Elearning Research Group, School of Computing

Art Sloan, eLearning Research Group, School of Computing, Dublin Institute of Technology, Kevin Street, Dublin 8, Ireland [email protected]

Comparing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to the Multiple Intelligence Inventory

Introduction:

As a lecturer in tertiary-level courses in the field of Computing, the author encountered psychometric testing as a metric for evaluating student characteristics set against learning environments. The author wanted to consider at least two psychometric tests in comparison to each other to see whether one was similar to or distinct from the other. By examining the tests for comparison the author hoped to understand whether one was more useful than the other as a metric for students in the field of Computing.

Many educators such as teachers and lecturers use Internet web pages that aid their appreciation of the needs of the learner (Dunn 1998). Understanding a person's ability to learn requires investigation and analysis. When embarking on such investigation and analysis one will often benefit from referring to a structure or method. The methods associated with such analysis includes the Myers-Briggs Test (or Myers- Briggs Type Indicator), the Kiersey Temperament Sorter and Multiple Intelligence Inventory.

These methods of cognitive measurement are useful for aiding teachers and lecturers if and when they perform educational analysis to decide what type of learner an individual person is. The methods are available on-line so that educators and learners can participate by answering the Myers-Briggs and Multiple Intelligence questions and examining their test scores (Liam Healy & Associates 2003).

The psychometric tests that are the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Multiple Intelligence Inventory each have a structure which identifies psychological attributes of a learner. Importantly, those structures are different and the outcomes of each are different literal terms.

The outcomes from the Multiple Intelligence Inventory indicate a learner's 'learning strengths' and these might be matched to learning styles with which an individual learner ought to thrive (Lane 1999). It would be useful to educators performing educational analysis to know whether the parameters used in psychometric tests are similar or separate. One might expect scoring outcomes to be comparably similar or separate.

With similarity comparable learning styles ought to be identifiable.

It may be useful to eLearning designers to know what similarities there are because that might allow integration of psychometric tests on-line, for example.

1 This paper will present a cross-examination of the Myers-Briggs Test and Multiple Intelligence Inventory, identifying similarities and differences between the two psychmetric tests.

Learning Styles

Felder writes in his paper, 'Matters of Style' (Felder 1996); "Students have different learning styles - characteristic strengths and preferences in the ways they take in and process information. Some students tend to focus on facts, data, and algorithms; others are more comfortable with theories and mathematical models. Some respond strongly to visual forms of information, like pictures, diagrams, and schematics; others get more from verbal forms - written and spoken explanations. Some prefer to learn actively and interactively; others function more introspectively and individually."

Felder cites the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as one of a number of learning style models.

What is the Myers-Briggs Test?

Myers-Briggs (Type Indicator) is a psychometric test consisting of many 'questions' - seventy-two 'questions' in the version cited in this paper - that are actually statements that require a binary response of a distinct ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

The questions elicit eight types of personality that are associated with the participating learner. These are: Introvert (I) Extrovert (E) Sensing (S) Intuiting (N) Thinking (T) Feeling (F) Judging (J) Perceiving (P)

The Myers-Briggs description - or ascription - is actually a revision of a theory of type by Carl Jung (Von Franz and Hillman 1971). Jung devised a typology that suggests that all people can be classified using three categories. These criteria are: Extroversion - Introversion Sensing - Intuition Thinking - Feeling

Isabel Briggs-Myers added fourth category: Judging - Perceiving

The four categories are expanded upon thus (Humanmetrics 1998): The first criterion defines the source and direction of energy expression for a person.

2 The extrovert has a source and direction of energy expression mainly in the external world while the introvert has a source of energy mainly in the internal world.

The second criterion defines the method of information perception by a person. Sensing means that a person believes mainly information they receive directly from the external world. Intuition means that a person believes mainly information they receive from the internal or imaginative world.

The third criterion defines how the person processes information. Thinking means that a person makes a decision mainly through logic. Feeling means that, as a rule, they make a decision based on emotion.

The fourth criterion defines how a person implements the information they have processed. Judging means that a person organises all their life events and acts strictly according to their plans. Perceiving means that they are inclined to improvise and seek alternatives.

The Myers-Briggs test is used to measure a person’s capacity: As either an Extrovert or Introvert, For Sensing or Intuition, For Thinking or Feeling, For Judging or Perceiving.

The types are ‘scored’ mathematically and the first four highest scoring types are listed for the participating learner.

There are sixteen possible outcomes with this type of metric using the combination of E or I, S or N, T or F, J or P.

For the purpose of this paper one version of the Myers_Briggs test was used (Humanmetrics 2003). There are seventy-two questions, grouped as follows: Questions 1 - 18 are associated with the Extrovert-Introvert criteria, Questions 19 - 36 are associated with the Sensing-Intuition criteria, Questions 37 - 54 are associated with the Thinking-Feeling criteria and Questions 55 - 72 are associated with the Judging-Perceiving criteria.

Other versions use different numbers and sets of questions.

