In order to continue their contribution to the profession of psychology in South Africa the selection committees of psychology departments of higher education institutions are faced with the difficult task of selecting the most suitable candidates to fill their Clinical, Counselling, Educational and Industrial Psychology masters coursework programmes. Selection committees have traditionally made use of several admission criteria and procedures ranging from academic performance to personality assessment to a combination of methods. Admission criteria vary greatly across Higher Education Institutions. The selection committee at the selected participating institution of higher education takes into account the prospective students' academic performance, relevant work or practical experience, research experience, active participation in the classroom, active involvement outside of the classroom (participation in and engagement with community activities), and personality. Currently the institution of higher education that provided the sample for the current study employs the NEO PI-R as well as the MMPI-2 to assess masters applicants’ personality traits. A study by Britz (1994) recommended that the MBTI® be included in the assessment battery for psychology masters students. The primary aim of the proposed study is to identify, explore and describe the personality preferences of a group of prospective psychology masters applicants and a group of successfully selected psychology masters students at a South African Higher Education Institution utilising the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®). The study was exploratory descriptive in nature and was based on the quantitative research approach. Non-probability convenience sampling and the survey method was utilised to identify and approach prospective participants. Participants were requested to complete the MBTI® questionnaire. The MBTI® protocols were hand-scored and the findings analysed utilising frequency distributions and inferential statistics, that is, means and standard deviations. The MBTI® was found to be valid and reliable in a variety of populations and contexts. xi Results indicated that the ISTJ (15 percent), INTP (15 percent) and ESFJ (15 percent) personality types were the three most common personality types amongst participants from the group of prospective psychology masters applicants. The ENFP (13 percent), INTP (13 percent) and ISFJ (13 percent) personality types were the three most common personality types amongst participants from the group of successfully selected masters students. The majority (14 percent) of participants from the total sample displayed a preference for the INTP personality type. An examination of the dichotomous personality types of the participants revealed that the majority of participants preferred the Extraversion attitude, Sensing and Thinking functions, and Judgement attitude.

M.A. (Research Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

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This is a case study of a popular shōnen manga, My Hero Academia, written andillustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi. The study’s aim is to determine the personality typesof five characters, while utilizing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. The secondaryaim is finding out which details help in the MBTI analysis and which do not. Thethird aim is to look into what are the difficulties of executing this kind of study. Theinitial focus of the analysis was the characters’ actions, dialogue, body language,facial expressions, use of role language and how the manga artist utilizes theJapanese scripture. The final results show that the characters are INFJ, ENTP, ENFP,INTJ and ESTJ types, and that the most helpful methods are to look at acombination of the characters’ actions, speech, body language, behavior, andexpressions. In addition, the method of analysis occasionally depends on thecharacter in question. While the scripture does not help in gaining the results, thechoice of language for the characters gives additional affirmation for the resultsbut does not work by itself to affirm any MBTI types. The main challenge is decidingwhich of the MBTI type pair polarities has more value to the character’s personalityto become the preference.

A review of the literature suggests a coincidence of personality characteristics among the cognitive styles defined by Field Dependence-Independence and the Myers-Briggs type preferences. This thesis proposed these independent measures of cognitive style tap common cognitive processes and hypothesized the Myers-Briggs dimensions of Extraversion-Introversion (EI), Sensing-Intuition (SN), and Judgement-Perception (JP) would correlate positively and Thinking-Feeling (TF) would correlate negatively with the dimension Field Dependence-Independence (FD-FI) as measured by the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT). The relationships of gender, age, and intelligence to the prediction of field-dependence-independence were also tested.

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceived impact of Myers-Briggs Test Indicator (MBTI) professional development on principal and assistant principal educational leadership practices in one school division in Virginia. The researcher collected and analyzed data to determine self-reported leadership changes that came as a result of school-system led professional development involving the Myers-Briggs Test Indicator. The results of these findings could help determine if school leaders and school systems would benefit from Myers-Briggs professional development. The findings were as follows: a) interview participants indicated only limited benefits of the MBTI training b) some participants identified self-awareness as a valuable leadership action related to the personality disposition training; c) some participants identified that they changed how they approached decisions when working with individuals with similar or different personality preferences and, d) participants indicated interest in additional MBTI training. Based on these findings, it is reasonable to conclude MBTI could be considered as a personality disposition tool in the context of comparing educational leadership personality preferences and understanding certain aspects of the decision-making process. The majority of the participants also recommended that such professional development be extended with additional sessions that allow for exploration and learning in specific school and team settings. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this study was to identify the perceived impact of Myers-Briggs Test Indicator (MBTI) professional development on principal and assistant principal educational leadership practices in one school division in Virginia. The Myers Briggs Test Indicator (MBTI) was used as a framework for the professional development. The MBTI is an introspective self-report questionnaire indicating differing psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. The training was led by school division staff that had been certified to use the MBTI materials. The researcher interviewed nine school leaders from the school division located in the southeastern region of Virginia. The majority of participants identified that the training led to increased self-awareness and a change in how they viewed the decision-making process as it related to personality preferences. Based on the study findings, it is reasonable to conclude that MBTI could be considered as a professional development tool. The majority of the participants also recommended that such professional development be extended with additional sessions that allow for exploration and learning in specific school and team settings.

