MBTI and Academic Success

Research Project By: Jade Dewey

Introduction

Academic success is something that many people strive for, but it is not something that everyone achieves. Unfortunately, not everyone who attends college succeeds.

*(Gokalp, 2013; Flono, 2015; Rankin, 2002; Fienstein, 2008; Wilson, 2006)

“Only 15.6% of students graduate from Southern Oregon University on-time”

*College Factual. (Southern Oregon University Graduation & Retention)

This number is below than the national average and may be influencing many students’ academic success.

Less than 4 out of 10 students who attend Southern Oregon University will graduate

*College Factual. (Southern Oregon University Graduation & Retention)

To be precise, only 31.7% of students graduate from SOU.

These graduation rates are lower than the national average.

“Southern Oregon University is among the worst performing schools nationally when it comes to graduating students”

How to address low graduation rates:

One approach to address the problem of low graduation rates at Southern Oregon is found by utilizing the information from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator instrument and incorporating differences in personality type into the education system.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator may be a key in increasing graduation rates and academic success at Southern Oregon University.

“Educators recognize that students dropping out of school is one of the most difficult challenges facing our public school system”

*(Lunenburg, 2000)

The Research Question

How does Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality type influence academic success, through graduation rates and GPA, and choice of major of students at Southern Oregon University?

MBTI Explanation

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is used to determine a person’s personality type based off of four preferences. These preferences are towards:

-Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I)

-Intuition (N) or Sensing (S)

-Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)

- Perceiving (P) or Judging (J)

*(Zarafshani, 2011)

MBTI Explanation

From these four sets of preferences, sixteen different personality types are formed:

the ENTP, the ENFP, the ENTJ, the ENFJ, the ESTP, the ESFP, the ESTJ, the ESFJ, the INTP, the INFP, the INTJ, the INFJ, the ISTP, the ISFP, the ISTJ, and the ISFJ

*(Zarafshani, 2011)

MBTI Preferences Distribution

Extrovert: E45-53%49.3%

Sensing: S66-74%73.3%

Thinking: T40-50%40.2%

Judging: J54-60%54.1%

Introvert: I47-55%50.7%

Intuitive: N26-34%26.7%

Feeling: F50-60%59.8%

Perceiving: P40-46%45.9%

*Data attained from www.myersbriggs.org

MBTI Personality Type Frequency Distribution

ISTJ11-14%11.6%

ISFJ9-14%13.8%

INFJ1-3%1.5%

INTJ2-4%2.1%

ISTP4-6%5.4%

ISFP5-9%8.8%

INFP4-5%4.4%

INTP3-5%3.3%

ESTP4-5%4.3%

ESFP4-9%4.4%

ENFP6-8%8.1%

ENTP2-5%3.2%

ESTJ8-12%8.7%

ESFJ9-13%12.3%

ENFJ2-5%2.5%

ENTJ2-5%1.8%

*Data attained from www.myersbriggs.org

Why is it that some students achieve academic success and other don’t?

One-size fits all approaches leaves some students at a disadvantage.

A diverse population’s success in academia is influenced by a difference in how students of different learning styles prefer to learn, and these differences impact the attitudes and success in academia that students will have.

Some students who are left at a disadvantage become high-risk students and are more likely to suffer from higher drop-out rates. Designing curriculum that is geared towards addressing differences in students makes effective learning more likely.

*(Feinstein, 2008; Gokalp, 2013; Lunenburg, 2000)

“Knowledge of a student's learning type can help teachers in retaining at-risk students”

*(Lunenburg, 2000; Kun, 2015).

Each of these sixteen personality types may respond and interact differently to the world around them based off of their innate preferences and can lead to a difference in learning styles among individuals.

“Types and preferences which contribute positively or negatively to academic success.”

Effects of Preferences in Academia

*(Provost, 1991; Felder, 2005)

Preferences determined in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator can specifically relate to a student’s performance in the classroom, therefore, balance is important to foster a more equal attempt at academic success :

• Extroverts: Works better in groups and discussing with people.

• Introverts: Works best alone and with more time to think before speaking.

• Sensing: Prefer to learn a skill, perfect it, and practice it with little variation. Practical.

• Intuitive: Prefer to use their imaginative instincts. Abstract. Less patient with routine.

• Feeling: Prefer to have what is learned be of service to other people and personal values.

• Thinking: Prefer a clearly presented set of performance criteria. Systematic.

• Judging: Focus on accomplishments, prefer structure, goals, and deadlines.

• Perceiving: Depend less on accomplishing tasks, more on flexibility. May feel too restricted in a highly structured classroom.

Preferences Effects in Academia

Individuals MBTI preferences and personality types have an effect on the way that they learn.

“Students differ from one another in a wide variety of ways, including the types of instruction to which they respond best (learning styles), the ways they approach their studies (orientations to studying and approaches to learning), and their attitudes about the nature of knowledge and their role in constructing it (levels of intellectual development).”

Awareness of difference in attitudes towards learning between different types is an important component. The better the understanding of this is “the more effectively they can design instruction that benefits all of their students. In turn, the better students understand the strengths and weaknesses associated with their attitudes and preferences, the more likely they will be to learn effectively while they are in school and throughout their careers.”

*(Felder, 2005; Lunenburg, 2000; Fornaciari, 2013)

Typical Type in Education

Many conventional school systems were found to favor an Introvert Intuitive Thinking Judging, or INTJ learning style and personality type.

The opposite type students, the ESFP, have a particularly difficult time adapting to this and are often at-risk of not graduating.

*(Lunenburg, 2000)

“A standard curriculum is acceptable so long as there is flexibility to adjust to the needs of all”

They key in this is flexibility and accommodation.

Research also shows that incorporating various learning styles and modifying curriculum/ teaching methods to make them more accommodating to students cognitive differences “increases the chances of scholastic success for all learners”

*(Moores, 2013; Lunenburg, 2000)

Choice of Major

There was a significant relationship between the selection of a major and the individual’s personality type.

Other studies show that using an individual’s personality type may help them to establish a better environmental and academic fit based on their natural abilities and differences in thought process, and that this may be utilized in the students’ favor by making them potentially more likely to succeed in academia.

*(Porter, 2006; McPherson, 2007)

Choice of Major

MBTI is also shown in many cases to influence choice of major in academia. The major that an individual chooses to study also influences how well a student succeed based on the expectations in place in that field.

When students choose a major, they also are being placed in an academic environment that may or may not reflect the strengths found in their MBTI type . This selected environment may effect performance and is related to a student’s “levels of educational stability, satisfaction, and achievement.”

*(McPherson, 2007; Porter, 2006; Lunenburg, 2000)

Conclusion

These reasons indicate that gaining a better understanding of the differences in MBTI personality types may impact how well students perform in academic settings.