CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE
PSYCHOLOGICAL TYPE, AS MEASURED BY THE MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE
INDICATOR, WITHIN HOSPITAL REGISTERED NURSING
SPECIALIZATIONS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
A Thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the
requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in
Education, Educational Psychology, Counseling and Guidance
by
Mary Catherine Reitz Martin
January, 1987
The Thesis of Mary Catherine Reitz Martin is approved:
Auer, PhD.
Shelia C. Harbet, H. S. D.
Judith A. Gr
A. , Chair
California State University, Northridge
ii
For just as we have many members in one body,
and all the members do not have the same
function:
So we, who are many, are one body in Christ,
and individually members one of another.
And since we have gifts that differ according to
the grace given to us, let each exercise them
accordingly:
If prophecy, according to the proportion of his
faith;
If service, in his serving;
0 r he who t e a c h e s , i n h i s t e a c h i n g ;
0 r he who ex h o r t s , i n h i s ex h o r t at i on ;
He who gives, with liberality;
He who leads, with diligence;
He who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Romans 12: 4-8
iii
DEDICATION
To John, Tracy, and Jonathan
iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My appreciation and gratefulness extends to you:
My thesis committee:
Judi Grutter.
Mike Auer, Sheila Harbet, and
Your suggestions and willingness to assist
me enabled me to greatly improve the quality of this
study.
I am truly fortunate to have such dedicated
teachers.
The many hours each of you gave to this study
are appreciated.
To
Mike Auer, who trained me to conduct research.
Your ideas, your enthusiasm, and your willingness to
listen offered me more than I can express.
Most of all,
your kindness and your support, not only of this study,
but of me, gave me strength and contributed significantly
to increasing my self efficacy.
To Sheila Harbet, who carefully and meticulously
reviewed this thesis.
Your many comments and suggestions
enabled me to present this study in a professional form.
I truly appreciate your conscientious review of this
study, and your high standards for quality work.
Judi Grutter, who introduced me to the Myers-Briggs
Type Indicator.
Thank you for being my mentor, and for
training me so that I could pursue this study.
Your
instruction has opened a door where I can utilize my
preferences in my work as a career counselor.
Thank you
for the time and devotion you've given to me and all of my
work.
v
Dr. Jim Fleming, who's expertise in conducting
research enabled me to design and conduct the statistical
analysis of this study.
Your time, interest, and your
patience with me contributed to increasing the quality of
this study.
Drs. Barbara and Jack Keogh, for your financial award
in loving memory of your son, Kelly.
Your gift enabled me
to pursue this thesis in a time of financial need.
Sue Aiken, Ellen Meier, and Carol Stern from Kaiser
Foundation Hospital; Edna Bofman, Marilyn Raskowitz, and
Jodi Parker-Meleo from Humana West Hills Hospital; Linda
Zalesky from Nu-Med West Park Hospital; Stephen Perlman
from Burbank Community Hospital; Janet Brady, now retired,
from Northridge Hospital; for your receptiveness to me,
and your interest in my study; for all your time and
effort that enabled me to collect data for this study.
To
you and all the nurses who painted for me the reality of
the role of the hospital registered nurse.
Without all of
you, I could not have produced this thesis.
Each of my friends who has listened to me talk about
this study for the past two years.
For the patience and
understanding you have given me when I was in such a
myopic state, not being the kind of friend to you that
you've been to me.
Jodi, my dear friend.
You were there when I needed
you with your love and wisdom.
This is an experience
we'll remember together when we're old and grey.
vi
My husband, John.
To you, most of all, my love.
You've sacrificed so much for my growth; all the together
time we've not been able to have, the many times you've
cared for our children so I could ''work on my thesis."
When I was empty, without energy or patience to give,
you've not only endured me, but tried to understand and
truly support me.
Without you, your devotion, and your
love, this thesis would not be, and I would not be who I
am.
To my Lord, who has given me the curiosity,
continuing interest, and strength to keep going and
growing.
Thank you for giving me these people, and so
many more, that have encouraged me, nurtured me, and loved
me; for the opportunity to use my gifts to help others
understand themselves and appreciate their unique gifts.
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION ..••••
. . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . .
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.
iv
v
.....................................
ABSTRACT • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .
LIST OF TABLES.
X
xi
CHAPTER
I
INTRODUCTION.
1
Objective of the Study .•
Importance of the Study .••
4
Summary • . . . . . . . . . . . .
Definition of Terms ••
I I
. .............. .
........ .
LITERATURE REVIEW.
15
Introduction ••••..••..•••
Nursing Career Choice •.•
Career Choice Theory.
Determinants of Choice of Career in
15
16
16
19
Nursing .•........•..•.••.•.•.•.•
Determinants of Choice of Nursing
Specialty .•...•••••..
Characteristics of Nurses ••..•.•.••.
Profiling of Nurses ••.•..••.•....•
Profiling of Nursing Specialties ..
Profiling Using Type Theory ••••••.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and
...
...
Nursing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . • . . . . •
Justification for Using the MBTI •.
MBTI Profiles of Careers...
. ••..
MBTI Profiles of Nurses.
• •••••••
Summary •••••
I II
6
11
12
METHODOLOGY.
. . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . ................
Research Approach and Method.
Site and Sample.
Data Collection ...•.•.•
I n s t r urn e n t a t i o n . • . • . . • . • • .
••
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
Demographics Questionnaire •.
Statistical Analysis .•.•.•.•••.•
Methodological Assumptions and
Limitations.
• •..••••••.•••
Summary .••.••.
29
30
30
31
35
36
37
37
37
...
.....
...
viii
22
24
24
27
.... ..
41
44
44
54
55
58
59
IV
ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION •..•.•••..••.•....•••
60
Findings....................................
60
Discussion..................................
72
Sum1nary • • • . • . • • • . . • • • • . • • • • . . • • • . • • • • • . • . • . •
79
CONCLUSIONS AND RECaVJMENDATIONS •......•.••••
81
Con c 1 us i on s • . • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Recornmenda t ions. • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
81
82
REFERENCES. • . • . • • • • • • • • • • . . • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • . . . . . . • . • .
86
V
APPENDICES
A
Proposal to Hospital Sites •••..•••.••.•..•..
95
B
A Comparison of Internal Consistency of
MBTI Scales Using Estimates From Phi
Coefficients and Tetrachoric Correlations,
All Corrected Using the Spearman-Brown
Prophecy Formula .•.......•.••....•.•••..•.•. 104
C
Seven Week Test-Retest Reliability
Coefficients, Form G •..•.••.•...••.....•..•• 105
D
Four Year Test-Retest Reliability
Coefficients, Form F ........................ 106
E
Ranges of Significant Correlations
Between the MBTI and Thirty Personality
I n s t r urn e n t s • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • 1 0 7
F
Significant Correlations Between the
MBTI and the Jungian Type Survey ••.••..•.•.• 108
G
Demographics Questionnaire •.••••.•.••..•.••• 109
H
Pre-Test Letter, Pilot Study .•.•.•.•.•••..•. 112
COPYRIGHT NOTICE . . . . . . • . • • • . • . . • • . . . • . • • . • • . . • . • . • • • 113
ix
LIST OF TABLES
Table
1
Title
Size of Hospital Sites and Frequency of
Nurses
. • • • • • • • . . . • • . . • • • • . • . • . • • . • • • • . . • • • . 38
2
Length of Service in Nursing Specialty
and Frequency of Nurses .••..•.•............ 39
3
Mean Age and Frequency of Nurses By
Specialty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
4
Comparison of Study and National Samples
By Highest Education ••.••••••.••.•..••.•... 41
5
Type Table:
6
One~Way
Experienced Registered Nurses •... 62
Analysis of Variance of the J/P
Scale Between Floor Nurses and Critical
Ca r e N u r s e s • • . • . • • . • • . • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • . • • • • . 6 3
7
Type Table:
Experienced Floor Nurses ••..•••.. 65
8
Type Table:
Experienced Critical Care
Nurses •••.•.•••••.•.••.••••••••••.••.•••.•. 67
9
Type Table:
Experienced Operating Room
Nurses ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 69
10
Type Table:
Experienced Non-Floor Nurses .•••• 71
11
Type Table: General Population, High
School Grads/Female •..••••••.•••••••••••.•• 75
X
ABSTRACT
PSYCHOLOGICAL TYPE, AS MEASURED BY THE MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE
INDICATOR, WITHIN HOSPITAL REGISTERED NURSING
SPECIALIZATIONS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
by
Mary Catherine Reitz Martin
Master of Arts in Education, Educational Psychology,
Counseling and Guidance
The purpose of this thesis is to survey hospital
registered nurses in different specialties to determine
whether there are predominant personality preferences in
hospital registered nurses, within various nursing
specialties, and,
if so, whether these personality
preferences differ between specialties.
Ninety-two female registered nurses with a minimum of
three years experience in their specialty, from five
hospitals in Southern California, volunteered to be
surveyed using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI),
form G, and a demographics questionnaire, designed for
this study.
Respondents were eligible to participate in a
xi
lottery and in an MBTI interpretive seminar conducted by
the researcher.
Fourteen hospital nursing specialties
were collapsed into four nursing groups:
critical care
nursing, operating room nursing, floor nursing, and non·floor nursing.
Quantitative differences in strength of MBTI scores
were analyzed by performing a one-way analysis of variance
on continuous I/E, S/N, T/F, and J/P scales between
nursing groups.
The J/P scale was significant (p <.05).
Within the J/P scale, the critical care nursing group and
the floor nursing group were found to differ significantly
(p <.05).
