By Susan Smith Nash, Ph.D.
If you've worked for a company that has work teams and in-house employee development programs, you've probably taken a personality test, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. You probably already know that knowing about your type and preferences can help you identify your ideal work styles and environments. What you might not know is that the MBTI can help you with online courses.
Let's step back a moment and take a look at the Myers-Briggs indicator. What is it, and where did it come from? The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) has as its foundation the theory of personalities developed by Carl Jung. Through a series of questions answered by the individual test-takers, the indicator divides individuals into sixteen types (based on the notion of archetype) (Lawrence, 1988). These classifications are based on how the individuals view their environment (Sensing vs. Intuition), make decisions (Thinking vs. Feeling), relate to inner worlds as opposed to outer worlds (Introvert vs. Extrovert), and process their responses to situations (Perception vs. Judgment) (Wilson, 1996).
Keep in mind that the MBTI indicators are founded on Jungian psychological type theory (Bayne, 1995), which is controversial because it does not account for cultural difference. It makes sense if you think about it. After all, what is considered introverted in one culture, may be considered extroverted in another. The questions pertaining to judging, perceiving, and thinking would certainly be interpreted differently by different cultures. Nevertheless, the self-awareness that the inventory can give you can definitely help you out. After all, if you know that you are comfortable with other people, and learn by interacting with others, then it's a pretty safe bet that you'll need to have a chance to interact with others in a learning environment in order to do well.
The MBTI was developed in the 1940s (Myers, 1987) by a mother and daughter team, Isabel Briggs Myers (1897-1979) and her mother, Katharine Cook Briggs. Isabel was motivated to develop the indicator after observing extreme differences in personality within her own family (Carroll, 2007).
Because it was based primarily on personality psychology, it has been used primarily in psychology, human resources management, and business to help individuals understand themselves and their team members (Bayne, 1987). In business, it has been used as a team-building tool and, in some cases, as a screening device for matching people with tasks. It has been used in education to help understand how and why students perform in certain ways (Filbeck and Smith, 1996).
If we apply the MBTI to the learning theory set out by David Kolb, we can think of ways to match personality type with learning styles and cycles. Kolb suggested that learning happens in a four-stage cycle (Kolb 1984):
Concrete Experience (CE)
Reflective Observation (RO)
Abstract Conceptualization (AC)
Active Experimentation (AE)
He matched these to some of Jung's categories and found the following correlations:
Concrete Experience => Feeling
Active Experimentation => Doing
Abstract Conceptualization => Thinking
Reflective Observation => Watching
So, without going into too much detail, let's point out that as you go into an online course, you need to be aware of how you need to match activities with your personality type and learning styles. If you tend to be more of a feeling / experiencing personality type, you'll definitely need to try to connect the abstract concepts in your course with concrete, lived experience (Howland, 2002). If you are a quiet, contemplative type, you may need time to think things through and develop a mental system for organizing knowledge.
Researchers have found that certain aspects of the MBTI do correlate with preferences with respect to the way that the course content and instructional activities are presented. Filbeck and Smith, 1996). For example, successful students in an MBA program were found to tend to be of the INTJ (Introversion, Intuition, with Thinking and Judging) type (Bocchi, 2006). However, preferences are often influenced by external factors such as the design and presentation of instructions, the configuration of the learning environment and perceptions of the instructor (Mupinga, 2006).
You may be interested in taking a look at the kinds of questions that a Jungian-based typology contains. If you're curious, here's a link to "Humanmetrics: Jung Typology Test" (http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp). It's free, but it is not complete. For links to the full test, you can visit the Myers & Briggs Foundation website at http://www.myersbriggs.org. Taking the full inventory online with one-on-one feedback will cost $150. The website is helpful even if you do not intend to take the full test. You can use it to find out more about personality type and the use of types. You can also go to Personality Pathways and find out more information (http://personalitypathways.com/). Here is another inventory to take: http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html
No matter what your type, online education can be an exciting and fulfilling experience. Play to your strengths. Knowing about yourself, your personality, and your learning preferences can help you attune your approach to your abilities.
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