Psychological Type Theory Applied Research In Chinese Universities

This study has been conducted in order to identify the personality types and the personality traits of Chinese students, verify if they were connected to the ways these students choose their majors and find out the related preferences or learning styles for effective learning and good achievement.At the beginning, we shared the different views of Chinese researchers who have pointed out the lack of interest in knowing Chinese students' personality traits and have stigmatized the "Blind bookish knowledge" in the process of learning. Having good knowledge on Chinese students in their different characteristics and giving them opportunities to use their personality types as the foundation of their own discovery as well as addressing strategic planning of curricula and possible reforms according to the results were for us a practical need in contributing to enhance the quality of their instruction. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was used to investigate the personality traits, types and the most comfortable ways of behaving of 1190 first-year undergraduate students from eleven Institutes and Universities of Nanjing City.Descriptive statistics indicated that all personality types were found among Chinese fresh undergraduates except ENFJ students. Chinese students were more introverted, more sensing, more thinking and more judging. The ISTJ type was the more represented. The different t-tests revealed gender differences in extraverted, intuitive and feeling students with girls being more extraverted than boys. However, gender difference did not exist among introverted, sensing, thinking, judging and perceiving students. Cross tabs with Chi-square of Independence analyses showed that male students chose male-dominated majors and female students chose female-dominated majors. Extraverted and judging students were more influenced by teachers in their ways of choosing a major. Intuitive and thinking students were more influenced by themselves in their ways of choosing a major. Most ISTJ students preferred or studied majors unsuitable for them. Most Chinese students surveyedignored the personality types to which they belonged. They were less informed about their potentials and their weaknesses. What the students liked was not necessarily what they studied. What they liked did not necessarily match the major related to their personality type. ISTJ, INTJ and ESTJ students chose majors unsuitable for them.The avenues explored in our research showed that college and university students don't know their personality traits and types well. Possible4recommendations are addressed. We urge those in charge of education to consider MBTI as a scientific tool to be administered earlier in junior and senior middle schools so that students can discover earlier their potentials and be well prepared for selecting suitable majors when entering colleges and universities. In a class made up of students with various personality types and different learning styles, students should be grouped according to their learning styles, their personality types and their traits.