In this study, the author synthesizes results of studies about personality types of gifted adolescents. Fourteen studies were coded with 19 independent samples. The total number of identified participants in original studies was 5,723. The most common personality types among gifted adolescents were “intuitive” and “perceiving.” They were higher on the Introversion, Intuition, Thinking, and Perceiving dimensions of the personality scales of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) when compared to general high school students. Also, gifted adolescents differed within the group by gender and by ability. Based on the findings, the author discusses teaching practices for gifted students according to their personality preferences.
The personality characteristics of highly able youth have been investigated extensively (Chiang, 1991; Cordrey, 1986; Gallagher, 1987; Geiger, 1992; Hawkins, 1997; Jackson, 1989; McCarthy, 1975; McGinn, 1976; Mills, 1984; Mills & Parker, 1998). In these studies, gifted adolescents were found to be different from the general adolescent population, as well as different among themselves in personality types as measured by the MBTI. Personality dimensions have also been shown to be associated with academic achievement and intelligence. For instance, Myers (1980) asserted that the possibility of one’s being intuitive-introverted increases as academic giftedness increases. One might anticipate, then, that a high introvert or intuitive type may be related to high intellectual capacity and high academic achievement in one or more areas.
Psychological Type Theory
In the 1920s, Jung developed the theory of psychological types to elucidate natural differences in human behaviors. He postulated that apparently random behaviors of an individual could be understood in terms of his or her use of the functions of perception and judgment. Jung’s theory differentiates between two typological categories: attitude-related types and function-related types. Jung portrayed the two attitude types in terms of directions or orientations in behaviors and interests of people toward the material world. These orientations bring about two attitude types: extraversion and introversion.
In relation to the extraversion-introversion dimension, the relationship between individual and environment is to be investigated. Extraverted types develop a strong awareness of their environment for stimulation. The typical extravert has a strong propensity to influence others, but is likely to be influenced by others as well. Extraverts usually seem confident, accessible, and expansive in the manner in which they build relationships with others. Introverts, on the contrary, are somewhat more independent and idea-oriented than extraverts, as they usually get their excitement from the inner world. They may sometimes seem lost in thought or somewhat inaccessible in the way they move around the world.
The second typological category, function-related types, refers to the specific manner or means of adaptation that produces a consciously differentiated psychological function. Jung put forward four possible functions: sensation, intuition, thinking, and feeling. Jung used “judging” to describe the polarity of thinking-feeling dimensions, which reflects an individual’s preference between two different types of judgment. Feeling types usually value harmony and human relationships in their judgments. They make decisions subjectively with a consideration of society’s values. In contrast, thinking types emphasize logic and objectivity in reasoning and tend to be more impersonal in decision making.
Jung believed that sensation and intuition constituted two perceiving types. Sensing types rely mostly on the five senses while they perceive information, which makes them factual and observant. Sensing types usually approach a problem in a carefully deliberate way; hence, they perceive apparent aspects of the issue. Intuitive types look at things holistically and critically to get a sense of the whole over the parts; hence, they are usually imaginative, speculative, and analytical, and can be more creative. They are able to see abstract, theoretical, and global relationships.
Myers extended Jung’s theory, adding a perceiving-judging polarity, which she considered to be connected with the extraversion-introversion polarity. Judging and perceiving refer to the process a person uses in dealing with the outer world. A judging type is well organized, systematic, and orderly and has a planned way of life, while a perceiving type is spontaneous, receptive, and understanding and has a flexible way of life.
Giftedness and Psychological Type
Myers and McCaulley (1985b) proposed that psychological type is related to aptitude and achievement. People who preferred introversion and intuition showed greater academic aptitude than those who preferred extraversion and sensing. Thinking types are thought to be better at tasks that require logical analysis, while feeling types are better at tasks that require understanding of human relations. Moreover, Myers and McCaulley found that judging types perform better on applications, which are thought to be related to higher grades, while perceiving types outperform judging types on aptitude measures. Therefore, it might be hypothesized that gifted adolescents should prefer introverted-intuitive thinking types, as they are precocious in intellectual development; however, their preference for judging-perceiving can show more variance.
Although gifted adolescents demonstrate all personality types as measured by the MBTI, they tend to prefer certain types more than general high school students do. For instance, researchers reported that about 50% or more of the gifted population is introverted compared to the general population, whose preference for introversion is about 25%. Some studies have varied in findings, and creativity research suggests people may display both traits. Research also reveals that most gifted adolescents are intuitive, whereas the general population often prefers sensing. Since intuitive types are better at abstraction, symbols, theory, and possibilities, they outperform sensing types on aptitude tests.