Frequency type tables for the nursing sample and the
four nursing groups were apparently non-random.
There is
a predominance of ISJ personality types in all nursing
groups with quantitative differences in strength of
preferences between nursing groups.
These differences in
personality parallel the differences in job descriptions
of the nursing groups.
This study offers empirical evidence that there are
predominant MBTI personality preferences among hospital
registered nursing specialties and that predominant
personality preferences differ.
This research can be used
by career counselors to facilitate career decision making
and in selecting a nursing specialty.
xii
In hospitals, this
research can be used in job placement and in training and
development of registered nurses.
As our society becomes more sophisticated, careers
are becoming increasingly specialized (Moses and Roth,
1979; Aiken, 1983; Aiken, 1981; Aiken, Blendon, and
Rogers, 1981).
The results of this study suggest that
specializations within careers may utilize and attract
people with different personality preferences.
The
implication of specialization for future career profiling
research is a need to view careers not as homogeneous
entities alone, but to consider specializations within
them.
xiii
CHAPTER I
Introduction
Nurses play an essential role in health care today.
They are central to patient care and hospital management.
Nurses have also been identified as the major variable in
patient outcomes.
More than any other health resource,
raising the registered nurse [RN]-patient ratio is
associated with lower mortality rates (Aiken, 1981; Moses
and Mosteller, 1968; Scott, Forrest, and Brown, 1976;
Miller and Stokes, 1978).
In response to this finding, hospital care is
becoming more nurse intensive (Yett, 1975).
Nurses
represent the greatest portion of a hospital's labor
force.
In 1979, they numbered about 1.7 million, three
times the number of physicians (Moses and Roth, 1979;
Aiken, 1983).
Hospitals employ about 65 percent of all
registered nurses, comprising about 20 percent of all
hospital employees (Aiken, 1983).
Clearly, nurses are not
only the most numerous of health care professionals, but
they hold a vital role in, and are critical to, health
care of modern society.
It is this population, hospital
registered nurses, that this study addresses.
The study treats hospital registered nurses not as a
homogeneous occupation, as it is generally perceived, but
as an occupation composed of different specialties.
Although the role of the hospital registered nurse has
2
changed dramatically from its inception, the public
perception of this occupation has not evolved along with
the changes in functional roles (Aiken, 1983).
Nurses are
still seen as a homogeneous group of health care providers
(Aiken, 1983; Myers, 1967).
This discrepancy between the
I
actual role and public perception of the role of the
hospital nurse affects career choice in an adverse way
(Mayo, 1949; Haas, Taves, and Shaw, 1961; Bandura, 1977).
To understand this dilemma, it is necessary to recount the
antecedents of nursing.
The birth of nursing as a profession occurred in
England during the mid-nineteenth-century when Florence
Nightingale responded to the need of English voluntary
hospitals for trained nurses (Aiken, 1983).
Nightingale
reformed the hospitals of her day by introducing important
changes to nursing.
She instituted a training requirement
which upgraded the skills of nurses and taught nurse
obedience to the physician (Dock, 1966).
In addition to upgrading and formalizing nursing
training, Nightingale also established a hierarchy of
nurses to efficiently manage the hospital and to provide
patient care (Glaser, 1966).
An important outcome was a
trend toward more definitive job duties.
only physicians took temperatures.
At that time
Nurses kept the
hospital clean, prepared and served meals, and performed
miscellaneous duties supporting the patient and physician,
With the progressive technology of today, nurses are
3
assuming more routine diagnostic duties as well as
administration and housekeeping.
The content of nursing
duties may vary from region to region and from one
h o s p i t a 1 t o an o t he r (Ma u k s c h , 1 9 7 2 ) .
0 f co u r s e , h o s p i t a l
size dictates how specialized or generalized a nurse's job
rna y be (A i ken , 1 9 8 3 ) •
In 1873, formal nursing training began in this
country.
Before that time, nurses were trained in
apprenticeships in religious orders and later in hospitals
(Reeder and Mauksch, 1979).
Currently, there are three
educational options for registered nurses:
(1) a hospital
diploma program, (2) a community college Associate in
Science degree in nursing [AS], and (3) a Bachelor of
Science degree in nursing [BSN].
All three options
prepare students for licensing as a registered nurse,
although the current trend is toward higher education
(Corwin and Taves, 1963; Aiken, 1983).
Nursing is commonly perceived as a homogeneous career
(A i ken , 1 9 8 3 ) , r a the r than one w i t h rna ny spec i a 1 i z a t i on s .
The researcher of this study is in agreement with the
assumption that many professions in today's society are
becoming increasingly specialized (Tonges and Jones, 1985;
DeLara and Moses, 1969; Martin and Simpson, 1956).
The
health care industry has been affected by changing disease
patterns as a result of technological advancement.
There
are fewer hospitalized patients for treatment of
infectious diseases because people tend to be immunized or
@
'
4
treated on an outpatient basis.
With improved health
care, people are living longer and are more acutely ill
with chronic diseases.
Treatment has become more
specialized, requiring the use of complex equipment and
health care procedures (Moses and Roth, 1979; Aiken, 1983;
Aiken, 1981; Aiken, Blendon, and Rogers, 1981).
If specialization in health care does indeed
emphasize the differences between nursing specialties, the
problem of career decision making extends beyond the
choice of career and into the choice of specialty.
Selecting a nurse for an open position without
consideration for suitable match between job description
and personality preferences of the nurse can adversely
affect nurse job satisfaction.
The problem that naturally
arises is what criteria to use to match the nurse to the
specialization most conducive to the nurse's personality
preferences.
In what area of the hospital would a nurse
make the greatest contribution and be most satisfied?
Although little research has been done in this area, Crout
and Crout (1984) suggest this match be made after
intrinsic needs have been identified through interviews,
informal discussions, and psychometric testing.
Objective of the Study
Career research has identified commonalities, as well
as differences, between people working in different
occupations (Healy, 1982; Holland, 1973, 1985; Cotler,
5
1985; Myers and Myers, 1984; Burton and Burton, 1982;
Mauksch, 1972; Roe, 1956).
The stereotypes so easily
attributed to people and their careers offer face validity
for these findings.
The image of a nurse, for
differs from the image of a physician,
instance,
Controlling for
experience and job satisfaction, researchers have
concluded that people of like types tend to gravitate
toward careers appreciating and utilizing their special
patterns of needs and behaviors (Holland, 1973, 1985;
Healy, 1982; Myers and Myers, 1984; Roe, 1956).
It is
this theory on which this study is based.
The theory that like personality types gravitate
toward like careers can be extended to career
specializations within nursing.
Implicit in matching
personality type to nursing specialty is the need for job
analyses and the identification of personality patterns,
which indicate how nurses make career decisions and the
unique personality characteristics of nurses in different
specialties.
Studies gathering this information would
yield a profile useful
in the career counseling of
students attempting to find the right match of nursing
specialization to personality type.
There has been a fair amount of research that
provides us with the personality characteristics,
temperament, interests, and values of registered nurses
(Myers, 1976; Gottfredson, Holland, and Ogawa, 1982;
Campbell and Hansen, 1981; Johansson, 1982; Cotler, 1985;
6
Reeder and Mauksch, 1979; Mauksch, 1972; Corwin and Taves,
1963; Cleveland, 1961; Ravitz, 1957; Beaver, 1953; Healy
and Borg, 1951; Mayo, 1949).
There is a
lesser amount of
research profiling nurses in various specializations
( Co t l e r , 1 9 8 5 ; Na v r an and S t au f fa c h e r , 1 9 5 8 ; Ro e , 1 9 5 6 ) •
This study utilizes the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator [MBTI]
to identify and measure the temperament of hospital
registered nurses in various specializations.
The objectives of this study are:
(1) to determine whether there are predominant
personality preferences in hospital registered
nurses:
(2) to determine whether there are predominant
personality preferences within different
specializations of hospital registered nurses:
and
(3) if predominant personality preferences are
identified within nursing specialties, to
determine whether these preferences differ
between specializations of hospital registered
nurses.
Importance of the Study
For ten years, the number of new nursing graduates
and inactive nurses re-entering the profession has been
increasing (Munro, 1983; Yett, 1975).
Although the supply
7
of registered nurses is increasing, approximately 100,000
vacancies in acute care hospitals remained open in the
United States in 1980 (Light, 1983).
The nursing
literature supports a general consensus that there has
been a shortage of acute care hospital nurses since World
War II (Yett, 1975; Reeder and Mauksch, 1979; Aiken, 1983;
Munro, 1983).
Because nurses are the most substantial in number of
all health care workers, nurse turnover has an impact on
health care cost.
Turnover of hospital registered nurses
is the source of one of the greatest costs in hospital
personnel management (Munro, 1983; Reres, 1976).
In 1978,
the cost for replacing a registered nurse was estimated to
be about $2,000 (Seybolt, Pavett, and Walker, 1978; Munro,
1983).
It is estimated that in a hospital with 500 beds,
the average annual cost of training and orienting new
nurses is about $131,000 (Guthrie, Mauer, Zawacki, and
Couger, 1985).
Corwin and Taves (1963) estimate the
annual cost of turnover to hospitals to be approximately
$100 million.
As nurses are a vital and integral part of
health care, and hospitals are confronted with the enigma
of producing quality care at low cost, nurse turnover has
become a popular topic for research.
Researchers have found there to be a relationship
between satisfaction of intrinsic needs on the job and
overall job satisfaction, leading to lower rates of
turnover.
