DOCUMENT RESUME ED 381 577 TM U23 044 Brownfield, Kelley M. AUTHOR The Relationship between the Myers-Briggs Personality TITLE Types and Learning Styles. PUB DATE 1933 NOTE 15p. Reports PUB TYPE Evaluative/Feasibility (142) MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE Cognitive Processes; *Cognitive Style; Knowledge DESCPIPTORS Level; Personality Assessment; *Personality Measures; Personality Traits; *Test Construction *Myers Briggs Type. Indicator; Preference Patterns IDENTIFIERS ABSTRACT The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is introduced. Some historical background and an overview of preference and types are given. Applications of the MBTI are discussed, focusing on educational issues concerning the study of learning styles. Learning styles are defined according to D. H. Kalsbeek, G. Lawrence, and others. Each dichotomous (two-sided) preference scale is discussed as ti the aspect of learning style it measures, each having a unique importance in the relation of the MBTI to learning style. Each dichotomy's learning style characteristics are discussed, and an illustrzcion is given as an example of how each type's learning style can be assessed. The MBTI measures not only personality type, but also each type's way of most effectively learning new material. The benefits of such knowledge are numerous. (Contains 9 references.) (Author/SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Myers-Briggs/Learning Style 1 Relationship between Myers-Briggs and Learning Style RUNNING HEAD: The Relationship Between the Myers-Briggs Personality Types and Learning Styles Kelley M. Brownfield Eastern New Mexico University "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY ()MC! el Educational Research and trnwover,,,, TIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION E DU kr/ El.,D CENTER (ERICA 4)61 L L&- . A This document ha.; Peen reproduced as recenrep Iron- Pie person Or Organiralion originating it 1. Minor changes have Peen made to improve reOrOduCtiOn quality TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES 1, ointS of view Or °onions Stated in this 110c 11 rnenl do riot necessarily represent Oficial INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC1 OE RI positron or Don, v BEST COPY AVAILABLE 0 ti Myers-Briggs/Learning Style 2 Abstract Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is introduced; some historical background and an overview of preferences and types is given. Applications of the MBT' are discussed, focusing on the educational uses Learning styles are defined concerning the study of learning styles. Each dichotomous according to D.H. Kalsbeek, G. Lawrence, and others. is discussed as to what aspect of learning (two-sided) preference scale it measures, each having a unique importance in the relation of the style Each dichotomy's learning style characteristics kie MBTI to learning style. discussed, and an illustration is given as an example of how each type's style can be assessed. learning 3 Myers-Briggs/Learning Style 3 The Relationship Between the Myers-Briggs Personality Types and Learning Styles The Myers-Briggs Type indicator (MBTI) was developed by the mother-daughter team of Katherine C. Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers. They began developing this personality test in the summer of 1942, basing their ideas on Carl G. Jung's theory of psychological types. Katherine Briggs introduced Jung's theory to her daughter while educating Isabel at Both women had a vested interest in understanding people's home. personalities, and in studying the reasons people behaved in the ways that The tragedies of World War II they did. stirred Isabel Myers' desire to do something that might help people understand each other and avoid She decided to devise a method of destructive conflicts (Myers, 1991). using Jung's theory for her purpose. Myers and Briggs, neither of whom had ever had any sort of formal psychological or statistical training, began the meticulous task of developing am item pool that would test attitudes, behaviors, perceptions, and feelings of the different psychological types, according to their understanding of them (Myers, 1991). Through the women's rigorous work, frequent test tryouts and revisions, and perseverance through many people's negative attitudes regarding their the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was created. efforts, 4 Myers-Briggs/Learning Style 4 Applications General "The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator has become the most widely used non-psychiatric populations" (Myers, personality measure for 1991, p. The indicator involves four preferences, each of which has two sides. xii). They include Extravert vs. Introvert, Sensing vs. Intuitive, Thinking vs. Through the analysis of the answers Feeling, and Judgment vs. Perception. There are sixteen on the MBTI, a type is assessed for each individual. Types are types, each being a combination of the four preferences. The four letters indicate the illustrated by four letters, such as "INFJ." preferred side of each of the dichotomous preferences, though both sides "A useful of each dichotomy is used by a person at one time or another. analogy to this is handedness; a person uses both hands at different or uses most, the preferred hand" (Briggs, times, but reaches first, 1987, Because the MBTI is concerned with differences in individual p. 3). attitudes and functions, the indicator is used in a wide range of situations The MBTI is used in counseling, in business and for a variety of purposes. and industry, in public schools, and at colleges and universities. Some advantages of the MBTI are that it provides personal insight in a positive has no time is almost completely self-administering; constructive way; it it has several forms to accommodate various purposes; and the limits; it interpret and understand (Briggs, results are easy 1987). to Style Myers-Briggs/Learning 5 Educational The MBTI has proven to be useful for educational purposes. It is "In 1977, the first used with students ranging from junior high to college. edition of a research journal on psychological types was published" The MBTI riot only identifies type in students, but p. 3). (Briggs, 1987, also helps them to understand their various- learning styles as well. Through the indicator's thorough analysis and explanation of each type, a student can come to know how he/she understands material most effectively--to know what his/her learning style is. Learning Styles Definitions The study of learning styles is a relatively new field. In developing This is also true in the study of fields, terms used are often ambiguous. Provost states, "learning style can mean anything from learning styles. hemisphericity to one's method of sharpening a pencil" (1984, 182). p. In addition, Kalsbeek (1989) has stated that "learning style can be information processing, understood as preferred approach person's to a idea formation, and decision making; the attitudes and interests that influence what is attended to in a learning situation and a disposition to seek learning environments compatible with these personal profiles, or These styles are unique to the individual, types" (Cooper, 1991, p. 699). for each person has his/her own way of learning best. For example, some people learn visually, some learn through listening, and others learn Whatever the particular learning through a combination of both methods. style of a person, identifying and understanding this style can lead to The MBTI is a useful tool in successful and/or improved learning. 