Knowing your specific personality type and under what circumstances you produce the highest quality work puts you at a substantial advantage academically. As you take different classes and have professors with different teaching styles, you have to take different steps to adjust and become a better student. Know your specific personality trait will guide you to taking these steps.
Myers-Briggs proposed that an individual's psychological type is related to aptitude and achievement. People who preferred introversion and intuition showed greater academic aptitude than those who preferred extraversion and sensing. Extraverts were more frequent than introverts in the gifted population.
Extroverted types develop a strong awareness of their environment for stimulation. The typical extravert has a strong propensity to influence others, but is likely to be influenced by others, as well. Extraverts usually seem confident, accessible, and expansive in the manner in which they build relationships with others.
Introverts are somewhat more independent and idea-oriented than the extraverts, as they usually get their excitement from the inner world. They may sometimes seem lost in thought or maybe somewhat inaccessible in the way they move around the world.
Moreover, Myers suggested that intuitive-introverted types prefer self-paced learning and courses that enable them to study on their own initiative. In the same line of thinking, projects encourage students to branch out and create their own work. Hence, project-based learning is more likely to be preferred by intuitive-introverted students because they can have opportunities to structure tasks that they like to do. They also can benefit more from less structured and inductive approaches. In addition, an integration of a structured teaching model into a less structured model would provide new, exciting ways in education of intuitive-introverted gifted students.
Ex) Fit into learning characteristics of gifted students who prefer introversion and intuition, for these models foster analytical, creative, and practical thinking through self-paced learning and group and individual projects.
Research also reveals that most gifted adolescents are intuitive. Intuitive types are better at abstraction, symbols, theory, and possibilities; they outperform sensing types on aptitude tests.
Jung (1971) believed that "sensation and intuition" constituted two perceiving types. Sensing types rely mostly on the five senses while they perceive information, which makes them factual and observant. Sensing types usually approach a problem in a carefully deliberate way; hence, they perceive apparent aspects of the issue. Spoto stated that, unlike sensing types, intuitive types look at things holistically and critically to get a sense of the whole over the parts; hence, they are usually imaginative, speculative, and analytical, and they can be more creative. They are able to see abstract, theoretical, and global relationships.
More over, Myers extended Jung's theory, adding a perceiving-judging polarity, which she considered to be connected with the extraversion and introversion polarity.
Feeling types look for a personal connection to classroom material; they enjoy working in groups as long as individual relationships develop and need to develop a personal rapport with the instructor. Let's consider a college student who is enrolled in a premedical course and planning to take the MCAT. The average class size of an introductory biology class is between one hundred and three hundred students. In these classes, the students have very little interaction with the professor. A feeling type would be at a serious disadvantage in this class. Fortunately, most colleges have an honor's program where class sizes are significantly smaller. Although the honor's program is more challenging, it is the right option for a feeling type individual. The class structure isn't as rigid as the larger class and students get to know each other and their professor on a more personal level.
Judging types like to live in a planned, orderly way, seeking to regulate and manage their lives. They need to make their own decisions and tend to be structure and organized. They meet deadline, like planning, and prefer to work on only one thing at a time. They learn best with structure, clean instructions, and consistency. I think a good fit for this personality type would involve some sort of role as a teacher, where they could be in charge of creating structured lessons plans and managing the lives of their students.
Perceiving types are spontaneous, and don't like to be boxed in by deadlines or plans. They often postpone what they are doing to seek more information. Consequently, they prefer to stay open to new information and last-minute options. They are very flexible and have trouble completing tasks. Their biggest problem is procrastination. Perceiving types like choices and work best when particular tasks make sense to them. A career as a writer or musical artist matches most closely with this personality type. As a writer, these students will have a lot of flexibility with their work and will have few deadlines.
Thinking types act according to their own logic or what they believe to be the logical choice at the time. They are very analytical and often critique certain things to solve a particular problem. They strive to find a standard or principle that they can apply in repeat situations. Most importantly, they value fairness. They are terrific problem solvers. Thinking people learn best when information is presented in a logical, orderly fashion. They also benefit from close interaction with their professors.
Thinking types are thought to be better at some tasks that require logical analysis, while feeling types are better at tasks that require understanding of human relations. Jung used "judging" to describe the polarity of thinking-feeling dimensions, which reflects an individual's preference between two different types of judgment. Feeling types usually value harmony and human relationships in their judgments. They make decisions subjectively with a consideration of society's values. On the other hand, Jung (1971) designated "thinking" as an opposite function to "feeling." In contrast to feeling types, thinking types emphasize logic and objectivity in reasoning. This preference suppresses values and uses impersonal feelings in decision-making (Spoto).
Judging types perform better on applications; such as college, business school or, grad school applications, which are thought to be related to higher grades; while perceiving types outperform judging types on aptitude measures. Judging and perceiving refer to the process a person uses in dealing with the outer world. A judging type is well organized, systematic, and orderly and has a planned way of life, while a perception type is spontaneous, receptive, and understanding and has a flexible way of life.
Extroverts need interaction. They are known for talking and being very active. Consequently, they have trouble settling down and listening. Extraverts perform best when they are given sufficient time to think things through. They benefit the most from group discussion and studying with colleagues. I recommend extroverts study business or marketing because of the class' emphasis on group presentations and case study analysis, which is typically done through group discussion.
Introverts are very independent people who prefer inner reflection and socializing once they have thought things through entirely. They are very complex people and won't speak without being educated first. They learn best through quiet, independent study. They need sufficient time to complete tasks and answer questions. Introverts are often uncomfortable in discussion groups and hesitant to speak in class. A career in research is well suited for introverts, as it will allow them to pursue their interests through quiet, independent study. Larger lecture classes will appeal more to introverts where they won't have to worry about being called on or working on group projects.
Sensing people rely heavily on their five senses to take in information. They are concerned with what is real and tangible. They emphasize details, and consequently sometimes miss the big picture. They focus on concrete facts, are good at memorization, and are best at tasks that call for carefulness. Sensing types prefer hands-on activities and learn best when material is tied in with "real life" situations. Taking the MCAT and pursuing a career in medicine may be well suited for a sensing individual, who is able to master many details and prefers hands-on activity.
Intuitive people try to connect the dots. They seek out patterns and relationships among the facts they have gathered. They focus on the future and the big picture. They are creative, innovative, and work with bursts of energy. Intuitive people act too quickly sometimes, resulting in them missing certain instructions. They learn best when given the opportunity to be inventive and original. Based on these observations, I would recommend studying entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs are able to see the larger picture and are known for being inventive and original.
University professors are more demanding and offer fewer opportunities for individual instruction; deadlines aren't negotiable; term papers require more research and depth; lecture tests cover more detail-specific topics and group projects are very time-intensive. By taking a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Personality Test, you can learn your exact personality type, which will help you better prepare for tests and become more successful in your classrooms.
Knowing your specific personality type and under what circumstances you produce the highest quality of work puts you at a substantial advantage academically. As you take different classes and have professors with different teaching styles throughout your academic career, you have to take different steps to adjust and become a better student. Knowing your specific personality trait will guide you to taking these steps.