Price and Mueller (1981),
in a study of 1,000
8
nurses, state, "Job satisfaction is the most important
determinant of intent to stay."
And,
intent to stay is
the best predictor of turnover (Seybolt, Pavett, and
Walker, 1978; Munro, 1983).
Absenteeism and turnover have been found to be
negatively related to job satisfaction (Seybolt, Pavett,
and Walker, 1978; Donovan, 1980; Weisman, Alexander, and
Chase, 1981; Weisman, Dear, Alexander, and Chase, 1981;
Burton and Burton, 1982; Munro, 1983; Cotler, 1985).
Herzberg (1968) postulates there to be a relationship
between (1) motivation and job satisfaction and (2)
satisfaction of intrinsic variables in a job.
The
researcher of the study is in agreement with this theory.
In the 1950's, Herzberg (1968) distinguished between
job satisfaction and dissatisfaction and found that the
fulfillment of different factors affected one or the
other.
The findings of his studies and validating studies
by other researchers (Guthrie, Mauer, Zawacki, and Couger,
1985; Munro, 1983) support the theory that extrinsic
factors affect job dissatisfaction while intrinsic factors
affect job satisfaction.
Herzberg (1968) made it clear
that the two are not opposites, but are on their own
individual continua:
(1) dissatisfaction ranging to no
dissatisfaction and (2) job satisfaction ranging to no job
satisfaction.
Together, twelve investigations indicated
that 69 percent of the contribution to job dissatisfaction
was due to extrinsic factors while only 31 percent was due
9
to intrinsic factors;
intrinsic factors contributed to job
satisfaction by 81 percent, while extrinsic factors
contributed only 19 percent (Herzberg, 1968).
The nursing literature revolves around extrinsic
variables related to job dissatisfaction:
wages (Burton
and Burton, 1982; Corwin and Taves, 1963; Crout and Crout,
1984; Donovan, 1980; Knopf, 1975; Munro, 1983; Seybolt,
Pavett, and Walker, 1978), supervision and administrative
support (Burton and Burton, 1982; Corwin and Taves, 1963;
Don ova n , 1 9 8 0 ; Ma r t i n and S imp s on , 1 9 5 6 ; Mu n r o , 1 9 8 3 ;
Seybolt, Pavett, and Walker, 1978), autonomy (Burton and
Burton, 1982; Donovan, 1980; Seybolt, Pavett, and Walker,
1978; Weisman, Dear, Alexander, and Chase, 1981),
recognition and encouragement (Burton and Burton, 1982;
Donovan, 1980; Munro, 1983; Seybolt, Pavett, and Walker,
1978), working conditions (Corwin and Taves, 1963; Crout
and Crout, 1963; Donovan, 1980; Knopf, 1975; Martin and
Simpson, 1956; Munro, 1983), and the work itself (Corwin
and Taves, 1963; Donovan, 1980; Martin and Simpson, 1956;
Munro, 1983; Seybolt, Pavett, and Walker, 1978).
It is
curious that so many who are concerned with the cost of
nurse turnover focus on extrinsic factors.
The attention
to the intrinsic needs of the work itself tends to receive
less attention, leading this researcher to believe the
focus of the literature concentrates on nurses' gripes or
dissatisfactions, rather than what factors are influential
in bringing about job satisfaction.
According to
10
Herzberg's theory,
dissatisfaction,
job satisfaction, rather than
is what greatly influences motivation,
job performance, and job retention (Slocum, Susman, and
Sheridan, 1972).
There are a few studies that support the relationship
between fulfillment of intrinsic variables and job
satisfaction.
Nurses place the need for fulfillment from
"the work itself" and from "working in a chosen area of
nursing" as very important factors in job satisfaction
(Seybolt, Pavett, and Walker, 1978; Munro, 1983; Crout and
C-rout, 1984).
These factors have been identified as the
most influential in choosing a job as well (Burton and
Burton, 1982; Donovan, 1980).
As profiling of nurses becomes more extensive,
h o s p i t a l s , t h e 1 a r g e s t em p l o y e r o f n u r s e s , and e d u c a t i on a l
institutions, that train registered nurses, will be better
prepared to attract, train, retain, and place nurses in
nursing specialties conducive to the nurses' needs.
This
will hopefully enhance various functions in both settings,
and assist them in the job of matching student to
specialization within nursing.
Should this study render predominant profiles of
nurses within specializations of hospital nursing, this
research could be utilized by career counselors to
facilitate career decision making.
In
education~!
institutions, profiling of hospital registered nurses
could be used specifically to:
p •
11
counsel student nurses in selecting a nursing specialty,
assist in counseling undecided students in career decision
making, and help students with personality types not of
the predominant type to understand their unique
contribution in the workplace.
In hospitals, this research could be used in job
placement as well as in the training and development of
registered nurses.
Hospital administration could use this
research specifically to:
emphasize the attributes of a
nursing position that are compatible with the values and
interests of the predominant personality type of that
position when recruiting nurses, and teach communication
and conflict resolution with fellow nurses, doctors, and
administrators.
With the understanding
of the positive
attributes and needs of each type, a more empathetic
interaction is more probable.
This research could be used
to explore a transfer for nurses expressing
dissatisfaction for the work itself to a specialization
more conducive to the needs and attributes of that type of
nurse.
Summary
Nursing has evolved from a volunteer workforce
considered to be "uneducated, untrained, and slovenly"
(Dock and Stewart, 1938) to a respected and attractive
profession.
Today's hospital nurse is a bureaucratic
administrator, caregiver to the sick, and extended hand of
the physician.
Registered nursing is not the homogeneous
occupation of long ago.
Changing disease patterns demand
more specialized care techniques.
In the last hundred
years, the role of the hospital nurse has become more
professional in terms of increased educational training
(Aiken, 1983; Reeder and Mauksch, 1979; Corwin and Taves,
1963), and more definitive and specialized job
descriptions (Aiken, 1983; Mauksch, 1972; Glaser, 1966).
This change in the nursing profession, from a homogeneous
career to one that is becoming increasingly specialized,
will be explored in this study.
Definition of Terms
The following items are defined as they are used
within the study.
Career: "The sequence of major positions occupied by
a person throughout his or her pre-occupational,
occupational, and post-occupational life.
It includes all
work-related positions such as those of student, employee,
and pensioner" (Super, 1976; Healy, 1982, p. 8).
Extrinsic Rewards:
Extrinsic rewards are derived
from the environment, not from within.
Function: The four basic mental functions or
processes measured by the MBTI, sensing (S), intuition
(N), thinking (T), and feeling (F).
Intrinsic Rewards:
Satisfactions derived from the
performance of the work itself.
13
Inventory: "A set of preferences which the subject
identifies as characteristic of self.
The subject's
responses to a set of items are aggregated by theoretical
and empirically determined weighting into a score for the
quality represented by the scale" (Healy, 1982, p. 90).
Job:
"A group of similar, paid, positions requiring
some similar attributes in a single organization.
Jobs
are task, outcome, and organization-centered" (Super,
1976; Healy, 1982, p. 8).
Job Satisfaction: "Subject's affective reaction to
the job as a whole" (Weisman, Dear, Alexander, and Chase,
1981, p. 189).
Nurse:
In this study, nurse is assumed to imply
registered nurse.
Occupation:
"A group of similar jobs found in
various organizations" (Super, 1976; Healy, 1982, p. 8).
Personality:
"The hypothetical construct referring
to the aggregation and integration of all the person's
qualities.
Unfolding nature, the immediate environment,
experienced pasts, and anticipated futures render every
p e r s on a 1 i t y a d y n am i c , com p 1 ex , u n i que en t i t y 11
1982, p. 89).
(
He a 1 y ,
In this study, personality is used
interchangeably with temperament.
Position:
person for pay.
"A group of tasks to be performed by one
Positions exist whether vacant or
o c cup i e d ; they a r e task and o u t come de f i ned" ( Sup e r , 1 9 7 6 ;
Healy, 1982, p. 8).
14
Specialty:
This refers to the fifteen areas of work
in questions nine, ten, and eleven on the demographics
questionnaire (Appendix B) in which a nurse can work and
specialize.
A nurse working in a specific hospital
specialty usually identifies self with this specialty when
describing work.
Temperament:
In this study, temperament and
personality are used interchangeably.
Work:
"The systematic pursuit of an objective
valued by oneself (even if only for survival) and desired
by others; directed and consecutive,
expenditure of effort.
it requires the
It is compensated." (Super, 1976;
Healy, 1982, p. 8)
The next chapter will review literature about career
choice theory, how nurses make their career selection, and
profiles of nurses.
The research method, description of
instruments used, and the statistical analysis for this
study will be addressed in chapter three.
Chapter four
will report the factual findings of this study and the
researcher's interpretation and evaluation.
The last
chapter will summarize and conclude the study, offering
recommendations for the practical use of findings.
CHAPTER II
Literature Review
Introduction
In the area of career development, research
addressing the question of how students make successful
career decisions has been mounting.
attempted to determine:
Researchers have
when career decisions are made
(Corwin and Taves, 1963; Williams and Goldsen, 1960; Fox,
Diamond, and Jacobowsky, 1961; Haas, Taves, and Shaw,
1961), how they are made (Williams and Goldsen, 1960;
Corwin and Taves, 1963), what variables are influential in
the making of career decisions (Bandura, 1977; Mayo, 1949;
Haas, Taves, and Shaw, 1961; Martin and Simpson, 1956;
Roe, 1956), and what are the common characteristics of
students choosing various careers (Crout and Crout, 1984;
Knopf, 1975; DeLora and Moses, 1969; Corwin and Taves,
1963; Williams and Goldsen, 1960).
