introduced a theory of personality that became the basis for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Jung’s eight personality types are:Extraverted - ThinkingIntroverted - ThinkingExtraverted - FeelingIntroverted - FeelingExtraverted - SensingIntroverted - SensingExtraverted - IntuitiveIntroverted - IntuitiveAccording to Jung, your persona is the social mask that you wear and present to the world. It is designed to make an impression on others, but it also serves to conceal your true self.
In addition to his theory of archetypes, Jung also introduced a theory of personality that became the basis for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Jung’s eight personality types are:Extraverted - ThinkingIntroverted - ThinkingExtraverted - FeelingIntroverted - FeelingExtraverted - SensingIntroverted - SensingExtraverted - IntuitiveIntroverted - Intuitive
In addition to his theory of archetypes, Jung also introduced a theory of personality that became the basis for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Jung’s eight personality types are:
According to Jung, your persona is the social mask that you wear and present to the world. It is designed to make an impression on others, but it also serves to conceal your true self.
Learning Styles Based on Jung’s Theory of Personality
5 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.APA Dictionary of Psychology.Archetype. American Psychological Association.APA Dictionary of Psychology.Collective unconscious. American Psychological Association.Jung C.The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche. 2d ed. Adler G, Hull R, eds. Princeton University Press; 1969.Stevens A.Living Archetypes: The Selected Works of Anthony Stevens. Taylor & Francis Group; 2016.American Psychological Association.APA dictionary of psychology: Anima.Additional ReadingJung CG.Four Archetypes. Routledge.Watts J, Cockcroft K, Duncan N.Developmental Psychology. UCT Press.
5 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.APA Dictionary of Psychology.Archetype. American Psychological Association.APA Dictionary of Psychology.Collective unconscious. American Psychological Association.Jung C.The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche. 2d ed. Adler G, Hull R, eds. Princeton University Press; 1969.Stevens A.Living Archetypes: The Selected Works of Anthony Stevens. Taylor & Francis Group; 2016.American Psychological Association.APA dictionary of psychology: Anima.Additional ReadingJung CG.Four Archetypes. Routledge.Watts J, Cockcroft K, Duncan N.Developmental Psychology. UCT Press.
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.
APA Dictionary of Psychology.Archetype. American Psychological Association.APA Dictionary of Psychology.Collective unconscious. American Psychological Association.Jung C.The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche. 2d ed. Adler G, Hull R, eds. Princeton University Press; 1969.Stevens A.Living Archetypes: The Selected Works of Anthony Stevens. Taylor & Francis Group; 2016.American Psychological Association.APA dictionary of psychology: Anima.
APA Dictionary of Psychology.Archetype. American Psychological Association.
APA Dictionary of Psychology.Collective unconscious. American Psychological Association.
Jung C.The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche. 2d ed. Adler G, Hull R, eds. Princeton University Press; 1969.
Stevens A.Living Archetypes: The Selected Works of Anthony Stevens. Taylor & Francis Group; 2016.
American Psychological Association.APA dictionary of psychology: Anima.
Jung CG.Four Archetypes. Routledge.Watts J, Cockcroft K, Duncan N.Developmental Psychology. UCT Press.
Jung CG.Four Archetypes. Routledge.
Watts J, Cockcroft K, Duncan N.Developmental Psychology. UCT Press.
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