The Relationship Between Personality Types, Test Anxiety and Self-Esteem with regards to Academic Achievement

The Relationship Between Personality Types, Test Anxiety and Self-Esteem with regards to Academic Achievement Free Online Research Papers This study was performed to determine if there is a relationship between personality type, test anxiety, self-esteem and academic achievement, which was measured by the students GPA. The study was conducted at a university in Indiana using undergraduate volunteers. The study used a scale from the MBTI to help determine personality types (introvert or extrovert), also Rosenberg’s 10 item scale for self-esteem, and Spielberger’s test anxiety inventory. The hypothesis was that extraverts who have a higher self-esteem, and low test anxiety would have better success with academic achievement than those who are introverts with low self-esteem and high test anxiety. It was found in this study that there was no significant relationship between personality type, test anxiety, self-esteem and academic achievement. The Relationship Between Personality Types, Test Anxiety and Self-Esteem with Regards to GPA. Cognitive styles have been used to explain individuals’ behavior most notable using Carl Jung’s psychological types, as operationalized by Myers (1965) with the Myers – Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Using personality theory, individuals’ dispositions for certain behaviors and actions can be understood. Recent research application of the MBTI include such areas as counseling, communications, learning education, empathetic response, decision making, business investments, general theory of the MBTI, construct validity of the MBTI scales, and convergent validity of the MBTI scales with other personality constructs. Despite the MBTI’s mixed validity and weak predictive value, it has been used extensively over the past 35 years in research and training efforts worldwide (Barbuto Plummer 1998). The MBTI is used to present four scales representing four pairs of preferences: Extraversion and Introversion; Sensing and Intuition; Thinking and Felling; and Judging and Perceiving. These preferences result in 16 learning types. A type is the combination of the four preferences. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is one of the most popular instruments for assessing these preferences. This study will only be using one of the four scales. Extraversion – Introversion preference tells us how people are energized. Extraverts prefer to focus on the outer world of people and things. Extraverts find energy in things and people. They prefer interaction with others and are action oriented (Vincent Ross, 2001). Myers (1980) defined extraverts are the after thinkers; they cannot understand life until they have lived it. Their attitude is relaxed and confident. They expect the waters to prove shallow, and plunge readily into new and untried experiences. Minds outwardly directed, interest and attention following objective happenings, primarily those of the immediate environment. Their real world therefore is the outer world of people and things (Myers, 1980). Introverts focus on the inner world of ideas and impressions. Introverts find energy in the inner world of ideas, concepts, and abstractions. They can be sociable but need quiet to recharge their energies (Vincent Ross, 2001). They are the fore thinkers, and cannot live life until they understand it. Attitude reserved and questioning. They expect the waters to prove deep, and pause to take soundings in the new and untried. Minds are inwardly directed, frequently unaware of the objective environment, interest and attention being engrossed be inner events. Their real world therefore is the inner world of ideas and understanding (Myers, 1980). Extraversion and introversion have their own special dynamics and both attitudes have progressive and regressive properties (Ryckman, 1982). Speilberger (1979) states that an anxiety state may be defined in terms of the intensity of the subjective feelings of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry that are experienced by an individual at a particular moment, and by heightened activity of the automatic nervous system that accompanies these feelings. Anxiety will also vary in duration and also in intensity, and fluctuate over time as a function of the amount of stress that impinges upon an individual and that individual’s interpretation of the stressful situation as personally dangerous or threatening. Many students feel anxious or nervous when taking tests in college. Self-Esteem refers to an individual’s personal judgment of his or her own worth (Englert, Weed, Watson 2000). Before the 1980’s, most researchers typically computed correlations between children’s self-esteem and academic success. One comprehensive review of research up to them found that most studies reported positive correlations, usually form 0.20 to 0.40 on a 1.00 scale. But since correlations between IQ and academic