The gathering of
information on incumbents of selected careers is an
exploration process taken on in an effort to establish a
significant norm for people choosing careers.
The
characteristics of an undecided student can be compared
with the norms in order to focus career decision making.
Personality research and career counseling
practitioners aim to select career roles that match a
particular personality, rather than choose a career to
mold personality compatibility to the job.
Research
devoted to profiling nurses includes studies of
15
16
personality, role images, social background, values,
interests, and aptitude (Mauksch, 1972).
In that nurses
are primarily employed in one setting, the hospital, much
of the literature treats registered nurses as a
homogeneous group.
Little attention has been given to
nursing specialties within the profession or to the
various contributions of different types of people within
hospital nursing.
This chapter will review the literature addressing
nursing career choice theory, choice of nursing as a
career, and choice of specialty within nursing.
A review
of the literature that profiles nurses and nursing
specialties will follow, concluding with a review of
research utilizing the MBTI in the profiling of careers
and nursing.
Nursing Career Choice
Career Choice Theory
In 1966, John Holland published The
Psychology~
Vocational Choice, a landmark in personality typology, in
which he characterized people according to six personality
types:
Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social,
Enterprising, and Conventional.
Rather than identifying
isolated personality characteristics with a profession,
the Holland types enable the pairing of people to
environments leading to predictions of vocational choice,
job satisfaction, vocational stability, performance and
17
achievement, educational choice and achievement,
per~onal
competence, and social behavior (Holland, 1985;
Gottfredson, Holland, and Ogawa, 1982).
Type theory,
seemingly simplistic, is actually quite complex.
People
within professions are compared for similarity as well as
dissimilarity to each type, revealing occupational
personality patterns.
A major principle of Holland's (1985) type theory is
that "behavior is determined by an interaction between
p e r son a l i t y and en v i r o nm en t " ( p • 4 ) •
L i k e type s seek o u t
like environments through friendships and career choice.
"Vocational satisfaction, stability, and achievement
depend on the congruence between one's personality and the
environment in which one works" (Holland, 1985, p. 10).
Employing a nurse with a personality type consistent with
the needs of the environment may amplify job satisfaction.
However, a nurse with a personality type in discord with
the environment may experience a lack of job satisfaction.
Such satisfaction of intrinsic needs or the conducive
matching of work environment to personality has been
successfully associated with job satisfaction or lack of
job satisfaction (Herzberg, 1968; Guthrie, Mauer, Zawacki,
and Cougar, 1985; Munro, 1983).
Type theory assumes that "the members of a vocation
have similar personalities and similar histories of
personal development" (Holland, 1985, p. 10).
Research
yielding differences between people in different careers,
18
as well as similarities between people in like careers,
validates this assumption (Laurent, 1951; Roe, 1956;
Kulberg and Owens, 1960; Chaney and Owens, 1964; Nackmann,
19 6 0 ).
Stereotypes offer face validity for this concept.
The image of an actor/actress is not the same as a nurse,
and the people who pursue each career are commonly
perceived to differ in personality.
People with like
attitudes, values, skills, and abilities will search for
environments that will enable them to express their unique
personality and satisfy their needs.
As like
personalities congregate, they will respond to many
situations and problems in similar ways, creating a
characteristic interpersonal environment (Holland, 1985).
This interaction between environment and personality is
mutually satisfying.
"The choice of a vocation is an expression of
personality" (Holland, 1985, p. 7).
No longer is career
choice thought to be isolated from personality as a
separate entity.
other.
It is assumed that one influences the
"Just as we have developed theories of personality
from our knowledge of sex and parental relationships, so
we can construct theories of personality from our
knowledge of vocational life" (Holland, 1985, p. 8).
These background principles of Holland personality
typology are assumed also for Jungian typology, the
foundation for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
19
Holland (1985) stated his six types to be analogous in
some ways to types proposed by Jung in 1933 as well as
several other theorists.
Determinants of Choice of Career in Nursing
Following World War II, there was a shortage of
nurses and teachers.
In response to this problem,
researchers began trying to answer questions about the
images held about these occupations and why people planned
or didn't plan to enter them (Ravitz, 1957).
Studies
concerning when career decisions were made (Corwin and
Taves, 1963; Williams and Goldsen, 1960; Fox, Diamond, and
Jacobowsky, 1961; Haas, Taves, and Shaw, 1961) found that
individuals'
intentions to become nurses were made earlier
in life than intentions made by other professionals.
Most
nurses (85%) made the decision to pursue nursing as a
career by the age of eighteen (Williams and Goldsen, 1960)
and many before the twelfth grade (Haas, Taves, and Shaw,
1961; Corwin and Taves, 1963); while only 40 percent of
non-nursing students tended to make their career decision
after age eighteen (Fox, Diamond, and Jacobowsky, 1961).
In the studies cited above, when asked for their
reasons for choosing an occupation, nursing students'
choices indicated a desire to satisfy intrinsic needs:
interest in work, altruism, sociability, and fulfillment
(DeLora and Moses, 1969).
As would be expected, the
reasons offered for entering the field of nursing match
the popularly held image of nursing.
The popular image of
20
nursing is favorable, offering prestige for women, and an
opportunity to render an important service to others in
need (Williams and Goldsen, 1960; Corwin and Taves, 1963).
This match is extremely important to career selection.
As
career choice for nursing tends to be made early, the
image of the profession is pivotal during adolescent years
in determining whether that profession will be rejected or
explored further.
The literature pointed to several sources considered
influential in the forming of a youngster's image of
nursing.
Two of the most significant sources were family
and friends.
Roe (1956) devoted her research to early
family relations and their effects on career choice.
She
classified jobs into two categories, "person-oriented" and
"non-person-oriented," and postulated that one's
relationship with parents and one's resulting subsequent
needs influenced which direction one might take in
choosing a career.
One survey (Mayo, 1949) found almost half of 798
student nurses sampled to be influenced by relatives.
Haas, Taves, and Shaw (1961) found the attitude about
nursing held by the families of the twelfth grade girls
who had chosen nursing was more favorable than families of
girls who had not chosen nursing.
Martin and Simpson (1956) conducted a study to find
out why nurses chose nursing as a career.
The greatest
influencing factor was professional models, in and out of
21.
the family.
Almost half of student nurses surveyed had a
nurse role model (Mayo 1949).
Students also derived
significant impressions about nursing from books, visits
to hospitals, and career talks given in schools or before
groups.
To a lesser degree, movies, nursing pamphlets,
and volunteer hospital work were also influential in
forming an impression of nursing (Mayo, 1949).
These findings were validated by Bandura's (1977)
research in modeling.
He (Bandura, 1977) claims:
most human behavior is learned observationally
through modeling:
from observing others one
forms an idea how new behaviors are formed, and
on later occasions this coded information serves
as a guide for action (p. 22).
Young adults do not make career decisions in a
vacuum.
Indeed, one's family,
role models, and life
experiences are influential factors in this important
decision.
This research study and other research
profiling careers can be influential in career choice of
young people.
Counselors can confront false images of
careers, as well as explore an array of new careers
conducive to a student's personality.
Should this study find there to be a significant
difference in personality preferences between hospital
nurse specialties, these influencing factors will need to
represent these differences to attract appropriate
personality types.
22
Determinants of Choice of Nursing Specialty
There has been much research in the area of nursing
career choice, but little has been directed toward
selection of a specialty within nursing (DeLora and Moses,
1969).
Burton and Burton (1982) conducted a study of job
expectations of senior nursing students.
When asked to
rank the most important factors of fifteen that would
influence the decision to accept a new job, opportunity to
work in desired specialty ranked second with BSN students
and fourth with AS degree students.
specialize, though recent,
The trend to
is an important factor of
nurses' work selection.
As specialization in hospital nursing care increases,
the concern of matching the right nurse to the appropriate
specialty arises when recruiting new nurses.
Tonges and
Jones (1985) published an interunit rotation plan for
newly hired nurses in order to assist nurse and hospital
in choosing a specialty appropriate and appealing to both.
New nurses were provided experience in four different
units for three months each.
Resulting comments of
participating nurses and unit staff indicated that even
three months was not enough time to adjust comfortably to
any one unit's requirements.
This sort of program was
advertised to new nurses to attract and maintain their
continued employment.
Theorists have contributed to the resolution of this
quandary by developing profiles of various specialties.
23
DeLora and Moses (1969), seeking to differentiate between
nursing specialties, focused their attention on the
relationship between nursing specialties and students'
attributes.
They found obstetrics-pediatrics to attract
nurses desiring leadership and opportunity to advance,
while operating room nurses sought sociability.
Also,
there was a difference in aptitude between specialties.
Nurses working in obstetrics-pediatrics had higher
quantitative aptitude; surgical nurses scored higher in
verbal aptitude; and psychiatric nurses scored higher in
natural science aptitude.
Martin and Simpson (1956) asked psychiatric nurses
why they chose this specific specialty.
The majority of
nurses cited interest in psychiatry as a prominent reason
for selecting that specialty.
Of those nurses who left
their specialty, 14.7 percent left to enter another
specialty and 5.9 percent left to enter a non-nursing
career.
Indeed, a significant percentage of nursing students
leave school during their first year.
Mayo (1949) cites
that aside from personal reasons, nurses leave due to
failure in classwork, dislike for nursing, and/or
personality and temperament unsuited for nursing.