The use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to aid improvement in student performance is demonstrated by the experiment performed by Gordon whereby a group of students where given the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test and their scores used to identify which category they most suitably matched. These categories were used as a guide for the tutor when the tutor allocated those students to coursework groups and when setting coursework during one academic year (Gordon and Bull 2003).

What is the Keirsey Sorter?

The Keirsey test uses the outcome of a Myers-Briggs test to establish whether an

3 individual is of temperament type Artisan, Guardian, Idealist or Rational (Keirsey 2002).

Keirsey describes how he partitioned Briggs-Myers' sixteen types into four groups, based on Briggs-Myers' suggestion that all four of what she referred to as the "NFs" (Intuitive-Feeling people) were alike in many ways and that all four of the "NTs" (Intuitive-Thinking people) were alike in many ways. What Briggs-Myers called the "STs" (Sensing-Thinking people) seemed to Kiersey to have very little in common, just as the "SFs" (Sensing-Feeling people) had little in common.

Keirsey goes on to say that Briggs-Myers' four "SJs" (Sensing-Judging) were very much alike, as were her four "SPs" (Sensing-Perceiving) while the four groups - SPs, SJs, NFs, and NTs - are very much apart in their attitudes and actions.

Keirsey argues that there are two sides to personality, one of which is temperament and the other is character. Temperament is a configuration of inclinations, while character is a configuration of habits. Character is disposition, while temperament is pre-disposition. Thus, for example, predisposition includes innate traits that a person is 'born with' and 'character habits' appropriate to temperament are subsequently developed (Keirsey and Bates 1978).

What is Multiple Intelligence Theory?

In Multiple Intelligence Theory, Gardner has defined eight ways that a person such as a student can demonstrate intellectual ability. The definitions are: Visual/Spatial Intelligence Verbal/Linguistic Logical/Mathematical Bodily/Kinesthetic Musical/Rhythmic Interpersonal Intrapersonal Naturalist

The Multiple Intelligence Inventory is used to establish whether a person has a ‘high or low score’ in these intelligence types.

There are eighty 'questions' in the version cited in this paper (Ivanco 1998). that are actually statements that require a scalar response of 1 - 5. A response of '1' indicates that the learner strongly disagrees while a response of '5' indicates that the learner strongly agrees with the statement (Lazear 2003).

A major and positive implication of using Multiple Intelligence Theory - of which Multiple Intelligence Inventory is the practical test - is an improvement in student performance. In a test case for very young students the improvements have been in test scores, discipline and in the performance of students with learning differences (Harvard Project Zero 1999).

4 What comparison might be made?

Since the Kiersey Sorter is an extension of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and uses the Myers-Briggs outcomes as a basis for identifying temperament and character the author has decided to make comparisons with the questions of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the questions of the Multiple Intelligence Inventory.

Using the Myers-Briggs set of seventy-two statements the author notes that some statements match statements in the Multiple Intelligence set quite closely while others match one (and, on one occasion, two) of the eight intelligence definitions contextually.

Myers-Briggs statements that are comparable to Multiple Intelligence Inventory statements

Myers-Briggs Statement 1, belonging to The Extrovert-Introvert criterion: "You feel at ease in a crowd."

Multiple Intelligence's Intrapersonal Statement 4: "I don't like crowds."

Myers-Briggs Statement 2, belonging to The Extrovert-Introvert criterion: "You rapidly get involved in social life at a new workplace."

Multiple Intelligence's Interpersonal Statement 2: "I like to belong to clubs and organisations."

Myers-Briggs Statement 24, belonging to The Sensing-Intuition criterion: "It's essential for you to try things with your own hands."

Multiple Intelligence's Bodily/Kinesthetic Statement 3: "When looking at things, I like touching them."

Myers-Briggs Statement 36, belonging to The Sensing-Intuition criterion: "You are eager to know how things work."

Multiple Intelligence's Logical/Mathematical Statement 5: "I like to find out how things work."

Myers-Briggs statements - Extrovert-Introvert - that are comparable contextually to Multiple Intelligence's Interpersonal definition

Myers-Briggs Statements; 3. "You spend your leisure time actively socialising with a group of people, attending parties, shopping, etc."

5 4. "Direct-contact group discussions stimulate you and give you energy."

5. " The more people you speak to, the better you feel."

7. "It is easy for you to communicate in social situations."

8. "You enjoy having a wide circle of acquaintances."

14. "You are more of a listener than a speaker."

Myers-Briggs statements - Extrovert-Introvert - that are comparable contextually to Multiple Intelligence's Intrapersonal definition

Myers-Briggs Statements; 6. "You are usually the first to react to a sudden event: the telephone ringing or unexpected question."

10. "You get pleasure from solitary walks."

11. "After prolonged socializing you feel you need to get away and be alone."

12. "You prefer to spend your leisure time alone, within a narrow circle of friends or relaxing in a tranquil family atmosphere."

13. "You are able to cut yourself off from the bustle of everyday life."

15. "You prefer meeting in small groups to interaction with lots of people."

