This study hypothesised that, if the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test is reliable, then the teachers of Liverpool High School should receive ENFJ as their personality type. The personality types being considered must be defined utilizing the official Myers-Briggs organization’s’ website. Each type contains four letters and there are sixteen possible types. The first letter signifies whether the individual is Introverted (1) or Extraverted (E). The second letter indicates whether one demonstrates Sensing (S) or Intuition (N) in reaction to processing their environment.
The third letter signifies whether the individual demonstrates Feeling (F) or Thinking (T) when contemplating action. Lastly, the fourth letter of the MBTI type sequence portrays how an individual regards information with either the Judging (I) or Perceiving (P) characteristic. The following personality types will be defined: ISTJ, ENTP, ENFJ, ISFJ, INFJ, ENTJ, ESTJ, INFP, and the INTP. According to the official MBTI foundation, the ISTJ is described as, “Quiet, serious, earn success by thoroughness and dependability.
Practical, matter-of-fact, realistic, and responsible. Decide logically what should be done and work toward it steadily, regardless of distractions. Take pleasure in making everything orderly and organized – their work, their home, their life. Value traditions and loyalty”, (myersbriggs. org 2017). The ENTP is described as, “Quick, ingenious, stimulating, alert, and outspoken. Resourceful in solving new and challenging problems. Adept at generating conceptual possibilities and then analyzing them strategically. Good at reading other people.
Bored by routine, will seldom do the same thing the same way, apt to turn to one new interest after another”, (myersbriggs. org 2017). The ENFJ is described as, “Warm, empathetic, responsive, and responsible. Highly attuned to the emotions, needs, and motivations of others. Find potential in everyone, want to help others fulfill their potential. May act as catalysts for individual and group growth. Loyal, responsive to praise and criticism. Sociable, facilitate others in a group, and provide inspiring leadership”, (myersbriggs. org 2017).
The ISFJ is defined as “Quiet, friendly, responsible, and conscientious. Committed and steady in meeting their obligations. Thorough, painstaking, and accurate. Loyal, considerate, notice and remember specifics about people who are important to them, concerned with how others feel. Strive to create an orderly and harmonious environment at work and at home”, (myersbriggs. org 2017). The INFJ is described as, “Seek meaning and connection in ideas, relationships, and material possessions. Want to understand what motivates people and are insightful about others.
Conscientious and committed to their firm values. Develop a clear vision about how best to serve the common good. Organized and decisive in implementing their vision”, (myersbriggs. org 2017). The ENTJ is described as, “Frank, decisive, assume leadership readily. Quickly see illogical and inefficient procedures and policies, develop and implement comprehensive systems to solve organizational problems. Enjoy long-term planning and goal setting. Usually well informed, well read, enjoy expanding their knowledge and passing it on to others.
Forceful in presenting their ideas”, (myersbriggs. org 2017). The ESTJ is described as, “Practical, realistic, matter-offact. Decisive, quickly move to implement decisions. Organize projects and people to get things done, focus on getting results in the most efficient way possible. Take care of routine details. Have a clear set of logical standards, systematically follow them and want others to also. Forceful in implementing their plans”, (myersbriggs. org 2017). The INFP is described as, “Quiet, friendly, sensitive, and kind.
Enjoy the present moment, what’s going on around them. Like to have their own space and to work within their own time frame. Loyal and committed to their values and to people who are important to them. Dislike disagreements and conflicts, do not force their opinions or values on others”, (myersbriggs. org 2017). Lastly, the INTP is described as, “Seek to develop logical explanations for everything that interests them. Theoretical and abstract, interested more in ideas than in social interaction. Quiet, contained, flexible, and adaptable.
Have unusual ability to focus in depth to solve problems in their area of interest. Skeptical, sometimes critical, always analytical”, (myersbriggs. org 2017). A total of 31 teachers were surveyed on their Myers-Briggs personality type at Liverpool Public High School, Liverpool New York. Specifically, we tested Liverpool High School teachers who on average earn $66,066 annually (http://seethroughny. net/ teacher_pay 2017). In regards to race, 1 teacher was Indian and the remaining 30 teachers were Caucasian. Additionally, out of the 31 teachers tested, 14 were male and 17 were female.
