Editorial review: November 12, 2026
A compass is useful because it gives more than one direction to consider. As a metaphor for reflection, Jung’s four psychological functions can remind you to ask different questions about the same decision. The purpose is not to find your permanent direction or score yourself; it is to notice a perspective you might otherwise overlook.
Jung described thinking, feeling, sensation and intuition. His compass comparison appears in the primary extracts collected in the Jung Lexicon’s function entry (Collected Works 6, paragraphs 958–959). This is a psychological metaphor, not a diagram of brain anatomy.
Use the four questions
- Sensation: What is here? Describe the observable facts, the current situation and the information you actually have.
- Thinking: What follows? Examine the reasoning, assumptions and consequences. Ask whether the conclusion fits the evidence.
- Feeling: What matters? Consider value, priorities and the effect on people. “Feeling” in this historical vocabulary means evaluation, not simply an emotional reaction.
- Intuition: What might be possible? Explore alternatives and connections. Treat an idea as a possibility to examine, not as a fact merely because it feels convincing.
These prompts are an educational exercise inspired by the vocabulary. They are not an assessment and do not establish which function is dominant in your personality. You can ask all four questions without assigning one to each person in the room.
Try a decision worksheet
Choose a current decision that is small enough to examine clearly. Write the decision at the top of a page and make four spaces for the questions. Spend a few minutes on each, recording uncertainty as well as answers. Keep observations separate from assumptions so you can see what still needs checking.
Do not decide that the easiest question reveals your true type. Familiarity with the subject, time pressure or your responsibility in the project can affect which information comes to mind first. The useful result is a more complete account of the decision.
An illustrative workplace example
Imagine a team considering whether to shorten its weekly project meeting. Under “What is here?” it records the current meeting length, the agenda and the actions usually produced. It notices that some updates repeat information already available in the tracker. That is a concrete starting point, although the team still needs to check whether everyone uses the tracker.
Under “What follows?” the team considers moving routine updates into writing. It asks whether this would actually save time and how urgent questions would be handled. Under “What matters?” it considers colleagues who rely on the meeting to clarify priorities or hear from other functions. Efficiency is one value; access to shared context is another.
Under “What might be possible?” the team proposes a short trial: written updates before the meeting, a shorter discussion for decisions and a named route for unresolved questions. The idea still needs an owner, a date and a way to evaluate it. The compass has widened the discussion rather than supplied the answer automatically.
Check what the exercise changed
Compare the proposed action with your first instinct. Did another question reveal a missing fact, a consequence, a person affected or an alternative? Choose the next action based on that information. If the exercise only restates what everyone already knew, simplify it rather than adding more terminology.
After trying the change, review the result. In the meeting example, check whether decisions are clear and whether important questions are still being answered. A shorter meeting is not necessarily a better meeting if the work becomes harder afterward.
Keep the model in perspective
Jung’s account distinguishes functions and attitudes, but everyday decisions should not be reduced to a rigid division between “thinking people” and “feeling people.” Evidence and values can both matter, and a colleague’s contribution should be considered on its merits.
Read Jung’s four psychological functions for definitions or the eight function-attitudes at a glance for the wider typology. For a planning tool focused on communication, use the strategic communication worksheet.
Illustrative photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash.