I. Introduction Have you ever wondered why you loved history while your roommate hated it, felt inspired by one particular faculty member while your friends thought she was boring? Have you ever been uncomfortable at a party while others seem to be having a wonderful time? Do you ever wonder why others miss deadlines and never seem to have things organized? All of these are connected to our personality type and our preferred way of doing and viewing things. Try this experiment. Hold your arms out as wide apart as you can. Bring them together and clasp your hands together like you would when you clap following a concert. Look at which thumb is on top. Is it your right or left thumb? Now do the same thing, but this time change thumbs so that the other one is on top. It usually feels awkward, even uncomfortable. Do it again with your favorite thumb on top. If you clasped your hands together thousands of times you would probably place your favorite thumb on top every time. This is what we call a preferred way of acting. We have the same kind of personal preferences in our learning styles. When we are in a classroom environment that matches our learning style, everything feels right. The professor is stimulating, the material exciting, the work enjoyable. But if the environment does not match our preferred learning style, we feel out of place, uncomfortable, and unable to do out best. There are no right or wrong, good or bad learning styles, just preferred styles. Understanding learning styles and personality preferences has helped Freshman Seminar students succeed in class and out. It provides an important dimension of self-discovery and personal growth for freshmen.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator developed out of efforts by Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs to understand the differences and similarities in human personalities. It is based on the psychological theory of Carl Jung, a Swiss psychologist, who argued in the 1920's that personality traits are inherited or innate. Myers and Briggs used Jung's theory to develop a list of four ranges of personality traits (Introvert-Extravert [I-E], Sensing-Intuitive [S-N], Thinking-Feeling [T-F], Perceiving-Judging [P-J] and numerous combinations.) They refined their definitions over and over again during the 1940s and 1950s by administering thousands of assessments. Today their personality assessment instrument is more widely used by educators in the US than any other. It is not like other psychological tests in that it does not uncover illness or psychosis. It was designed to help normal people understand normal human behavior. II. Myers-Briggs in Freshman Seminar Freshman Seminar is not the first program to make use of MBTI at Appalachian. Residence Life has used this instrument for a number of years to pair roommates. But for the last four years Freshman Seminar instructors have been utilizing Myers-Briggs information as part of our efforts to encourage successful behaviors among freshmen. We have found that the MBTI can help freshmen understand and appreciate diversity, read their instructors better, manage their studies more wisely, develop sounder relationships, and plan majors and careers more realistically. Myers-Briggs does not define individuals, it just simply tells us general things about ourselves, like a zip code tells us what part of the country we live in but not the exact street or house number. Each person is different and unique even though we may share many preferences. Knowing what we have in common with others, how we differ, and what is unique about ourselves can be both empowering and critical to our success in college and beyond. 2 In Freshman Seminar we use the MBTI to help students understand their preferred learning styles. We also direct students' attention to the different teaching styles they will face, and how to adjust to teaching styles they don't like. For example, a Sensing (S) student who likes facts, organization, and structure may feel lost in the class of an intuitive (N) instructor who bounces from one grand theory to the next. Students need strategies for dealing with teaching styles that don't match their learning styles. III. MBTI Type Definitions What follows is a very abbreviated overview of the personality traits of the eight types developed by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. They are arranged in four continuums or scales:
We all have bits of each but tend to favor one end of the scale over the other. The stronger the number resulting on the MBTI, the stronger our preference. The lower our number, the more balanced the two preferences are. 1. Extravert-Introvert: This scale explains how we get our energy. Extraverts (E) are energized by interaction with others. They love to talk, participate, organize, and party. They are people of action. Extraverts love parties, especially when they can talk with everyone present. E's are pulled into social life and find it difficult to settle down, read, or concentrate on homework. They hate to listen and need to talk to work out their ideas. They will find many college tasks challenging (reading, research, or writing) because they are solitary endeavors. Introverts (I) are energized by the inner world of reflection, thought, and contemplation. They need space and time alone. Introverts like reading, lectures, written oral work. They usually have a longer attention span and prefer to think things through before acting. I's are uncomfortable in discussion groups, may find it difficult to remember names, and hesitate to speak up in class. Introverts will have fun at a party if they can talk with one person all night. 2. Sensing-Intuitive (S-N) This scale suggests how you take in information. It has the biggest impact on how we learn. Sensing (S) people rely heavily on their five senses to take in information. They like concrete facts, organization, and structure. They are good at memorization, usually realistic, and relatively conventional. S's are oriented toward the present, the concrete, and the here and now. Sensing people usually like outlines, clear guidelines, and specifics. They often have difficulty with theory. They ask who, what, when, where? Sensing students read the question several times before answering it to be certain they understand it. Intuitive (N) people see the world through intuition. They learn by hunches, look at the forest rather than individual trees. They want to know the theory before deciding that facts are important. They are creative, innovative, and work with bursts of energy. N's will write their term paper and then finish the required outline. Intuitive people will always ask "why" before anything else. Intuitive students may not read a test question all the way through, sometimes missing a key part, because they act on their hunches. 3. Thinking-Feeling: This range tells how we make decisions. Thinking (T) people decide on the basis of logic, analysis, and reason. They follow their head rather than their heart, value truth over tact, and sometimes appear blunt and uncaring about the feelings of others. T's usually have strongly held principles, value fairness over everything, and need purpose. People who must make decisions that negatively effect many individual lives (surgeons and corporation presidents) are often Thinking types. Feeling (F) persons follow their heart rather than their head. They decide on the basis of their feelings, personal likes and dislikes. They want others to like them so find it difficult to say no or disagree with others. F's need and value kindness. Feeling types value harmony and are distressed by interpersonal friction. Feeling types are often found in social work, elementary school teaching, and other helping professions. They feel rewarded when they can help others. 4. Judging-Perceiving: This range suggests the type of life style and work habits we prefer. Judging (J) types try to order and control their world. They are decisive, may be closed-minded, and are usually well organized. The meet deadlines, like planning, and prefer to work on only one thing at a time. Perceiving (P) types are spontaneous and don't like to be boxed in by deadlines or plans. They want to gather more information before making a decision. They work at many things at once. P's are flexible and often good in emergencies when plans are disrupted. Their biggest problem is procrastination. They may make a calendar of things to do, but will probably lose it. For more information on Myers-Briggs, please visit the following web sites:
You may find the following books helpful in understanding personality types.
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