Introducing the Secondary Functions project

They balance each other not because of the kind of athletes they are, though, but rather the kind of thinkers they are.

In 1921, Swiss psychologist Carl Jung published Psychological Types, a study of the four functions of consciousness. This would become the base of countless personality typology systems, most famously, Myers-Briggs.

Jung shaped the idea that we approach the day with a dominant and a secondary (auxiliary) function. Dominant functions control our personality and how we first perceive a situation. In football, a dominant function would be the called play, relying on reps and film study.

Secondary functions, according to Jung, serve as a balance to our dominant functions. They are often the inverse of the first, allowing us to tap into our subconscious and interact with the world fully. Secondary functions are often employed in high-stress situations…such as a football game.

At their core, Cooley sums up his three constants as such: “Nick’s going to probably talk the most (on the field). Mike’s going to think the most and then Jaycee’s going to do the most.”