performance range from 0.50 to 0.70, such results show, at best, a moderate relationship between self–esteem and academic performance (Moeller 1994). Although this is important, my study will use college students and not children. Asendorpf and Wilpers (1998) found that extraversion and socialablity predicted the overall interaction rate, the number of new peers, and various aspects of relationships with opposite – sex peers. Whether the students reported a partner or not and the number of quality of their non-peer relationships were not affected by their personality. The study that will be conducted here will focus on all aspects of extraverts and introverts, also their self-esteem. Individuals with achieving personality priorities had higher self–esteem than individuals with pleasing personality priorities and individual with detaching personality priorities. They also had higher social interest than individuals with outgoing personality priorities and fewer dysfunctional attitudes than those with pleasing personality priorities and those with detaching personality priorities (Alderian, Kottman, and Rice 1998). Ashby (1998) also found personality types were significantly different on self–esteem, social interest, internal locus of control, and dysfunctional attitudes. In general, these differences were consistent with the theoretical descriptions of each of the personality priorities. This study will also be focusing on achievement and self–esteem, but also that personality types indicated by the MBTI. Speilberger (1979) found that students with high-test anxiety tend to blame themselves for their poor performance, while low test-anxious students did not. He also found that high test- anxious students apparently respond to examination stress with intense emotional reactions and negative self-centered thoughts that impair the performance, while those low in test anxiety react with increased motivation and concentration. Gaudry and Speilberger (1971) found that at the college level, there is evidence that anxiety tends to be associated with lower grades and higher dropout rates. As cited in an article written by Kwan, Bond, Singelis (1997) there has been relative research in which links have been found between self-esteem and the five factors of personality. Concerning the effects of personality on self-esteem, previous work on American samples has found that self-esteem is positively correlated with Extraversion (strong), Openness to Experience (weak), and Conscientiousness (moderate) and is negatively correlated with Neuroticism (strong) (Costa, McCrae, Dye, 1991; Digman 1990; McCrae Costa, 1988). The same personality correlates with self-esteem were also found is Chinese student samples (Ho, 1994; Luk Bond, 1992). It thus seems that the relations between self-esteem and Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Conscientiousness are quite robust across cultures. Therefore they expected that the effects of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Conscientiousness on life satisfaction be meditated through self-esteem acros s the two cultures. (Kwan et al, 1997) Other relevant research has found that Individuals with achieving personality priorities had higher self-esteem that individuals with pleasing personality priorities and individuals with detaching personality priorities. Ashby et al. also had higher social interests than individuals with outgoing personality priorities and fewer dysfunctional attitudes than those with pleasing personality priorities and those with detaching personality priorities. (Ashby, Kottman, Rice, 1998) There has been much debate regarding whether personality variables exist as discrete classes or on a continuum. Much of the criticism surrounding the MBTI is its treatment of personality variables as discrete classes (Barbuto, 1997). Ross and Broh (2000) found that academic achievement boosts self–esteem and the sense of personal control, but the latter influences subsequent academic achievement. Most previous research on adolescent self–concept has included self–esteem or, less commonly, the sense of personal control but not both. Ross and Broh also stated that the sense of personal control and self–esteem are highly correlated but may have different consequences for academic achievement. My study believes that self-esteem does improve academic achievement. Battle (as cited by Ross and Broh, 2000) stated that in the self–esteem model, adolescents who feel good about themselves do better in school than do those who have low self–worth. Proponents of this model contend that self-esteem leads to academic success. Of course there have been alternative views such as the one cited by Ross and Broh. In contrast to the effectiveness theory of personal control presented her e others have argued that self-esteem does affect academic performance and that the consequences of self–esteem are real, not spurious, for a number of reasons. First according to self- consistency theory, self-esteem