Differential item functioning on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was examined in regard to gender. The Myers-Briggs has a differential scoring system for males and females on its thinking/feeling subscale. This scoring system preserves the 60 % thinking male and 30 % thinking female proportion that is implied by the Jungian theory underlying the Indicator. The MBTI's authors contended that the sex-based differential scoring system corrects items that subjects at a certain level of a latent trait either incorrectly endorse or leave blank. This reasoning is the classical definition of differential item functioning (DIF); consequently, the non differentially scored items should exhibit DIF. If these items do not show DIF, then there would be no reason to use a differential scoring system. Although the Indicator has been in use for several decades, no rigorous item response theory (IRT) item-level analysis of the Indicator has been undertaken. IRT analysis allows for mean differences in subgroups to occur, independent of the question of DlF. Linn and Harnisch's (1981) pseudo-lRT analysis was chosen to test for the presence of DlF in the MBTl items because it is best for tests of relatively small length. The Myers-Briggs subscales range from 22 to 26 items, which is relatively small by lRT standards. lRT analyses conducted on N=1887 subjects indicated that no items on the thinking/feeling subscale showed evidence of DIF. Out of 94 items, only one extraversion/introversion item and one judging/perception item showed evidence of DIF; no Thinking/Feeling items showed DIF. It is recommended that sex-based differential MBTI scoring be abandoned, and that the distribution of type in the population be examined in future studies. / Ph. D.

This study was an exploration into the effects of four categories of extra-student variables: high school performance, demographic characteristics, Myers-Briggs personality preferences and mathematics attitudes on three measures of college mathematics achievement (a Problem-Solving Test, an Algebra Skills Final Examination and course grade for all seven classes of 175 undergraduate students taking Pre-Calculus I Fall semester 1993). High school performance explained the most variation for all measures of mathematics achievement. Demographic characteristics and mathematics attitudes do not significantly influence any measure of mathematics achievement. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) preference Extravert versus Intraverts (E versus 1) was a significant predictor for the Problem-Solving Test; the Judging versus Perception a versus P) preference was a significant predictor for the Algebra Skills Final Examination, and both E versus I and J versus P were predictors for the course grade. An experimental design was used to explore four classroom variables--3 class times, 2 instructional settings, MBTI E versus I and J versus P-- in six classes. Students taking 8:00 classes averaged 9 points lower than students taking 10:00 classes and 11 points lower than students taking 1:00 classes for all measures of mathematics achievement. There was no significant difference for the two instructional settings--cooperative learning or traditional lecture--for any measure of mathematics achievement. Students who were Introverted averaged 8 points higher on the Problem-Solving Test. Students who had the Judging preference averaged 11 points higher on the Algebra Skills Final Examination and 5 points higher for the course grade. There was a significant interaction (p<.01) for the Problem-Solving Test of class Time x instructional setting caused by the poor performance of the 8:00 Cooperative Learning class. The interaction of E versus I x J versus P or the EIJP learning styles was significant (p<.05) for the Algebra Skills Final Examination and course grade. The students with the IJ learning style averaged 13 to 20 points higher for scores on the Algebra Skills Final Examination and 11 points higher for scores on the course grade than students with the other three learning styles--EP, EJ and IP. / Ph. D.

This exploratory study investigated the relationships between community college students' Myers-Briggs typology preferences and their problem-solving skills. The literature provides reason to believe that students' MBTI preferences are related to problem-solving style and ability. The educator's ability to teach problem-solving will be enhanced through an identification of motivational patterns affecting learning. A sample of 577 community college students participated in the study. Achievement Level for each student was identified using the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test. In addition, problem-solving ability was measured using the New Jersey Test of Reasoning Skills. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Form F, provided the MBTI profile scores. Chi Square analyses, correlations, and stepwise regression techniques were employed to identify and test relationships. The best identified predictor was the student's preference on the Sensing/Intuition index. Preference on the Judgment/Perception index also proved to be significant. Students who have the least skills in mathematics problem-solving have stronger preferences in the direction of the sensing dimension and the judgment dimension. Implications and recommendations for classroom instruction were presented and recommendations for related research were suggested. / Ed. D.

This study investigated the similarities between students who participated in the Career Interest Testing Groups at the Virginia Tech University Counseling Center and undecided students in general. Holland's Theory of Congruence was tested by examining the student's SCII and MBTI test results and doing a follow-up regarding achievement,persistence in school, changes of major and compatibility with final choice of major. The undecided students in this study resembled those in the literature on only two dimensions; having a low rate of graduation and a high incidence of personal problems. Holland“s Theory of Congruence did not hold up with this group. A scoring system, which indicated the degree of compatibility between the choices of major and test results, was used and indicated no movement toward greater congruence as the students changed majors. For those who did graduate in highly congruent majors, better grades did not result. The conclusion was that undecided students at a select admissions university represent the more academically able and mature individuals among undecided students in general. As the literature predicted, this group did have a high drop out rate. The findings regarding Holland's Theory of Congruence have been mixed and the theory did not hold in this investigation. / Ed. D. / incomplete_metadata