(1140)THE VALIDITY OF MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE INDICATOR: STUDENTSNATURAL PREFERENCES AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE ATDAMASCUS UNIVERSITY FACULTIES

摘要

The main aim of this study is to find whether a correlation is existed between students'natural preferences, or what is known as psychological type as determined by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the extent of their enthusiasm measured by their level of“like” to the subject, and students' Grade Point Average (GPA). Data was collected fromeighty-nine students who took the MBTI inventory in five selected faculties at DamascusUniversity in Syria. In order to rate the subjects' like or dislike level, the students wereasked to complete a form prepared for this purpose. The students GPA were alsoincluded in the analysis. Using paired sample T-test, the results indicate to a statisticallysignificant correlation between type of student and its faculty of study, type of student andoverall study subject like, and type of students and his/her GPA. There was howeverstatistically significant correlation between various personality dichotomies of the type(Extraversion–Introversion, Sensing- iNtuition, Thinking-Feeling, Judging-Perceiving) andfaculty, individual subjects like, and GPA. The study also indicates to a statisticallysignificant correlation between study like and GPA, and faculty and GPA. The mostcritical conclusion from the study is that Sensing-iNtuition dichotomy of the MBTIinventory has the strongest correlation to distribution of students among faculties, thesubjects like or dislike, and the GPA. In addition, the higher the level of like for a subject,the higher the GPA is. Empirically, this study provides decision makers of the highereducation sector in Syria with relevant information regarding the intended future attemptsof reforming the admission policy to universities. It refers to the importance of naturalpreferences of people and how such preferences reflect on the students' success inspecific subjects. To validate the results of the study, future research is highly needed onlarger sample of students from different subject disciplines.