There
is a cost in time, money, and energy to the student nurse,
registered nurse, hospital, and training program, when the
match between nurse, education, and job are not
successful.
Researchers are attempting to gather
24
information about nurses and their work in an attempt to
avoid the hit and miss method of selecting an occupation
and a specialty within an occupation.
Characteristics of Nurses
The characteristics of registered nurses have been a
subject for research for more than forty years (Dock and
Steward, 1938; Lough, 1947).
Results of such research has
created a profile that can be used in counseling for
occupational choice.
Profiling of Nurses
Beginning in the 1940's, investigators began
profiling nurses utilizing a variety of personality
inventories and self assessment questionnaires.
A. J.
Davis (1969) gave a self assessment instrument to nursing
students who described themselves as dependable, capable,
methodical, and conscientious with some tendency to be
submissive.
These nursing students expected their career
to demand the characteristics of industriousness,
orderliness, and dependability, with an ability to sustain
subordinate roles, while being cooperative, considerate,
conventional, and adaptable.
As is evident, there is a
match between perceived characteristics of self and
perceived demands of nursing.
There is a body of research that has attempted to
profile careers as homogeneous entities, comparing
25
different careers having a common thread.
Ravitz (1957)
compared the values of nurses and teachers, both helping
professions.
Although identified values between the two
occupations were not dramatically different, there was a
significant difference.
The most
important value for
teachers was "working with children'' while nurses valued
"being of direct service to people who need help" as most
important.
In 1961, Dr. Sidney Cleveland used the
Thematic Apperception Test to compare the personality
characteristics of student and staff dietitians and
nurses.
The results revealed a significant difference
between these occupations, but not between students and
staff within each occupation.
Compared to dietitians,
nurses scored significantly higher on passivity themes and
scored lower on achievement.
Researchers have measured the personality of nurses
using personality instruments such as the Minnesota
Multiphasic Personality Inventory [MMPI] (Lough, 1947;
Beaver, 1953) and the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule
[EPPS] (Navran and Stauffacher, 1958).
The MMPI studies
revealed nurses to be conventional, to have a minimal
psychosomatic concern and a freedom from neuroticism.
In
a study conducted by Navran and Stauffacher (1958), nurses
from four different states were administered the EPPS.
Despite the age and geographical differences, Order,
Deference, and Endurance were the three highest variables
in this order.
The lowest scoring personality
26
characteristics were Affiliation, Autonomy, Succorance,
Exhibition, and Dominance.
Research indicated that nurses avoid individual risks
and blame-producing situations (Mauksch, 1972).
They
preferred the safety of a bureaucratic institution with
specific task demands and established order (Mauksch,
1972).
They lacked nervous tenseness and were optimistic,
agreeable, cooperative, and objective (Healy and Borg,
1951; Mauksch, 1972).
These were the same qualities that
nurse evaluators found important to hospital nursing
(Healy and Borg, 1951).
In the study conducted by Healy
and Borg (1951), those nurses scoring low in these areas
found their peers to be antagonistic and uncooperative,
and were given negative evaluations by their supervisors.
In summary, the research on nursing personality
characteristics revealed nurses, as a group, were
emotionally stable workers who preferred order and
predictability in their work.
As a whole, nurses were
cooperative, objective, and report to enjoy nursing
(Munro, 1983; Knopf, 1975; Corwin and Taves, 1963).
These
are the qualities of the MBTI Sensing Judging personality
type (Myers and Myers, 1984; Myers and McCaulley, 1985).
This study will survey hospital registered nurses using
the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which yields predictive
information about the preferred perceptual and decision
making styles of various personality types.
27
Profiling of Nursing Specialties
Profiling of nurses up through the 1950's tended to
treat nursing as a homogeneous profession.
Later research
has been directed toward a more in-depth focus,
in and out
of the hospital setting, within the nursing profession.
Navran and Stauffacher (1958) tested two distinctly
different nursing groups, hospital medical-surgical
nurses, and psychiatric nurses, using the Edwards Personal
Preference Schedule (EPPS).
Although both scored highest
in Order, Deference, and Endurance, there were significant
quantitative differences.
The medical-surgical nurses
were significantly higher in Order and Deference.
The
psychiatric nurses scored significantly higher in
Dominance, Aggression, Introception, and Heterosexuality,
and lower in Abasement.
Navran and Stauffacher
interpreted these results to mean that medical-surgical
nurses are more work-oriented and psychiatric nurses were
more people-oriented; medical-surgical nurses are less
personal, less assertive, and less interested in contacts
with men.
This interpretation is validated by the
differences in work of these two types of nurses.
The
medical-surgical nurse treats patients during a much
briefer stay than the psychiatric nurse.
The role of the
psychiatric nurse requires more emotional involvement with
patients.
Patients tend to require longer stays and
require more intense interaction.
The psychiatric nurse
not only cares for patients, as does a medical-surgical
28
nurse, but gives more of herself to patients, who are less
predictable, rational, and likely to express their needs
in a mature manner (Navran and Stauffacher, 1958).
Navran and Stauffacher's (1958) interviews with
hospital administrators brought forth the opinion that
psychiatric nursing is a nursing specialty for which only
a percentage of nurses were suitable.
Because of the
different patient demands, these two nursing roles,
although both performed in a hospital setting, have
different requirements and require a different variation
of personality characteristics.
Roe (1956) reported reliable differences between
various settings of nursing.
On the Kuder Preference
Inventory, nurses in public health scored significantly
higher on the Persuasive and Social Service scales and
significantly lower on the Computational and Clerical
scales than other nurse specialties.
Nurse educators were
lower on Persuasive and all other scales except for
Clerical.
They scored higher, however, on Literary than
all others except supervisors and head nurses.
In summary, past profiling of nursing specialties has
compared different specialties in different settings and
has found personality differences between them.
The focus
of this study is yet narrower, looking within one type of
setting, the hospital, at the similarities and differences
between nursing specialties.
29
Profiling Using Type Theory
In 1982, Gottfredson, Holland, and Ogawa published a
Dictionary~
Holland Occupational Codes which cross-
indexed Holland's type combinations to careers listed in
the
Dictionary~
Occupational Titles [DOT].
Nursing
titles listed represented the nursing hierarchy, as well
as various specialties, each one varying in type.
For
example, general duty nurse is listed as being Social,
Investigative, and Enterprising,
in that order; nurse
midwife was typed as Social, Investigative, and Realistic,
in that order.
Other hospital nursing titles were a combination of
the types:
Social, Enterprising, Investigative,
Realistic, and Conventional.
The Artistic type was never
associated with nurses in any setting, or specialty.
As
with the Navran and Staufracher study, the personality
types between specialties indicated quantitative
differences with some qualitative variation.
These
studies indicated that there was a different personality
pattern between nurses in different hospital specialties.
There is recent research correlating the Holland
types and the Jungian types identified in the MBTI (Grant,
1985; Grutter, 1985).
In the realm of Social,
Enterprising, and Conventional in the Holland hexigon,
Grant (1985) found a relationship to the MBTI functions of
Feeling and Sensing; the Conventional, Realistic,
Investigative realm, also associated with nurses, was
30
related to the MBTI function of thinking.
function,
The MBTI
Intuition, was within Holland's Artistic realm.
This research suggests the intuitive function not to be
identified with nursing. This study will explore this
identification of MBTI typing and nurses.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Nursing
Justification for Using the Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator
The researcher has chosen to use the MBTI in this
study based on three criteria.
The MBTI is based on an
accepted theory of personality and has proven itself in
numerous pieces of research.
Instrumentation.)
(Refer to chapter three,
The MBTI is used internationally in
education, counseling, career guidance, and in situations
requiring teamwork and cooperation (Myers and McCaulley,
1985).
The researcher of the study has located many major
employers that have utilized the MBTI in their training
efforts; TRW,
companies.
IBM, Allergan, and Honeywell are a few
Myers and Myers (1984) report that Nippon
Recruit Center in Tokyo has used the MBTI for better
placement of workers for many years.
The MBTI was developed prior to the 1940's by
Katherine C. Briggs and her daughter,
Isabel Briggs Myers,
and based on the typology of Carl Jung.
Myers' early
testing of the instrument was with 5,000 medical students
and 10,000 nurses.
In 1962, the first MBTI manual was
31
published by Educational Testing Service [ETS].
Various
academicians discovered the inventory and began publishing
supportive findings.
In 1975, the MBTI was transferred to
Consulting Psychologists Press and a central national
research center was developed, the Center for Application
of Psychological Type [CAPT] (Myers and Myers, 1984).
In the late 1970's, the MBTI journal began, Research
in Psychological Type.
Since its inception, research
supporting the MBTI has been accumulating in areas of
education, counseling, career guidance, relationships, and
communication, to name a few (Myers and McCaulley, 1985).
The MBTI has become a well recognized and respected
instrument in a variety of settings.
In 1983, CAPT sold
over 750,000 copies of the instrument (Hirsch, 1985).
Based on experience with the MBTI, the researcher
chose the MBTI because it is a highly valid and reliable
instrument that offers a positive, value-free look at
personality.
It is a tool for increased self
understanding and understanding of others.
The objective
of the MBTI is to help people identify and value their
strengths. A person can be a failure in an occupation not
condicive to one's personality and a success in an
occupation which utilizes one's natural assets.
MBTI Profiles of Careers
Profiling using the MBTI has encompassed a wide
variation of careers.
Myers and Myers (1984) reported
32
their results of occupational typing, and the efforts of
MacKinnon (1962) and Laney (1949).
