0.2 Psychological types  (Page 12/13)

Jung describes the introvert as not sophisticated, "an air of urbanity which contrasts glaringly with his real nature". Although the introvert "will shrink from no danger in building up his world of ideas, and never shrinks from thinking a thought because it might prove to be dangerous, subversive, heretical, or wounding to other people's feelings" - there is a down side to that type of thinking, however, "he is nonetheless beset by the greatest anxiety if he ever has to make it an objective reality". So although the introvert has these negative thoughts, they are not useful socially, and would probably only cripple him. The introverts thoughts are clear to himself, however this comes at the price of them not being clear to others - "However clear to him the inner structure of his thoughts may be, he is not in the least clear where or how they link up with the world of reality. Only with the greatest difficulty will he bring himself to admit that what is clear to him may not be equally clear to everyone.".

In this paragraph Jung describes the thinking introvert as naive, yet difficult to get along with:

• In his personal relations he is taciturn or else throws himself on people who cannot understand him, and for him this is one more proof of the abysmal stupidity of man. If for once he is understood, he easily succumbs to credulous overestimation of his prowess. Ambitious women have only to know how to take advantage of his cluelessness in practical matters to make an easy prey of him; or he may develop into a misanthropic bachelor with a childlike heart. Often he is gauche in his behavior, painfully anxious to escape notice, or else remarkably unconcerned and childishly naive. In his own special field of work he provokes the most violent opposition, which he has no notion how to deal with, unless he happens to be seduced his primitive affects into acrimonious and fruitless polemics. Casual acquaintances think him inconsiderate and domineering. But the better one knows him, the more favourable one'es judgment becomes, and his closest friends value his intimacy very highly. To outsiders he seems prickly, unapproachable, and arrogant, and sometimes soured as a result of anti-social prejudices. As a personal teacher he has little influence, since the mentality of his students is strange to him. Besides, teaching has, at bottom, no interest for him unless it happens to provide him with a theoretical problem. He is a poor teacher, because all the time he is teaching his thought is occupied with the material itself and not with its presentation.

Here the introvert is presented as naive and incapable. Like he is a good person at heart that is innocent, but because he doesn't understand social things, so he comes off as being rude - "Casual acquaintances think him inconsiderate and domineering. But the better one knows him, the more favourable one'es judgment becomes, and his closest friends value his intimacy very highly. To outsiders he seems prickly, unapproachable, and arrogant, and sometimes soured as a result of anti-social prejudices.". If someone doesn't interact well, at first it will probably appear like this person is rude and ignoring, however they are actually just as nice as the next person, and if you get to know them will learn to understand that his apparent rudeness and unfriendliness was just a lack of social understanding.