6 Myers Briggs /Learning Style 6 determining learning styles as they relate to personality types. The learning style definitions used in accordance with the MBTI, as stated by Gordon Lawrence (1984), are the following: Cognitive style in the sense of preferred or habitual patterns 1. of mental functioning: information processing and the formation of ideas and judgments. Patterns of attitudes and interests that influence what a 2. person will attend to in a potential learning situation. 3. A disposition to seek out learning environments compatible with one's cognitive style, attitudes, and interests, and to avoid are not congenial. environments that A disposition to use certain tools and to avoid others. 4. 1984, pp. 182-183) (Provost, Lawrence also stated that "the MBTI is a predictor of learning style, but cannot actually mandate how a student will write, read, and study" There are many factors, in addition to particular (Provost, 1984, p. 183). learning styles, which affect how a student actually behaves, including self-motivation, learning environment, maturity level, influence, parental Thus, a perfect correlation between learning style and and attitude. However, the MBTI can predict what kinds personal type is not possible. tools, and behaviors hinder or encourage of environments, instructional learning for a particular student (Provost, 1987). is most effective to In analyzing the learning styles foi -ach type, it simply analyze each of the four dichotomous preferences, and to apply Each preference has its own these analyses to each of the sixteen types. learning style unique characteristics, thus indicating specific important to remember that each of the characteristics for each. It is Myers-Briggs/Learning Style 7 types can be applied to real people in real learning situations. As learning styles are studied, is also important to keep their practical application it in mind. As one teacher said: One of the great frustrations of teaching is that you are always robbing Peter to pay Paul. You design something to reach one group of students, knowing that in so doing, you are going to turn off another group. is somewhat comforting to know that there is It a perfectly understandable explanation. (Myers, 1991, 147) p. Preferences Extravert vs. Introvert The Extravert/Introvert (El) scale measures where students tend to focus their attention. "This dimension can indicate the degree of a student's reliance on activity" (Provost, 1984, This information 183). p. can be valuable for both the student and teacher, because will affect it each of them in almost every learning situation. The Extravert tends to focus on the outer world of people and These students are motivated by what goes things. on in the outer world, and tend to direct their energy there as well. "These students think and learn best when talking, they like cooperative le.arn' g groups, and they rely more on trial-and-error than on forethought when solving problems" (Sakamoto and Woodruff, 1992, p. They tend to get bored with long, 6). slow jobs, and do not do as well when forced to keep everyone else's These students like action and variety; therefore, pace. a classroom full of group discussion, hands-on activity, and "active breaks from the solitary tasks of reading and writing" (Provost, 1984, 183) would best p. facilitate the Extravert's learning. Myers-Briggs/Learning Style 8 In contrast, Introverts are motivated by their inner worlds, not These students needing a lot of outside energy to drive their interests. in having a quiet learning environment where tend to be most interested they are able to think things out and concentrate on the task at hand. a group Introverts, in most cases, would rather work alone than in their thoughts (Sakamoto and Woodruff, 1992) because they do not like They are more comfortable than the Extravert is with to be interrupted. In addition, they sometimes perform the lecture-based teaching format. poorly during in-class discussions due to a lack of time to anticipate "Jung called introverts Prometheans (Greek for discussion questions. "fore-thinkers") because they do most of their thinking before they act" More often than not, schools are structured in (Provost, 1991, p. 184). favor of the Introvert, with students sitting quietly in rows while the to tiem. teacher lectures Sensing vs. Intuition The Sensing/Intuition scale (SN) measures how the student acquires The greatest contrast between information, or finds out about things. Sensing and Intuitive students is how they direct their perceptions. Sensing is a term used for "perception of the observable by way of the is the term used for "perception of meanings, senses," while Intuition relationships, and possibilities by way of insight" (Lawrence, 1982, 7). p. They are fact- Sensing students focus on the realities of a situation. and detail-oriented, and have A great capacity for realism -for seeing the They work well with what is "given," and prefer to world as it actually is. Sensing students like work with proven procedures and theories. concrete things which they can see, touch, and handle (Cooper, 1991). less likely than the Intuitive student to use their imaginations They are 9 Myers-Briggs/Learning Style 9 while learning and enjoy exercising the knowledge that they already Practicality, the here-and-now, possess more than learning new things. and the book-facts are tools which. the Sensing learner uses to decipher Sensing students are "good at memorizing a great number new material. Thus, they of facts and numbers" (Sakamoto and Woodruff, 1992, p. 7). are likely to excel in academic subjects sr'zh as history because they can memorize the important facts and dates which are vital to learning history. On the other hand, Intuitive students are not fact-minded students. They recognize meanings that go beyond the information from the senses--they look at the "big picture" and try to grasp the overall relationship concepts. between Intuitive types are less likely to be patient with routine of overly-structured mechanical approaches to learning. They let their imaginative instincts desire and seek the opportunity to work, and thus tend to prefer open-ended assignments. (Provost, 1987, p. 184) These students trust their first "hunches" about answers to test questions and "seem to enjoy the challenge of timed-tests" ( Myers, 1980, p. 63). that most The average classroom hinders Intuitive students' learning in often, facts and details are forced into the students' minds, leaving little For this reason, some students room for the imagination to be exercised. lose their creative and imaginative abilities as they go through the school systems. Thinking vs. Feeling is Thinking vs. Feeling (TH. The third dichotomous preference scale