The influence of extrovert and introvert personality types on the acceptance of virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: a survey

Abstract

Background: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, all courses taught in Malaysian schools and universities were conducted entirely virtually, after a movement control order was imposed in Malaysian on 18th March 2020. According to the research by Offir et al., (2007), extroversion-introversion (E-I) personalities have been shown to influence students’ involvement in class, their learning style and their understanding of the course materials. The purpose of this research was to explore how extrovert and introvert personality traits influence the acceptance of virtual learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A case study was conducted, focusing on a group of students taught by one of the researchers in our research team, HR. A total of 31 Diploma students (13 first year students and 18 second year students) taking Grooming and Professional Etiquette  at  Multimedia University, Malaysia (MMU) participated in the study. Open-ended questions were used to learn about the personality of each participant, as well as to provide a better understanding on how the opposing personas differs in their experiences with virtual learning. Results: Our results showed that 54.83% (17) of the students were introverts, 29.03 % (9) were extroverts, and 16.1% (5) were private-public-introvert-extroverts (PPIEs). The results for the acceptance level of virtual learning varied based on the different personality types. Results showed the extroverts expressed that the virtual learning experience was unpleasant, while the introverts and the PPIEs found virtual learning a useful and pleasant experience. Conclusion: This study was mainly descriptive, with open-ended questions used to gain insight on how different personality types differ in their acceptance of fully virtual learning. In future studies, inferential analysis could be carried out to test the hypotheses and assumptions. Future studies could also compare and contrast both students and lecturers’ acceptance of, and engagement in, online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.