Psychological Types of Academically Gifted Adolescents

Abstract

This study provides descriptive information about the psychological types of a sample of 931 gifted adolescents who attended a public residential academy. Psychological types are assessed with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The MBTI reports on four pairs of personality types: Extraversion/Introversion (E/I), Sensing/Intuition (S/N), Thinking/Feeling (T/F), and Judging/Perceiving (J/P). Overall, the most common types reported by this sample were INTJ, INTP, INFP, ENFP, and ENTP. Comparisons between gifted and norming samples are reported. Gender differences for the gifted sample were found on E/I, with males orienting toward I and females orienting toward E. Gender-specific comparisons between gifted and norming samples reveal that gifted females had a greater tendency toward I and T, and gifted males had a greater tendency for I. Overall, both genders in the gifted sample tended to be NP types.