shapes our behavior because of the self–consistency motive (Rosenberg 1989), that is people act in a way that is consistent with their self-concept, so that adolescents with high self–esteem would act in ways that maintain their self-esteem (like getting good grades). My variables that are being examined in this study are personality type, test anxiety, self-esteem and it’s relationship to GPA. This research study is designed to find a relationship, if any, between the following variables: self-esteem and test anxiety, introvert / extrovert and test anxiety, GPA and test anxiety, self-esteem and GPA, extrovert / introvert and GPA, extrovert / introvert and self-esteem. The hypothesis was that Extraverts who have a higher self-esteem and low test anxiety would have better success with academic achievement than those who are introverts with low self-esteem and high test anxiety. Methods Participants There were 60 volunteers, 20 males and 40 females, who have participated in this study. The ages ranged from 18 – 44 with a mean age of 22. The participants were students who were enrolled in undergraduate courses at a university in Indiana. Participants who volunteered in this study signed an informed consent form. Questionnaire Rosenberg’s (1965) Self–Esteem scale is a well validated, 10-item measure of global, personal self – esteem. Its average type reliability analysis is greater than .80. Responses were made on a 4- point scale with the anchors of 1 (strongly disagree) and 4 (strongly agree). Half of the items have been formulated and scored in reverse direction to reduce the possibility of an acquiescence response set (Kwan, Bond, Singelis, 1997). The alpha measure for this scale in this research was .856. The Myers – Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI), which is composed of sixteen four letter combinations that represents characteristics about someone’s personality type (Myers 1965). These combinations include Extroverts and Introverts, intuition and Sensing, Thinking and Feeling, Perceiving and Judging. This research only focuses on the scales using Extroverts, Introverts. Gardner (as cited in Hill, 1999) found that test-rest reliability for continuous scores of the MBTI usually exceed .70 and often will surpass .80. Costa and McCrae (as cited in Hill, 1999) found that the MBTI is related to NEO-PI scale and found positive correlations for the E-I scale of .72. Speilberger (1979) Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) is a self-report inventory designed to measure test anxiety (TA) as a situation-specific personality trait. The TAI consists of 20 item or statements, and the respondents indicate on a four-point scale how often they experience the feeling described in each statement. The TAI provides a measure of total TA (TAI-T) as measures of two TA components worry (W) and emotionality (E). Sapp (1993) found that unlike traditional test anxiety measures, the TAI suggests that worry is not the most important component to interfere with test performance. It is the combination of high worry and emotionality scores that affect test performance. Speilberger (1979) found a test-rest reliability of .80 to .81 for two-week to one-month periods, and .62 after six months. Alpha coefficients ranged from .92 to 96. Validity for the TAI was established with a relationship between TAI and other anxiety measures, such as Sarason’s Test Anxiety Scale an d the Liebert and Morris’ Worry and Emotionality Questionnaire. There was also found to be a high correlation of .82 to .83, between the TAI score and the Test Anxiety Scale (Speilberger 1979). The alpha measure for this scale in this research was .94. Academic achievement will be measured on a 4.0 scale. All volunteers will be asked to write their current GPA in a provided space on the survey that will be passed out during normal class hours. The university GPA scales are 0.0 – 4.0. All participants were asked their age, gender, year in college, and department major. Participation was optional and those who wished to decline involvement in the study were given the opportunity to decline. All participants were also assured that their responses would be completely anonymous, that there are no right or wrong answers to any of the questions, and that their true responses are very important for the study. The questionnaires were passed out and respondents were given a week to fill out and turn back in. Results Bivariate correlations were computed for GPA, personality type, test anxiety, self-esteem, sex and age. There were no significant correlations found among the variables being studied. The mean for GPA’s extroverts was 3.03, SD = .47 and for an introvert it was 3.03, SD = .57. The mean for self-esteem’s extrovert was 1.62, SD = .48 and for introvert it was 1.77, SD = .46. The mean for test anxiety for extroverts were 2.06, SD = .68 and for introverts it was 1.89, SD = .62. Discussion The purpose of this study was to determine if there were any correlations between