Test subjects portrayed a range of variability in regards to the subject they taught from mathematics, social studies, technology, science, foreign language, and english. The MBTI Personality Test was administered in the form of a survey. The test administered was not one that the Myers-Briggs Foundation primarily utilized, but a modified form. Our study utilized the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center’s test, a multiple choice test with 70 questions with two choices, A or B, as options. Each question on the test evaluated the subject on one of the four type choices.
Specifically, either A or B would attribute to a specific letter in one’s four letter code. The test is three pages long and is composed of white printer paper. The MBTI Personality Test was administered between December 15th, 2016, through January 3rd, 2017. During this time, each group member administered 10 tests to teachers from a previously generated list. When the generation of this list occurred, 30 participants, 15 males and 15 females, was the projected study group. Availability of teachers and time restrictions aided the slight change in the size and proportions of the study group.
Each group member approached their respective teacher and simply asked, “Can you please help us with our project? You simply have to take this personality test. It is stress free and only takes five to ten minutes of your time. ” No information regarding the nature of our study, including the intent or implications, was given to the teachers prior to its administration. Prior knowledge of any aspect of the test had the ability to influence the test subject to select a certain answer that they consciously or subconsciously biased their answer.
Liverpool High School teachers completed their personality tests in their own classrooms. A familiar environment ensured the authenticity of the answers and the actual completion of the test. The time each teacher took to complete their test was dependant on their own preferences, as no documented time limit was structured. No teachers were pressured to participate in this study, thus no teacher was unnecessarily persuaded to take the test hastily. Once results were collected via a student retrieving the test by hand, the test was scored and the participant was given their personality type.
Each MBTI Personality Test includes a document that the experimenter completes to determine the participant’s type. This document is composed of a chart that has seven main columns dedicated to one of the four primary functions in one’s code. The first column is dedicated to the Introversion (1) and Extraversion (E) function, the second and third rows dedicated to the Sensing (S) or Intuition (N) functions, the fourth and fifth rows dedicated to the Feeling (F) or Thinking (T) functions, and the sixth and the seventh rows dedicated to the Perceiving (P) or
Judging () functions. The chart is also ten rows tall and starting on the top left, the experimenter is to fill in the respective “X” to box that corresponds to A or B and the question number stated. In short, the chart is completed left to right. When grading, the experimenter would count the amount of X’s in each row— A or B- and display the number in the bottom of each column in the spaces provided. Once added together, each function can be deciphered by selecting the larger number out of 20. Here the four letter code is acquired.
A google forms survey was also administered to the study subjects via email, with the three questions; “Does your job seem fulfilling to you? “, “Do you feel like you made the right choice with your career? ‘, and, “Has teaching always been something you want to do? “. This action presents itself as a step where the study group can measure Liverpool High School teacher’s opinion with their job in comparison with what the MBTI Personality Test said teachers should enjoy. Initially, the hypothesis pertained to testing engineers from various companies including Welch Allyn and Hill-rom. 7 tests were administered at the company plant and all 17 tests were declared invalid. The invalidation of these tests was spurred by the administration of an incomplete test, therefore not all the necessary data was collected to properly type the participants. Only 53 out of 70 questions were provided, which resulted in the development of the current hypothesis. Given the nature of a survey, especially a personality test, there is no clear behavior to document or outcome to predict.
The control would refer to the MBTI® types ENFP and ENFJ as they exemplify the characteristics necessary to a career in teaching (Rushton, Morgan, & Richard, 2007, p. 432). The independent variable would be the test self, and the dependant variable, or the result of the personality test would rely on the administration of the test. Liverpool High School teachers did not take the MBTI® Personality Test more than once in fear that with prior knowledge to the test questions, the data would be bias.
It would not have been suitable to administer another version of the test because of previous trials specifically with Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center’s test. Through these protective measures considered, comparing ENFP and ENFJ to the results of the tests to determine the validity of the Myers Briggs Personality Test in projecting one’s career was achieved. Thus, our method of study leads us to hypothesize, if the MyersBriggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test is reliable, then the teachers of Liverpool High School should receive ENFJ as their person
