Is It Possible to Change Types?

By Eva Gregersen

People often ask if it’s possible to change one’s type. The answer to this question is not as straightforward as it would appear.

First, a lot of people are introduced to type by a psychologist or coach who tells them that type is inborn and cannot be changed. This is also what Keirsey believed.[1] In Psychological Types, Jung also appeared to say that type was a result of biological factors, giving the “broad hint” that type was biological. This statement has often been construed as a claim that type was inborn,[2] which is very reasonable as Jung also declared that “ultimately, it must be the individual disposition which decides whether the child will belong to this or that type despite the constancy of external conditions.”[3] Jung allowed that the type could be falsified due to extreme external conditions, but as a rule he appeared to think that type was inborn. ...