Personality Characteristics of South Korean Students with Visual Impairments Using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Abstract

Introduction The study presented here was designed to determine whether there were significant differences in the frequency and preference scores of personality functions and the frequency of personality types, as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), by gender, school level, and level of visual function, of students with visual impairments in South Korea. Methods Ninety-eight South Korean students with visual impairments who were enrolled in special junior high and high schools for students with visual impairments answered the MBTI. Chi-square analyses examined the frequencies of preference functions and personality types by gender, school level, and level of functional vision. Independent-samples t-tests were conducted to examine the differences in preference scores by the independent variables for personality functions. Results Only gender differences were found in the frequency of preference functions between the Thinking-Feeling functions. Significant differences were not found in the frequencies of preference scores and personality types by gender, school level, or functional vision. Discussion The students with visual impairments were more likely to think of themselves along the indicators of Extraversion, Sensing, and Perceiving. More male students than female students preferred Thinking over Feeling. Educators need to understand the way in which each gender group prefers to use perception and judgment as decision-making functions. Personality traits vary among persons who are visually impaired as much as they do among those who are sighted. Implications for practitioners South Korean adolescents with visual impairments differ on their personality types in a way similar to sighted students. Learning more about the personality characteristics of children with visual impairments may help educators to teach more effectively.