All of the ten
occupations reported a predominant type representing
between 47 and 81 percent of the workers (Myers and Myers,
1984; ,Jacoby, 1981).
In a study conducted by Jacoby
(1981), the accountant type, STJ, was found to be
predominant, validating the studies conducted during the
1950's.
This STJ combination was identified with business
and industry, again, when Gaster, Tobacyk, and Dawson
(1984) typed Retail Store Managers and found approximately
73 percent to be of the STJ type.
Consider the description of these STJ types and how
they complement an organizational environment.
ESTJ: Practical realists, matter-of-fact, with
a natural head for business or mechanics. Not
interested in subjects they see no use for, but
can apply themselves when necessary. Like to
organize and run ac.tivities. Tend to run things
we 11 , e spec i a 11 y i f they rem em be r to cons i de r
other peoples' feelings and points of view when
making their decisions.
ISTJ: Serious, quiet, earn success by
concentration and thoroughness. Practical,
order 1y, rna t t e r- of- fact , 1 o g i c a 1 • rea 1 i s t i c , and
dependable. See to it that everything is well
organized. Take responsibility. Make up their
own minds as to what should be accomplished and
work toward it steadily, regardless of protests
or distractions (Gaster, Tobacyk, and Dawson,
1984, p. 23).
These studies support the theory that like types, measured
by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, gravitate toward
careers conducive to personality.
One study focused on contrasting the various
specialties and hierarchical subgroups within a career.
33
Jacoby (1981) found a significant difference in the
percentage of Sensing types in one specialty compared to
another specialty within the accounting field.
Comparing
the types of hierarchical subgroups, he found that
success, in terms of advancement, is related to type; the
higher the position the more homogeneous was the group in
type.
The group more diverse in type was positioned
lowest in the hierarchy.
Type data from students in pursuit of a career are
more readily available to researchers than are data from
the practitioner.
It is for this reason that there is a
proliferation of research typing students.
There are more
than twenty published type tables (Myers and McCaulley,
1985).
Tables of students in both declared undergraduate
and graduate programs indicated a predominance of type
ranging between 42 and 82 percent of samples.
Those studies of students that were longitudinal
revealed that dropout had no significant relation to the
traditional standards of measurement, i.e. college grades
and admission test scores, but was related to MBTI type
(Myers and Myers, 1984).
In 1965, Miller typed law
students from prominent schools and found TJ types had a
lower-than-average dropout rate (Myers and Myers, 1984).
Type was related to the dropout rate and the percentage of
students who failed medical school (Myers and Myers,
1984).
The highest dropout rate was for the ESTJs who
were least identified in medicine to begin with.
I
'
34
In a study conducted by Laney in the late 1940s
(Myers and Myerst 1984), three of the twenty-two
accountants were Intuitives, all reporting low job
satisfaction.
However, when one of these intuitives was
promoted to a job requiring less accuracy, and demanding
more of his ideas for improving procedures, not only was
he more satisfied, but the company reaped the benefits of
his natural talents.
Job satisfaction and MBTI type were the dependent
variables in a study of physicians in family practice
(Hughes, Mosier, and Hunt, 1981).
In this study, the most
predominant type, NFP, reported to be most satisfied.
This could be because they felt comfortable working with
people to whom they could easily relate, and/or because
the work these physicians assumed was more conducive to
the NFP personality.
In the early 1950's, Myers typed over 5300 medical
students (McCaulley, 1981).
She followed up on these
students twice within the following twelve years and found
that most of the students had chosen specialties that fit
their MBTI type.
Nineteen percent of the physicians had
changed specialties, changing to areas that provided a
better fit for their personality than their original
choice.
Typing of physician specialties revealed that the
Introverted Intuitive types preferred specialties that
required the finding of order in complex patterns not
readily visible, a liking to go deeply into problems, and
@
•
35
to work with concepts over a period of time.
The
Extraverted Sensing types preferred specialties requiring
rapid, direct action with frequent patient contact and
relatively little theorizing.
There is a consistent work
pattern identified between physician types, as well as the
work preferred utilizing the pattern of assets identified
with corresponding types.
MBTI Profiles of Nurses
MBTI typing of career samples began with nursing and
medicine.
~en
Myers was developing the MBTI, her father
introduced her to a medical school dean where she
proceeded to type medical school students and nurses.
Through the years, the nursing sample totalled 10,000
nurses.
In a study by MacKinnon and Laney (Myers and
Myers, 1984), 44 percent of the nursing sample were SF
types.
In Isabel Myers' study of 3,403 nurses, 37 percent of
sixteen possible types were SFJs (Myers, 1967).
The
lowest dropout rate was among the SFJ types, significantly
lower than that for the NFJ types.
It is interesting to
note, however, that the Sensing types score lower than
lntuitives on the SAT.
We can conclude from research thus
far that type is a better predictor of academic success
and perhaps even career success than traditional ratings
such as standardized testing like the SAT.
36
Myers (1984) reports that learning and reading styles
of the Sensing and Intuitive types differ.
The Intuitives
read rapidly taking in the overall generalities, while the
Sensing types read slowly, taking in all the facts and
details; the Sensing style is at a disadvantage when
performing under timed testing, such as the SAT.
might account for the Sensing types'
This
tendency to score
lower on the SAT (Myers and Myers, 1984).
Summary
The profiling of careers, and specialties within a
career, using the MBTI has been reviewed in chapter two.
Predominant types have been identified within careers,
career specialties, and college majors; lower college
dropout and lower rate of failure are related to type; job
satisfaction is related to type.
Isabel Myers (1967) typed nurses as a homogeneous
group.
This study will survey nursing personality
preferences, as well as preferences of selected nursing
specialties within the hospital setting.
CHAPTER III
Methodology
Research Approach and Method
Site and Sample
The literature is in agreement that hospitals are the
largest employers of nurses, employing approximately twothirds of all employed nurses (Mauksch, 1972; Knopf, 1975;
Reeder and Mauksch, 1979; Aiken, Blendon, and Rogers,
1981; Aiken, 1983; Cotler, 1985).
It is this population,
hospital employed nurses, that this study examines.
The data base for this study comes from five
hospitals located in the San Fernando Valley, north of Los
Angeles, California (table 1).
These hospitals are all
acute care hospitals serving the same general community.
One hundred fifty (93.7%) of the nurses in the sample come
from four hospitals having 100 to 500 beds.
Only ten
nurses (6.3%) come from a hospital having under 100 beds.
There were no nurses from hospitals having over 500 beds.
37
38
Table 1
Size of Hospital Sites and Frequency of Nurses
Size (RN Population)
of Hospitals
Number of
Hospitals
under 100 beds (65)
100-500 beds (250-350)
over 500 beds
1
Total
Frequency of Nurses
Absolute I Relative
4
10
150
6.3
93.7
0
0
0
5
160
100.0
Respondents were selected on a volunteer basis.
All
registered nurses in all five hospitals were invited to
participate in this study.
Invitation was in the form of
an announcement placed in a central location and hand
distributed to nursing stations.
A total of 160 hospital
employed registered nurses responded.
Eleven (6.9%) of
the respondents were registered nurses holding positions
in emergency rooms and in clinics associated with a health
maintenance organization, and were not included in the
study.
All 149 nurses in this study are female.
Thirty-
three (22%) work part time, and 116 (78%) work full time.
One hundred twenty-one nurses (75%) have worked in their
39
present nursing specialty for more than three years (table
2) •
Table 2
Length of Service in Nursing Specialty and
Frequency of NursesNurses Working
in Specialization
Less than two years
More than two years but
less than three years
More than three years
No response
Total
Frequency
Absolute Relative
24
15.0%
14
121
1
8.8%
75.6%
• 6%
160
100.0%
The range of mean ages for the fourteen specialties
is 29 years to 49 years (table 3).
The mean age of all
nurses in the sample is 39 years.
With respect to age,
this sample is fairly representative of the national
median age of employed nurses, reported to be 37.7 years
(Moses and Roth 1979).
40
Table 3
Mean Age and Frequency of Nurses By Specialty
Specialty
Absolute Frequency
of Nurses
Mean Age
(Years)
Standard
Deviation
9
9
10
19
1
4
42
6
1
10
10
8
35
45
37
36
38
42
29
46
39
39
38
39
36
49
10. 6 6
10.63
4.35
7.81
10.62
10. 51
149
39
Intensive Care
Cardiac Care
Neonatal Care
Pediatrics
Labor and Delivery
Operating Room
Orthopedics
Recovery
Medical-Surgical
Post Par tum/Newborn
Psychiatric
Education
Rehabilitation
Administration
Total
14
6
8.95
9.99
13.34
5.48
6. 2 2
5. 8 2
With respect to highest degree of education, this
sample has proportionately more baccalaureate degrees,
associate degrees, masters degrees, and much fewer diploma
graduates than the 1983 national statistics (table 4).
The national percentage of nurses with doctorates is less
than one percent (Cotler 1985).
include any doctorates.
This sample does not
41
Table 4
Comparison of Study and National Samples
by Highest Education
Highest Education
Study
Associate
Diploma
Baccalaureate
Masters
Doctorate
32.5%
26.2%
34.3%
6.8%
a
National a
17.8%
54.3%
22.1%
4.9%
.2%
California State Department of Registered Nurses,
Licensure Division, 1984 survey; 1980-81 data
(Cotler, 1985, p. 62).
Data Collection
The objective of data collection for this study was
to obtain responses from hospital nurses on the MBTI, form
G, and the Demographics Questionnaire.
