Myers-Briggs & Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

Myers- Briggs Theory of Personality Type

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

Kohlberg's Theory

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

A Brief History of Kohlberg's Theory

Brief History of Myers-Briggs

Kohlberg's stages represent "holistic structures that develop in an invariant sequence and constitute a hierarchy" (Walker, 1988, p. 38). There are three criteria that frame Kohlberg's stage theory: structure, sequence, and hierarchy. The sequence criterion states that, at a given stage, individuals exhibit similar reasoning patterns regardless of the situation. The sequence criterion indicates that stages are in a specific order, despite setting or experience. Finally, the hierarchy criterion states that each successive stage is more highly developed than the one before. This is partly due to the fact it incorporates particular aspects of the earlier stages. Individuals will understand and use all stages of thinking below the stage through which they currently function (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, & Renn, 2010).

The MBTI test measures preferences and does not measure

trait, ability, or character. Millions of people worldwide take the MBTI test each year. Over the past forty years, hundreds of studies have proven the instrument both valid and reliable. (The Myers & Briggs Foundation, 2016).

You can take a similar version of the official Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Test for free here: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

Before we break down the different MBTI personalities, here is a great video on

Early 1900s: Swiss psychiatrist Carl G. Jung began

extensive work identifying personality types and

preferences developing the concept of introversion

and extroversion (Kennedy & Kennedy, 2004)

1921: Jung published the book "Psychologische Typen." This introduced the idea that each person has a psychological type. Essence of the theory: while behavior seems to be a random variation, it is quite orderly and consistent based on an individual's basic preferences of each of the four dichotomies: extroversion/introversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/felling, judging/perceiving (The Myers & Briggs Foundation, 2016).

Early 1940s: Two students that worked with Jung, Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother, Katherine C. Briggs, began research on how to measure personality preferences (Kennedy & Kennedy, 2004). Their goal was to make Jung's theory accessible and applicable to individuals and groups. Specifically, they wanted it to assist women entering the workforce during WWII in identifying appropriate jobs based on innate character traits (Cunningham, 2012).

Kohlberg was one of the first

to study moral development

of adolescents and college

students. He built on Piaget's

research to examine moral

reasoning of adolescent boys

and thus find that their

reasoning proceeded through

invariant and qualitatively different stages. Through this research he identified three additional advanced stages of thinking and revised the stages identified by Piaget. Kohlberg and his colleagues then facilitated a series of studies to

validate the theory (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, & Renn, 2010).

Understanding MBTI:

Approaches in Higher Education

(Moore, 2014)

Myers-Briggs Theory of Personality Type is a great tool for higher education professionals to utilize. Myers believed peopled differed based "their relative interest in the outer world of people and things (extroversion) versus the inner world of ideas and concepts (introversion)" (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, & Renn, 2010, p. 35). Student affair professionals are unique because of their involvement in the social and academic lives of their students. MBTI-based research and applications can be utilized in most areas of student affairs. "A better understanding of personality types allows student affairs professionals to capitalize on the multiple environments of the student affairs in terms of attitude and intellect, and it allows the person to reflect on how he or she processes information" (Nottingham, 1998, p. 75-76). Staff and students with similar or complimentary MBTI types may be able to relate better than those with differing MBTI types. Conversly, if MBTI types differ, higher education professionals can keep these differences in mind when interacting with students.

While Kohlberg's theory faces some criticisms, mainly due to the fact that his research did not include females, it does have it's place in higher education. During a time where students are still developing it is important to understand what may guide their moral development.

Myers-Briggs 16 Personality Types

A professional in career counseling may utilize MBTI to help students and their advisors understand the balance on workplace demands and the student's personality. If a student is type-F (feelings), they may be interested in a career in counseling or social work. However, it is important to remember other factors can contribute to a student's personality or career aptitude.

Examples:

A career services staff member with strong type T (thinking), who bases decisions on logic and objectivity, works with a student with a strong type F (feelings), who bases decisions on values and subjectivity, will likely have a difference of opinion with the student (Nottingham, 1998). As a higher education professional, it is important the career services staff member recognizes this difference to better understand and interact with the student.

A person with an MBTI type E, prefers extroversion, and an individual with MBTI type I, prefers introversion. When a type-E residential life staff member interacts with a type-I student, a lack of communication is likely (Nottingham, 1998).