GPA, self-esteem, test anxiety and personality types. There were no correlations found between the variables listed above. In contrast to Ashby (1998) who found that personality types were significantly different in self-esteem, I found no such correlations. In summary, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a powerful tool in examining differences in personality. If there were a higher response rate in the return of the surveys, it is possible that some significance would have been found. Some other recommendations for future research would be to replicate this study with a larger sample regarding other colleges or universities, also to conduct this study comparing universities or colleges to one another. The results may have been affected by the participant’s year in school because a higher-level student may have experienced or developed techniques regarding test anxiety that a freshman may no t have yet developed. Also because this was a voluntary self-report measure, an introvert may be less willing to participate in the survey and less willing to report anxiety levels. The measure’s length may have also been a factor in the results because potential subjects may have been less willing to participate or accurately fill out the MBTI. An alternate scale of introversion / extroversion may have been more appropriate for this study and could have provided more accurate results. A future study involving the MBTI would be to measure the relationship between personality type to those students who complete college to those who withdraw from colleges or universities. References Asendorph, J., Wilpers, S. (1998). Personality effects on social relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 6, 1531-1544. Ashby, J. (1998). Adlerian personality priorities: Psychological and attitudinal differences. Journal of Counseling and Development, 76, 467-475. Barbuto, J.E., (1997). A critique of the Myers – Briggs indicator and its operationalization of Carl Jung’s psychological types. Psychological Reports, 80, 611 – 625. Barbuto, J.E., Plummer, B.A. (1998). Mental boundaries as a new dimension of personality. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 13, 421-437. Englert, D.R., Weed, N.C., Watson G.S. (2000). Convergent, discriminate, and internal properties of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (2nd ed.). Low Self-Esteem Content Scale. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 33, 42-55 Guadry, E., Spielberger, C. D., (1971). Anxiety and educational achievement. Sydney: John Wiley Sons. Hill, A. B., (1999). Personality characteristics associated with academic achivement among developmental college students. (Doctoral dissertaton, The Fielding Institute, 2000). Dissertation Abstracts International, 60, 3288 Kwan, V.S.Y., Bond, M.H., Singelis, T.M. (1997). Pancultural explanations for life satisfaction: Adding relationship harmony to self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5, 1038-1051. Moeller, T.G. (1994). What research says about self – esteem and academic performance. Education Digest, 59, 34-38. Myers, I.B. (1965). Manual: The Myers – Briggs Type Indicator. Princeton, N.J: Education Testing Service. Myers, I.B. (1980). Gifts Differing. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. Nezlek, J.B., Kowalski, R.M., Leary, M.R., Blevins, T., Holgate, S. (1997). Personality moderators of reactions to interpersonal rejection: Depression and trait self-esteem. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 1235-1244. Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Rosenberg, M., Schooler, C., Schoenbach, C., (1989). Self – esteem and adolescent problems: Modeling reciprocal effects. American Sociological Review, 54, 1004 – 1018. Ross, E.R., Broh, B.A., (2000). The roles of self-esteem and the sense of personal control in the academic achievement process, Sociology of Education. , 73, 270 –284. Ryckman R.M. (1982). Theories of personality. Belmont, CA: Brooks/ Cole. Sapp, M., (1993). Test anxiety: Applied research, assessment, and treatment interventions. Lanham: University Press of America. Spielberger, C. D., (1979). Understanding stress and anxiety. New York: Harper. Spielberger, C.D., (1980). Test Anxiety Inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychology Press. Spielberger, C. D., Diaz-Guerrero, R., (1976). Cross cultural anxiety. Washington DC: Hemisphere. Vincent, A., Ross, D. (2001). Personalized training: Determined learning styles, personality types and multiple intelligence online. The Learning Organization, 8, 36 – 43. Research Papers on The Relationship Between Personality Types, Test Anxiety and Self-Esteem with regards to Academic AchievementThree Concepts of PsychodynamicResearch Process Part OneStandardized TestingThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalComparison: Letter from Birmingham and Crito

Bering Strait - Geographic Overview

