The Benefits of Understanding Psychological Type

The Benefits of Understanding Psychological Type and Learning Styles with Myers Briggs.

‘From their earliest years, individuals demonstrate different ways in which they learn best.’ (Briggs Myers, I). 

The Myers Briggs personality type indicator (MBTI) can be used by a qualified practitioner to coach or teach students better. Understanding psychological type can help identify some of the normal differences in learning styles, thus providing a rational structure for a lesson, or practice.  The list below outlines some of the differences observed in children [1]:

• Some prefer to get careful, complete instructions before they begin a new game or task.
• Some like to observe others playing with a toy before they try it themselves.
• Some like to plunge in right away and learn as they go along
• Some prefer to learn while interacting with others
• Some prefer to focus by themselves
• Some like to know the rules and follow them
• Some like to create their own rules and change them frequently.

Clearly these behaviours are not exclusive to children, and can be applied to adult learning styles too. It has been well researched and documented that both children and adults learn best when using their preferred learning style. This is in large part due to increased confidence and ‘just knowing’ how to do something. Less energy and effort is used and learning happens more easily than when trying to get to grips with something that falls out of your comfort zone.

To illustrate this point I will ask you to imagine you are a right handed person.  Now put a pen in your left hand and write your signature.  Try it and think about how it feels. You may feel a little uncertain that you will achieve it with the same outcome as with your right hand. When you write your name you may even be able to produce a legible signature. Most people find it awkward and manage it with varying degrees of success.  Usual remarks are that it ‘feels less fluent’ and you have to ‘think harder about what you are doing’ ‘Its clumsy’. With much repetition and practice your signature may even improve. Now change to your right hand, your ‘preferred’ hand. This will probably instantly feel better. You don’t need to think about it and there is a flow, a natural instinct.

This is what we call a ‘preference’ for doing something. Everyone has one, some are clearer than others, but an understanding of how this works can really enhance the teaching and learning process. The MBTI helps us understand our personalities in depth and is never used to judge ability, skill or achievement. It is a useful aid to self understanding and development as well as how we learn best.  The MBTI can help teacher pupil relationships through appreciating personality difference.  

Of course, all the above can happen without knowledge of MBTI, and it is also not the only tool we can use to understand learning styles. However used well it can without doubt be an extremely effective part of a teachers or coaches ‘toolkit’. Teachers make changes to what they do to get the best and most enjoyable outcomes for each student, and in some situations using the MBTI can achieve a much greater understanding of the best approach to take.