Personality characteristics and study skills of post-secondary technical institute students

Abstract

This research examined the relationship between Jungian personality characteristics and the study habits of college students. Male and female applied science college students completed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Myers, 1962) and the Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes (Brown and Holtzman, 1967}. The dichotomous personality preferences which were examined included introversion and extroversion, sensing and intuition, thinking and feeling, and judgement and perception. The study habits examined included delay avoidance, work methods, teacher approval, education acceptance, and their composites. Post hoc analysis treated age along with the personality preferences as a predictor variable. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was applied to the data.

Results indicated that while delay avoidance for males can be explained on the basis of the judgement-perception dimension, none of the other habits and attitudes examined for either males or females could be explained on the basis of personality characteristics. When the male and female subgroups were combined the judgement-perception dimension contributed to the explanation of delay avoidance, as it had for the male subgroup, but none of the other dependent study skills variables for the total group were explained by personality characteristics. The inclusion of age in the prediction of study habits revealed an important relationship in delay avoidance; regardless of personality characteristics, older female students had more delay avoidance than their younger counterparts had. Age did not have a significant effect on any of the study skills variables for male students.

In view of these findings, it was recommended that counsellors and educators treat students and their study problems with respect for the uniqueness of each situation. Possible reasons for these findings, implications for those involved with students and study skills instruction, and suggestions for further research were made.