What are the persona and shadow in Jung's psychology?
Jung called the face we show in social roles—student, employee, parent—the persona. It's necessary, but if we identify with it completely we lose touch with our real selves and feel hollow. The shadow, by contrast, holds the traits we refuse to acknowledge and push into the unconscious. For Jung, recognizing and integrating the shadow is part of individuation, or growing into a whole person.
How do marketers and UX designers build personas?
Alan Cooper urged software teams to stop designing for "everyone" and instead design for a specific, imagined person. Based on interviews, surveys, and data, a persona card lists a name, age, job, goals, pain points, and a typical day—say, "Jenna, 29, wants dinner sorted within 20 minutes of getting home." A shared picture of the user speeds up decisions.
FAQ
- Is an online alter ego a persona?
- In the everyday sense, yes—it's a different face shown in a different context.
- How many personas should a team make?
- Usually three to five, one per key customer type, ranked by priority.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-25
References
- Jung, C. G. (1953). Two Essays on Analytical Psychology (Collected Works, Vol. 7). Princeton University Press.
- Cooper, A. (1999). The Inmates Are Running the Asylum. Sams.
- Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Doubleday.