I'm in a series of blogs about the relationship between the MTR-i team role mandala and Jung's stone mandala (go to the first article in the series).  Yesterday I described the Jungian dichotomies that are used in the MTR-i (and compared them with those used to underpin the MBTI questionnaire).   Today, I'm going to focus on how the theory is operationalised in the MTR-i, in the form of "product-orientation".

In Jung's writings he often talked about 'products'.  Products are psychological changes that occur as the result of some psychological activity, though they can often be manifest as real changes in the world.  For example, if I see my desk is untidy and I tidy it up, then the psychological product is a "tidy desk".  This also happens to be real-world product as well, because I've moved things on my desk! 

Much of his writing is concerned with products that occur in consciousness as the result of unconscious psychological activity - eg: the appearance of archetypes in dreams.  However, when developing the MTR-i, I looked specifically at the conscious process: the conscious products that can arise from the conscious use of function-attitudes.  I termed this little corner of Jung's theory as 'product-orientation'.

There are five key constructs in product-orientation that underpin the operation of the MTR-i questionnaire.

Principle 1:  Attention to transformational products
The MTR-i measures usage of a function-attitude by measuring attention to transformational products.  In other words, what am I trying to change or to do at this point in time?  Or, what is the 'product' I am trying to produce.  A transformation results from the direction of energy towards a particular person/thing or idea/ information.  This “directing” of energy is referred to by Jung as the movement of libido.

Principle 2:  Current snapshot
The MTR-i takes a current snapshot, ie: how the function-attitudes are being used at this moment in time.  It tries to measure the products that are currently being generated. 

Principle 3: Conscious intent
The MTR-i tests only for conscious intent. Functions can be used consciously or unconsciously. However, for the purposes of the MTR-i team roles, we are focusing on those that are used consciously.  In Psychological Types, Jung said: “the products of all functions can be conscious, but we speak of the ‘consciousness’ of a function only when its use is under the control of the will and, at the same time, its governing principle is the decisive one for the orientation of consciousness.”  (p405)  To measure the conscious use of functions (and exclude products that are the result of unconscious use of functions) we therefore test for conscious intent towards the function-attitude’s products.

Combining this principle with principles 1 and 2, the question we are asking is “what transformation is the person consciously intending to produce at this moment in time?”

Principle 4: Orientation is determined by locale of the product
The orientation or attitude of the function is determined by the locale of the product.  That is, if the 'product' or the transformation takes place in the outer world, then the function is extraverted.  If it takes place in the inner world then the function is introverted.  Extraversion and Introversion are sometimes defined as the “source” of energy.  Jung described the difference between the two orientations as being the direction of libido: Extraversion is the direction of libido toward the outer world (p427) and introversion is the direction of libido toward the inner world. In both cases, the original stimulus may be in either the inner or outer worlds but it is where libido is then directed that matters.  To determine the orientation of the function that is currently being used, the question we therefore ask is “where is the product of the function - in the outer world of people and things, or the inner world of ideas and information?”

Principle 5:  Function-usage is determined by the nature of the product
The MTR-i determines which function is being used by looking at the individual’s own (conscious) perception of the transformation taking place (not how that transformation appears to other people). The products of the four functions are:
- Feeling: Harmony/valuation
- Thinking: Connection/structure
- Intuition: Possibilities/expectation
- Sensing: Facts/actuality

Summary
The MTR-i model has been formed by taking a “product oriented” view of Jung’s personality theory.  In “product orientation”, we look primarily at the contribution that a person is consciously making to the team.  In particular, we look at the effect that team members are trying to have on things or people around them, or on ideas and information.  The term “product” is used because playing an active role within a team involves trying to make some contribution to the team, or “producing” an effect that is beneficial to team performance.  The MTR-i model does not describe the characteristics of a person.  Rather it describes what the person is contributing to the team.

Next week, I'll conclude this description of the development of the MTR-i by describing why I chose a mandala to represent the team roles and personality types.