16. "You usually place yourself nearer to the side than in the centre of the room."

17. "You prefer to isolate yourself from outside noises."

18. "You find it difficult to speak loudly."

Myers-Briggs statement - Extrovert-Introvert - that is comparable contextually to both Multiple Intelligence's Interpersonal and Intrapersonal definitions

Myers-Briggs Statement; 9. "You enjoy being at the centre of events in which other people are directly involved."

Myers-Briggs statements - Thinking-Feeling - that are comparable contextually to Multiple Intelligence's Interpersonal definition

Myers-Briggs Statements;

6 40. "You value justice higher than mercy."

46. "You tend to sympathize with other people."

48. "You readily help people while asking nothing in return."

49. "You willingly involve yourself in matters which engage your sympathies."

50. "You feel involved when watching TV soaps."

51. "You easily empathise with the concerns of other people."

53. "You feel that the world is founded on compassion."

54. "In a debate, you strive to achieve mutual agreement."

Myers-Briggs statements - Thinking-Feeling - that are comparable contextually to Multiple Intelligence's Intrapersonal definition

Myers-Briggs Statements; 37. "You find it difficult to talk about your feelings."

38. "It's difficult to get you excited or make you lose your temper."

43. "You tend to be unbiased even if this might endanger your good relations with people."

44. "You try to stand firmly by your principles."

47. "You are easily affected by strong emotions."

52. "Your actions are frequently influenced by emotions."

Myers-Briggs statements - Thinking-Feeling - that are comparable contextually to Multiple Intelligence's Logical/Mathematical definition

Myers-Briggs Statements; 39. "You trust reason rather than feelings."

41. "You think that almost everything can be analyzed."

42. "Objective criticism is always useful in any activity."

45. "You consider the scientific approach to be the best."

7 Remaining Myers-Briggs Statements compared to Multiple Intelligence Inventory definitions

Myers-Briggs Statements 19 - 23 and 25 - 35, belonging to The Sensing-Intuition criterion, are difficult to compare to Multiple Intelligence Inventory. They would be adequately described as having the contexts of Convention and Principle and, as such, might be aligned with the Multiple Intelligence Inventory definition of Logical/Mathematical.

Myers-Briggs Statements 55 - 72, belonging to The Judging-Perceiving criterion, are difficult to compare to Multiple Intelligence Inventory. They would be adequately described as having the context of Problem-Solving and, as such, might be aligned with the Multiple Intelligence Inventory definition of Logical/Mathematical.

Conclusion

The psychometric tests described in this paper are available to be taken by anybody on various web sites on the Internet. The structure of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Multiple Intelligence Inventory allow for scoring that is computed. Psychometric tests of this sort, based on numerical outcomes, lend themselves to computing devices and, therefore, are usable on the Internet.

Beyond the algorithms that might be employed by psychometric tests there are concepts that contextualise the possible outcomes of use of them. The purpose of this paper is to identify concepts and parameters that are common to the tests described.

The Keirsey Sorter is based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and its concepts are global descriptions - adjectives - for the sixteen concept combinations of Myers- Briggs Type Indictor.

Comparing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to the Multiple Intelligence Inventory finds that the binary response of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator versus the scalar response of Multiple Intelligence Inventory shows them to have differing structures.

The concepts of Myers Briggs Type Indicator are mostly different to the concepts of the Multiple Intelligence Inventory. What is common to both is the context of Society and Logic/Mathematics.

There are many social aspects to the Extrovert-Introvert and the Thinking-Feeling criteria of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. There are many social aspects to the Interpersonal and Intrapersonal definitions of the Multiple Intelligence Inventory.

There are logical and sometimes mathematical aspects to some parts of the Thinking- Feeling criterion of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. The Judging-Perceiving criterion might be considered as having a logical context. There are exclusively logical and mathematical aspects to the Logical/Mathematical definitions of the Multiple Intelligence Inventory.

8 The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Multiple Intelligence Inventory are too separate to be integrated or even cross-referenced in a single on-line product.

It is interesting to note how important social and logical contexts are to psychometric tests and it is the authors opinion that these are most prevalent because, given that psychometric tests are measures associated with learning, learning itself is mainly a logical and social pursuit.

The consequences for learning styles associated with the psychometric tests of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Multiple Intelligence Inventory is that they can be used as an aid to identifying the different learning styles of participants in the tests. These different learning styles might be matched to the different learning environments in which students might be placed.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Multiple Intelligence Inventory tests have been used in an effort to improve the performance of students. The two tests do have common aspects in their social and logical metrics and one might expect similar outcomes in the scoring of an individual in those metrics. Beyond the common aspects they identify different categories for a participant and those categories are nonetheless important to the tests that identify them nor the participant who scores in them. The author has examined the tests mentioned in this paper to identify whether one is more useful to apply to the analysis of student education and has concluded that they are both useful: The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator for identifying Jungian types and the Multiple Intelligence Inventory for identifying Gardnerian intelligences.

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