Thinking and feeling functions seem to vary in the preferences of gifted adolescents. Gender and age can explain some of this variance: many females tend to prefer feeling while many males prefer thinking. Developmental trends may shift judgments toward more logical thinking as adolescents age. Researchers have reported that gifted learners generally show a stronger preference for perceiving over judging, whereas the general population often prefers judging.
Rationale for the Research Synthesis
There have been many studies about personality characteristics of gifted adolescents. A substantial number used the MBTI to explore personality types of precocious youth. Although many findings are similar, some differ and original studies reported different data types and used different comparison groups. This caused varying results and interpretation difficulties. Another problem arises from studies not reporting sufficient data by ability level, sex, age, and grade of participants. Therefore, integration of findings is essential to understand psychological types of gifted adolescents.
METHOD
Sample: Original studies constituted the sample in this research synthesis. Fourteen studies with 19 independent samples were coded. The norm group was composed of high school students in 11th and 12th grades. Data for the norm group were adapted from the Atlas of Type Tables.
Data Collection: The literature review used ERIC and Dissertation Abstracts International. Keywords included gifted, talented, personality, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and MBTI. Four hundred and twelve studies were located; after screening, 63 were reviewed and 14 had sufficient data for inclusion. These 14 studies yielded 19 independent samples.
Coding Forms and Code Book: The author developed coding forms and a code book to extract identification, sample characteristics, and type distributions. Studies were coded for variables such as age, grade, sex, ability level, and MBTI type distributions.
Data Analysis: The MBTI reports percentile scores, self-selection index (SSI), and continuous scores. Statistical integration was done via a pooling technique: participants in each type were pooled across studies, frequencies were distributed by gender, age, and ability, and percentages calculated. Z-tests at p < .05 were used to test significance. This integration provided a gifted base population by pooling.
Instrument: The MBTI is a forced-choice, self-report inventory generating four dichotomous preferences: EI, SN, TF, and JP. Combinations yield 16 personality types. The MBTI manual reports reliability and validity metrics; various forms (G, F, AV) were used across original studies.
Results
Descriptive Data: All 19 samples provided data for eight basic types; 16 supplied data for 16 personality types. There were 5,723 participants, though some studies did not specify age or gender. Participants were within grades 6–12, mostly 8th grade and above. Pooled mean SAT scores (from 11 studies, 3,624 participants) were Verbal 501.71 and Math 544.87.
Psychological Types of Gifted Adolescents — Comparisons with general high school students: Gifted adolescents were significantly more introverted than the normative group. The analysis indicated 51.3% of gifted adolescents were extraverts and 48.7% introverts compared with 64.85% extraversion in the normative group. Gifted adolescents were significantly more intuitive (71.60% vs. normative 31.90%), somewhat higher in thinking (53.80% vs. 47.50%), and significantly higher in perceiving (60.10% vs. normative 45.40%).
Variations in gender: Gifted females were significantly higher in extraversion compared to gifted males (53.40% vs. 45.83%) and higher in feeling (59.96% vs. 30.71%). Differences in intuition and judging-perceiving were smaller or nonsignificant.
Variations in ability: High verbal groups were higher in intuition than high math groups; conversely, high math groups were higher in thinking. Some differences were statistically significant, others were not.
Sixteen personality types: The most common types among gifted adolescents were INFP, INTP, ENFP, and ENTP, which constituted nearly 50% of the gifted sample compared with 19% of the normative group.
Discussion and Conclusion
The most common preference among gifted adolescents is intuition. Gifted adolescents show high preference for intuition compared to general students; they may enjoy novelty and complex problems. Almost half show a preference for introversion, implying a need for quiet learning environments and individual work. Gifted adolescents’ preference for thinking is slightly higher than feeling, suggesting a tendency toward analysis and logical order. Most gifted adolescents prefer perceiving to judging, which may make them open to alternatives but sometimes unorganized.
Significant trends by gender and ability indicate gifted adolescents are heterogeneous in psychological types. Instruction should be flexible to address varied learning preferences. Intuitive-introverted students may benefit from self-paced and project-based learning; thinking types may prefer structured, analytical approaches; perceptive types may benefit from flexible deadlines and autonomous learning models.
Limitations include characteristics of original studies (limited SES data, broad age/ability reporting, some participants as young as 12), so findings should be interpreted with caution.