Bering Strait - Geographic Overview The Bering Land Bridge, also known as the Bering Strait, was a land bridge connecting present-day eastern Siberia and the United States state of Alaska during Earths historic ice ages. For reference, Beringia is another name used to describe the Bering Land Bridge and it was coined in the mid-20th century by Eric Hulten, a Swedish botanist, who was studying plants in Alaska and northeastern Siberia. At the time of his study, he began using the word Beringia as a geographic description of the area. Beringia was about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) north to south at its widest point and was present at different times during the Pleistocene Epochs ice ages from 2.5 million to 12,000 years before the present (BP). It is significant to the study of geography because it is believed that humans migrated from the Asian continent to North America via the Bering Land Bridge during the last glaciation about 13,000-10,000 years BP. Much of what we know about the Bering Land Bridge today aside from its physical presence comes from biogeographical data showing connections between species on the Asian and North American continents. For example, there is evidence that saber tooth cats, woolly mammoths, various ungulates, and plants were on both continents around the last ice age and there would have been little way for them to appear on both without the presence of a land bridge. In addition, modern technology has been able to use this biogeographical evidence, as well as modeling of climate, sea levels, and mapping of the sea floor between present-day Siberia and Alaska to visually depict the Bering Land Bridge. Formation and Climate During the ice ages of the Pleistocene Epoch, global sea levels fell significantly in many areas around the world as the Earths water and precipitation became frozen in large continental ice sheets and glaciers. As these ice sheets and glaciers grew, global sea levels fell and in several places across the planet different land bridges became exposed. The Bering Land Bridge between eastern Siberia and Alaska was one of these. The Bering Land Bridge is believed to have existed through numerous ice ages from earlier ones around 35,000 years ago to more recent ice ages around 22,000-7,000 years ago. Most recently, it is believed that the strait between Siberia and Alaska became dry land about 15,500 years before the present, but by 6,000 years before the present, the strait was again closed due to a warming climate and rising sea levels. During the latter period, the coastlines of eastern Siberia and Alaska developed roughly the same shapes they have today. During the time of the Bering Land Bridge, it should be noted that the area between Siberia and Alaska was not glaciated like the surrounding continents because snowfall was very light in the region. This is because the wind blowing into the area from the Pacific Ocean lost its moisture before reaching Beringia when it was forced to rise over the Alaska Range in central Alaska. However, because of its very high latitude, the region would have had a similar cold and harsh climate as is in northwestern Alaska and eastern Siberia today. Flora and Fauna Because the Bering Land Bridge was not glaciated and precipitation was light, grasslands were most common on the Bering Land Bridge itself and for hundreds of miles into the Asian and North American continents. It is believed that there were very few trees and all vegetation consisted of grasses and low-lying plants and shrubs. Today, the region surrounding what remains of Beringia in northwestern Alaska and eastern Siberia still features grasslands with very few trees. The fauna of the Bering Land Bridge consisted mainly of large and small ungulates adapted to grassland environments. In addition, fossils indicate that species such as saber-toothed cats, woolly mammoths, and other large and small mammals were present on the Bering Land Bridge as well. It is also believed that when the Bering Land Bridge began to flood with rising sea levels during the end of the last ice age, these animals moved south into what is today the main North American continent. Human Evolution One of the most important things about the Bering Land Bridge is that it enabled humans to cross the Bering Sea and enter North America during the last ice age about 12,000 years ago. It is believed that these early settlers were following migrating mammals across the Bering Land Bridge and for a time may have settled on the bridge itself. As the Bering Land Bridge began to flood once again with the end of the ice age, however, humans and the animals they were following moved south along coastal North America. To learn more about the Bering Land Bridge and its status as a national preserve park today, visit the National Park Services website. References National Park Service. (2010, February 1). Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved from: https://www.nps.gov/bela/index.htm Wikipedia. (2010, March 24). Beringia - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beringia