During a five
month period (January -May, 1986), the researcher
obtained 160 responses from registered nurses employed at
five different hospitals, 149 of which provided acceptable
data.
Unacceptable data are from emergency room nurses
and clinic nurses, and were not included in the
statistics.
The hospitals did not consider these nurses
hospital-employed nurses, even though they worked in the
hospital setting.
The process of data collection began by contacting
decision makers at each hospital, typically in Education
42
or Administration, in order to submit a proposal for data
collection.
Hospital administrators were cautious in
admitting researchers due to their concern for nursing
morale.
Nurses tend to be overworked, routinely picking
up duties not in their job description.
It was important,
therefore, to make this study especially attractive and
relevant to the needs of the hospital registered nurses.
The researcher conducted an informal needs assessment
with two hospital educators.
Based on their past
experience with data collection, a lottery and a workshop
offering continuing education units (CEUs) were suggested.
To encourage nurse participation, invitations and
questionnaire packets were distributed directly to
registered nurses only.
offered to participants.
A lottery of $25 per hospital was
Participants were invited to
attend a follow-up interpretive workshop entitled, "WholeBrain Communication," offering
license renewal.
CEUs towards their RN
This workshop was designed by the
researcher specifically for this study.
Flyers were
distributed to registered nurses and posted centrally
within the hospitals advertising the MBTI workshop and
lottery.
Scoring of all MBTis was completed by the researcher,
an ISFJ personality type, and randomly checked for
accuracy by an INTP personality type.
Results were
individually distributed in confidential form to
43
respondents following data collection and the interpretive
workshop.
In order to attract decision makers with different
preferences, the researcher prepared the written proposal
and presentation incorporating various techniques
appealing to all (Hartzler and Hartzler, 1982; Myers,
1976).
The proposal was viable from all eight of the MBTI
perspectives.
The proposal was submitted orally
(Extravert), and in written form (Introvert).
The details
(Sensing) of the advantages and hows and whys of thesis
participation were pointed out and summarized (Intuitive).
Participation was justified in terms of nurses' values
(Feeling), logically emphasizing bottom line benefits
(Thinking).
The presentation was organized (Judging) and
open-ended (Perceiving) (Hartzler and Hartzler, 1982).
The written proposal (Appendix A) included a summary
of the the s i s , des c r i p t i on of the MBT I , bene f i t s of the
MBTI to organization and participants, workshop outline,
workshop post-test, and researcher's resume [both required
to offer CEUs], and a skeleton of the workshop flyer.
The researcher typewatched her listener in order to
respond appropriately.
In times of hesitation to commit
to this study, knowledge of MBTI communication style
preferences was definitely an asset
in selling
participation in this research study.
44
Instrumentation
One standardized instrument, the Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator (MBTI), and one demographics questionnaire were
administered to all participating hospital registered
nurses.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
The MBTI was developed by Katherine Briggs and Isabel
Briggs Myers specifically to carry Carl Jung's theory of
type into practical applications.
In short, the theory
assumes that the variation of human behavior is not due to
chance but is the "logical result of a few basic,
o b s e r v a b 1 e d i f f e r en c e s i n men t a 1 fun c t i on i n g" (My e r s and
My e r s , 1 9 8 0 , p . 1 ) •
The MBTI is published in three forms;
forms F and G
are utilized in research, and there is one abbreviated
version.
Form G, used in this study, is the latest and
most typically used form.
It has fewer items {126 as
o p p o s e d t o 16 6 i n f o r m F ) , and t h o s e i t ems t h a t be s t
predict type are arranged in the beginning of form G.
The MBTI has been the subject of extensive research
during the last twenty years.
Studies originating from a
variety of disciplines and interests are cited in the MBTI
journal,
Journal~~
Psychological Type, and the latest
MBTI manual, A Guide to the Development and Use of the
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Myers and McCaulley, 1985).
45
Preferences in one's style of perceiving,
in making
decisions, for one's inner or outer world, and how one
behaves in these, can be dichotomized.
The MBTI
identifies personality type and measures strength of
preference on four dichotomies:
Extraversion/Introversion
(E/I), Sensing/Intuition (S/N), Thinking/Feeling (T/F),
and Judging/Perceiving (J/P).
Each preference offers a
descriptive profile and predictive characteristics.
Interpretation of MBTI results can be in the form of type,
individual preferences, or two or three combinations of
preferences.
The following are descriptions of the eight
preferences identified in the MBTI.
Extraverted Attitude: "In the extraverted
attitude (E), attention seems to flow out, or to
be drawn out, to the objects and people of the
environment. There is a desire to act on the
environment, to affirm its importance, to
increase its effect. Persons habitually taking
the extraverted attitude may develop some or all
of the characteristics associated with
extraversion:
awareness and reliance on the
environment for stimulation and guidance, an
action-oriented, sometimes impulsive way of
meeting life, frankness, ease of communication,
or sociability" (Myers and McCaulley, 1985, p.
13) •
Introverted Attitude:
"In the introverted
attitude (I), energy is drawn from the
environment, and consolidated within one's
position. The main interests of the introvert
are in the inner world of concepts and ideas.
Persons habitually taking the introverted
attitude may develop some or all of the
characteristics associated with introversion:
interest in the clarity of concepts and ideas,
reliance on enduring concepts more than on
transitory external events, a thoughtful,
contemplative detachment, and enjoyment of
46
solitude and privacy" (Myers and McCaulley,
1985, p. 13).
Sensing Perception: "Sensing (S) refers to
perceptions observable by way of the senses.
Sensing establishes what exists. Because the
senses can bring to awareness only what is
occurring in the present moment, persons
oriented toward sensing perception tend to focus
on the immediate experience and often develop
characteristics associated with this awareness
such as enjoying the present moment, realism,
acute powers of observation, memory for details,
and practicality" (Myers and McCaulley, 1985, p.
12 ) •
Intuitive Perception:
"Intuition (N)
refers to perception of possibilities, meanings,
and relationships by way of insight.
Jung
characterized intuition as perception by way of
the unconscious.
Intuitions may come to the
surface of consciousness suddenly, as a "hunch,"
the sudden perception of a pattern in seemingly
unrelated events, or as a creative discovery.
Intuition permits perception beyond what is
visible to the senses, including possible future
events. Thus, persons oriented toward intuitive
perception may become so intent on pursuing
possibilities that they may overlook
actualities. They may develop the
characteristics that can follow from emphasis on
intuition and become imaginative, theoretical,
abstract, future oriented, or creative" (Myers
and McCaulley, 1985, p. 12).
Feeling Judgment: "Feeling (F) is the
function by which one comes to decisions by
weighing relative values and merits of the
issues. Feeling relies on an understanding of
personal values and group values; thus, it is
more subjective than the thinking function.
Because values are subjective and personal,
persons making judgments with the feeling
function are more likely to be attuned to the
values of others as well as their own. Because
people oriented toward feeling make decisions by
attending to what matters to others, they have
an understanding of people, a concern with the
human as opposed to the technical aspects of
problems, a need for affiliation, a capacity for
warmth, a desire for harmony, and a time
orientation that includes preservation of the
47
values of the past. The classical distinction
in psychology between 11 tough-minded 11 and
"tender-minded" people is concerned with the TF
difference"
(Myers and McCaulley, 1985, p. 12).
Thinking Judgment:
"Thinking (T) is the
funct1on that links ideas together by making
logical connections. Thinking relies on
principles of cause and effect and tends to be
impersonal. Persons who are primarily oriented
toward thinking may develop characteristics
associated with thinking:
analytical ability,
objectivity, concern with principles of justice
and fairness, criticality, and an orientation to
time that is concerned with connections from the
past through the present and toward the future"
(Myers and McCaulley, 1985, p. 12).
Judging Attitude:
In the judging attitude
(J), a person-~concerned with making
decisions, seeking closure, planning operations,
or organizing activities. For thinking-judging
(TJ) types, the decisions and plans are more
likely to be based on logical analysis; for
feeling-judging (FJ) types, the decisions and
plans are more likely to be based on human
factors. But for all persons who
characteristically live in the judging (J)
attitude, perception tends to be shut off as
soon as they have observed enough to make a
decision.
Persons who prefer J often seem in
their outer behavior to be organized,
purposeful, and decisive" (Myers and McCaulley,
1985, p. 14).
11 ln
Perceptive Attitude:
the perceptive
attitude (P), a person is attuned to incoming
information. For sensing-perceptive (SP) types,
the information is more likely to be the
immediate realities. For intuitive-perceptive
(NP) types, the information is more likely to be
new possibilities. But for both SP and NP
types, the perceptive attitude is open, curious,
and interested.
Persons who characteristically
live in the perceptive attitude seem in their
outer behavior to be spontaneous, curious, and
adaptable, open to new events and changes, and
aiming to miss nothing" (Myers and McCaulley,
1985, p. 14).
Q
•
48
Re 1 i a b i 1 i t y
Reliability of the MBTI, form G, the version of the
MBTI used in this study, is addressed here.
Measurement
of reliability of the MBTI is based on two questions: (1)
What degree of internal consistency and test-retest
reliability are evidenced?
(2) How much of the variance
of type in retest is attributable to the respondent's
rn o o d , a g e , 1 e v e 1 o f a c h i e verne n t , and rna t u r i t y ?
Reliability coefficients were determined from
samples of twelve different studies (Myers and McCaulley,
1985; McCaulley and Kainz, 1976; Szymanski, 1977; Morgan
and Kainz, 1975; Abbot and McCaulley, 1983; Guttinger and
McCaulley, 1975; McCaulley and Natter, 1974; McCaulley and
Kainz, 1974; Hoffman, 1975; Carlyn, 1976; Weiss, 1980;
Otis and Quenk, 1973).