Examples:

Ashley, Stina, Emily, and Catherine have been best friends since

preschool. They have done almost everything together since then. As their senior year in high school approached, they began to worry that they would soon have to separate. Fortunately, they were all accepted into the same university and able to room together in Marshall Hall-Suite 214. Their freshmen year started off great, the girls were spending a great deal a time together, and even begin to venture out and meet new people. However, once the ladies became sophomores they began to grow apart. Each girl began to meet new friends and take separate paths at the university. One day Ashley came home and asked the girls if they could help her put together $500. It turns out Ashley was failing a class and withdrew; however, due to a grant she received through financial aid she would have to repay $500 by the next semester. Ashley approached her roommates for assistance in the repayment, but they refused. They stated it was her fault she was failing and she would have to figure it out for herself. Ashley felt betrayed and knew she had to find a way to get the money without telling her parents. She chose to steal her roommates credit cards to buy items to sell; she raised the $500

she needed to repay the institution.

Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development

You are a freshman in college and have a roommate that you have known since childhood. You know that they have struggled with reading/writing and can barely read as well as your middle-school sibling. They have asked you to give them one of your high school papers. You are an honors student and the topic is exactly the same as their final paper in their English 1010 course.

Questions to reflect on:

What stage of Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development do you think Ashley is in based on her actions?

Can you spot other theories of development you can apply to better understand this student's actions?

Scenario & Research by Kohlberg

Questions to reflect on:

What are possible responses you could have to this dilemma? What stage of Kohlberg's theory would this response reflect?

Can you think of any other theories of development that you can apply to better understand this scenario?

As mentioned before, Kohlberg and his colleagues facilitated numerous studies to validate his theory and guide development of the theory's stages. One common method Kohlberg used was to pose a scenario to his adolescent group and then ask varying questions to determine their moral reasoning. He would then follow up years after to follow development of each individual. One of his most popular scenarios was the 'Heinz Dilemma':

ISTJ- decisive, dependably, systematic, and task-oriented; enjoy working within clear systems

ISFJ- loyal, patient, responsible, and traditional; enjoy serving the needs of others and providing practical help

ISTP- adaptable, analytical, practical and realistic; enjoy learning and remain calm under pressure

ISFP- cooperative, gentle, loyal and modest; enjoy providing practical help or service to others

INTJ- conceptual, innovative, independent and logical; often able to define a long-range goal and can devise innovative solutions to complex problems

INFJ – compassionate, idealistic, imaginative, and reserved; enjoy finding a shared vision for everyone, inspiring others to achieve the vision

INTP – independent, innovative, logical, skeptical; able to build conceptual models to understand complex problems and tend to adopt a detached way of analyzing the world

INFP – flexible, imaginative, reflective and spontaneous; enjoy devising creative solutions to problems and enjoy helping others with growth and inner development

ESTJ – assertive, efficient, logical and responsible; able to drive themselves and organize others to achieve their goals willing to make tough decisions when necessary

ESFJ- appreciative, organized, outgoing, and supportive; enjoy setting up effective procedures and able to understand what others need

ESTP – analytical, enthusiastic, observant, and resourceful; apply common sense and experience to solving problems, quickly analyzing what is wrong and finding solutions in a resourceful way

ESFP – enthusiastic, friendly, spontaneous and tolerant; enjoy life, working with others, and experiencing new situations

ENTJ – challenging, questioning, strategic, structured; able to see big picture and efficiently organize people and resources to accomplish goals

ENFJ – friendly, persuasive, supportive, and warm; able to get the most out of teams and make decisions that respect the values of others

ENTP – challenging, flexible, imaginative, and theoretical; able to solve problems creatively and often innovative in their way of thinking

ENFP – energetic, expressive, friendly and innovative; able to move quickly from one project to another and develop multiple solutions to a problem

(The Myers & Briggs Foundation, 2016)

(Rice, 2010)

(Parslow, 2016)

At the end of the scenario, the following questions were asked by Kohlberg:

1. Should Heinz have stolen the drug?

2. Would it change anything if Heinz did not love his wife?

3. What if the person dying was a stranger, would it make any difference?

4. Should the police arrest the chemist for murder if the woman died?

(Kohlberg, 1984)

Myers-Briggs & Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

Group 2

Emily Briggs, Mark Jimerson, Stina Schoneck, & Ashley Nelson

References