Personalities of academics and students

 

Personality types

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was devised in 1943 and has been widely used by psychologists to classify people's personality types. The MBTI is used in careers counseling and is also used in screening candidates for positions.

The MBTI has also been used to assess university academics and their students, with some results that point to better teaching practice.

Agriculture students

Barrett, Sorensen & Hartung (1985) examined the personality types of students and academics at the College of Agriculture, University of Nebraska. They observed that the students had significantly different personalities
from the general population; furthermore, the students' personalities were significantly different from the academic staff's.

• Judging-Perceiving

Personality type was related to grade-point averages with Judging students having higher averages, attributable to a preference for deadlines and regimented study habits. Judging students also had better attendance records than Perceiving students. Academics were strongly at the Judging end of the scale.

• Extravert-Introvert

Introverted students had higher marks than Extraverts. The authors suggested that Introverted students might be less susceptible to distraction. They also recognized that the location of their institution might favour Introverted students.

• Intuitive-Sensing

They identified the biggest problem as the discrepancy between Intuitive teachers and Sensing learners. Intuitive teachers 'emphasize concepts, relationships, and the implications of facts ... rather than emphasizing practical applications' whereas sensing students need 'facts, practical information and concrete skills' [p. 16].

Barrett, L., Sorensen, R. & Hartung, T. (1985). Personality type factors of faculty and students:
Implications for agricultural college teaching. National Association of College Teachers of
Agriculture Journal, 34(4). This paper is hard to find but is obtainable from Professor Barrett.

Comments

The results show that students' personality types are different from those of the general populace. Furthermore, university academics are different again. This possibly indicates that there is a selection process occurring: from general population to students and from students to academics. Would that be surprising?

The different personality types point to different learning styles with concomitant implications for teaching methods: it may be inappropriate for academics to TEACH to their own learning styles because these may be ATYPICAL of their students' learning styles!