The Personality Typology of Black College Students: Evidence for a Characteristic Cognitive Style?

Abstract

This study examined the distributions across personality types (as assessed by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) of two samples of black college students ( ns = 315 and 447) in comparison to norming data from two manuals. Major differences were found between the black and white samples with regard to the proportions classified as Extroversion-Intuition-Feeling-Perception (ENFP) and Introversion-Sensing-Thinking-Judging (ISTJ). Much higher proportions of the black samples were also clustered at the sensing pole of the perceptual dimension. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the existence of a unique black “cognitive style.”