A quantitative analysis of the relationships between personality types and conflict management styles

The United States Special Operations Forces units are undergoing change with the integration of women into direct ground combat positions. The purpose of the study was to determine the relationships between personality types and conflict management styles within a United States Air Force Special Operations Pararescue Jumper student (USAF-SOPJS) population. The responses to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Form M and the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict MODE Instrument (TKI) provided categorical data for the study. The appropriate method for conducting this study was a correlational design. The results from the study indicated that a majority of the study population preferred extroversion, intuition, thinking, and perceiving personality type as determined by the responses to the Myers-Briggs Type indicator (MBTI). Participants preferred a competing conflict management style as revealed by the responses to the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict MODE Instrument (TKI). Pearson's Chi-square and Fisher's Exact Test were methods used to determine if statistically significant relationships existed between personality types and conflict management styles. Findings demonstrated statistically significant relationships between sensing-intuition and thinking-feeling personality types with avoiding and accommodating conflict management styles respectively. The findings also signified no other statistically significant relationships between the other personality types and conflict management styles. Developing a training program on conflict management with the identification of personality types and conflict management styles provides a basis for understanding individual behavior and response to different situations. Training USAF-SOPJS in conflict management may be beneficial with the integration of women into direct combat positions.