Relationship between personality type and achievement in an undergraduate physiology course.

The Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI) was given to 163 students in an undergraduate Human Physiology course at a large state university. Selected MBTI personality types were compared for achievement in the course using a t test to compare total points earned. High grades were earned by students stronger in the traits of introversion (I) and judgment (J), whereas the extraverted (E) and perceptive (P) types had the lowest grades and dropped out of the course in the largest numbers. When combinations of MBTI types were compared, the highest grades were earned as follows: SJ greater than ST greater than IN greater than IJ greater than IS (S, sensing; T, thinking; N, intuitive). This ranking indicates that a sensing personality also has a strong relationship to achievement in this Human Physiology course when it is combined with judgment, thinking, or introversion. Instructors and students need to be aware of the relationship between personality and learning so they can modify their teaching style and learning behavior to enhance academic achievement.