The total form G data bank totaled
32,671 respondents.
Internal consistency was derived by applying the
Spearman-Brown prophecy formula to phi coefficients and
tetrachoric correlations.
The phi coefficients tended to
yield low values, ranging from .49 (T/F scale) to .77 (S/N
scale).
The tetrachoric coefficients are estimated to be
high, ranging from .67 (T/F scale) to .93 (J/P scale).
The samples with the highest and lowest correlation
coefficients from eight different studies (Myers and
McCaulley, 1985) for each scale are in Appendix B.
49
Data were broken down by age and level of academic
achievement.
Reliabilities ranging from .73 to .88 were
found to be lowest in adolescence, stabilizing with older
respondents.
Those respondents indicating lower academic
achievement also had lower reliability coefficients.
These findings validate the theory that type development
affects consistency of preferences.
High achieving, older
respondents answer MBTI questions most consistently, and
their scores have greater reliability than those of
adolescent respondents.
The T/F scale was found to be least reliable of all
scales (Myers and McCaulley, 1985).
This scale, measuring
judgment, is theorized to be the most difficult to
develop, again validating the concept of type development.
Test-retest reliability of form G was evaluated using
studies with test intervals ranging from four weeks to
seven weeks (Cars k ado n, 1 9 7 9 , p • 8 3 ) •
The t e s t- rete s t
reliability coefficients for form G with a seven week
interval ranged from .48 (T/F scale) to .84 (S/N scale)
for males, and .80 (J/P scale) to .87 (S/N and T/F scales)
for females (Appendix C).
Reliability coefficients were
higher on all scales for females than for males.
Studies using form F, from which form G was derived,
retest at intervals ranging from one week to four years
(Myers and McCaulley, 1985, p. 172).
The form F study
with the longest retest interval of four years reported
50
reliability coefficients ranging from .45 (T/F and J/P
scales) to .58 (S/N scale) for males and females together
(Appendix D).
The seven week test-retest coefficients were
generally high, tending to be in the eighties, with the
T/F scale representing a lower .48.
between test-retest,
As time increased
it appeared that reliability
decreased, although a good level of relative stability
between scales was maintained.
Chance probability of
retesting the same MBTI type is 6.25 percent.
This change
in MBTI type over time can be explained with type
development theory.
As people develop their least
preferred parts of personality, their strength of score
and even type identification may be altered.
Validity
The MBTI was designed to empirically determine
Jungian psychological type.
Therefore, validity is based
on how well the instrument is able to demonstrate
relationships and make predictions based on Jungian
theory.
CONTENT VALIDITY
Myers and Briggs, after studying Jung's Psychological
Types and "type watching" for more than twenty years,
developed items to determine preferences for the E/I, S/N
51
and T/F scales.
They independently created the J/P scale
in order to identify the dominant and auxiliary functions.
Items were tested and weighted for sex difference within
s c a 1 e s and pop u 1a r i t y of response ; those i t ems w i t h the
widest separation and least overlap were selected.
An
internal consistency analysis was used to select items
that pertained to only one scale and preference.
In an effort to maintain the purity of each scale,
item analyses included item-scale correlations and
prediction ratios for each response to all scales.
two scales tended to be independent of one another.
Only
The
S/N and J/P scales are significantly and positively
correlated ranging from .34 to .44.
Sensing types are
more typically Judging and Intuitives are more likely to
be Perceiving.
CONSTRUCT VALIDITY
Construct validity is evidenced by a profusion of
research in various forms.
MBTI type distribution among
many different occupational samples is in the form of type
tables.
They reveal significantly more of those types
predicted by theory (Myers and McCaulley, 1985).
The MBTI manual (Myers and McCaulley, 1985) lists
more than thirty studies each comparing the MBTI to
different instruments.
Instruments used for comparison
52
are either psychological (egs. MMPI and 16 PF) or
occupational interest scales (egs. SVIB-SCII and Kuder).
When correlating instruments, measures from other
instruments that theoretically identified with MBTI
preferences were matched.
For example, Extraversion was
measured by other instruments, MMPI, 16PF, Maudsley, etc.
Scales such as inclusion, gregariousness, outgoing, and
being with people measured one aspect of this MBTI
preference that assumes sociability to be one
characteristic.
environment, etc.
Extraversion also assumes action in the
This aspect of the preference was
correlated with leadership, dominance, assertiveness,
enterprising and capacity for status.
The range of
correlations (p <.01) between the MBTI and the thirty
personality instruments for each preference is from .40,
for all preferences, to .77 (Extraversion) (Myers and
McCaulley, 1985, pp. 206-209) (Appendix E).
The MBTI has also been correlated with the Jungian
Type Survey (JTS) (Myers and McCaulley, 1985).
The JTS
was developed by two Jungian analysts independently of the
MBTI, although their objective was the same.
without Myers' J/P scale.
The JTS is
In studies (Stricker and Ross,
1962; Davis, 1978) correlating these two instruments on
the E/1, S/N, and T/F scales, significant correlation
coefficients (p <.01 and .05) range from .23 (Feeling) to
53
.68 (Extraversion) (Myers and McCaulley, 1985, p. 209)
(Appendix F).
The two instruments appear to be measuring the same
theoretical concepts, with the T/F functions of decision
making having the lowest correlation coefficients, .23 for
the Feeling function and .33 for the Thinking function.
Thomas Carskadon (1982) and others (Carlyn, 1975;
Cohen, Cohen, and Cross, 1981; Anast, 1966; Myers and
McCaulley, 1985) have conducted self assessment studies as
a method of validating the MBTI.
Upon understanding the
theory, 35 to 50 percent of respondents estimated their
type (p <.001) correctly as measured by the MBTI.
When
presented with type descriptions, self assessment was
significantly higher at 66 and 75 percent (p <.001) for
the two studies.
Carlyn (1977) reports the MBTI to be a reasonably
valid instrument which is potentially useful for a variety
of purposes •
Mende 1 soh n ( 19 6 5 ) f i n d s that the MBT I
relates to a large number of variables including
personality, ability, interest, value, aptitude,
performance measures, academic choice, and behavior
ratings.
The many studies of construct validity support
the MBTI as a valid measurement of the dimensions of
personality postulated by Jung's theory.
54
Demographics Questionnaire
The demographics questionnaire (Appendix G) was
designed primarily to gather information to describe the
sample for this study.
Questions concerning hospital size
(Burton and Burton, 1982), education (Cotler, 1985), job
hierarchy (Moses and Roth, 1979), and years of experience
(Campbell and Hansen, 1981; Johansson, 1982) were derived
from studies assessing like features in nurses.
Following the initial composition of the demographics
questionnaire, the three researchers comprising this
study's committee reviewed the questionnaire for content,
sound construction and organization of items.
These
reviewers have expertise in Career Development, Health
Science, and Educational Research.
In addition, the
questionnaire was reviewed by one hospital administrator
and one hospital educator for relevance to the field.
All
suggestions were implemented.
Thirty demographics questionnaires and answer sheets
were then hand distributed to hospital registered nurses
at Northridge Hospital in Northridge, California.
A pre-
test letter (Appendix H) was attached asking for comments
on its ease of use.
All thirty nurses responded to the
demographics questionnaire without problems.
55
Statistical Analysis
This study adopts a survey approach;
the objectives
are:
(1)
to determine whether there are predominant
personality
preferences in hospital registered
nurses:
(2)
to determine whether there are predominant
personality preferences within different
specializations of hospital nursing:
(3)
and
if predominant personality preferences are
identified within nursing specialties, to determine
whether these preferences differ between
specializations of hospital registered nurses.
To address these questions, this study examines type
distribution in the form of a type table for the sample to
determine whether certain MBTI types are represented more
predominantly than others.
The frequency of each of the
sixteen types for nursing specialties (obtained from
questions nine,
ten, and eleven on the Demographics
Questionnaire) will also be presented within type tables.
Only nurses with at least three years of experience in
their nursing specialty will be observed.
Hereinafter,
these nurses will be referred to as "experienced."
If
equally represented, one-sixteenth or 6.25 percent of the
sample is expected to be found within each type cell.
56
In order to categorize nursing specialties into
similar manageable groups, the fourteen nursing
specialties identified in questions nine, ten, and eleven
in the Demographics Questionnaire will be collapsed into
the following four groups:
(1) the critical care group is
composed of intensive care, cardiac care, and neonatal
intensive care, (2) the floor nurses group is composed of
pediatrics, labor and delivery, orthopedics, medicalsurgical, and rehabilitation, (3) the non-floor nurses
group is composed of education and administration, and (4)
operating room nurses.
These collapsed categories were
validated as logical groupings by two Directors of
Education from two different hospitals.
Based on the research of nurses and the MBTI,
conducted by Myers (1976), as well as the researcher's
informal discussions with nurses and nursing supervisors
and managers, the following four null hypotheses
concerning the MBTI and nursing specialties will be
addressed.
Hypothesis 1:
There are no predominant personality
preferences in hospital registered nurses.
Hypothesis 2:
There is no difference between the
means of critical care nurses and the means of
other hospital nurses on the J/P scale.
57
Critical care nurses require special certification
above their nursing credential, distinguishing them from
other floor nurses.
Their work demands prompt attention
to patients that are critically ill, thus their title,
critical care nurses.
Theoretically, these nurses require
more flexibility and adaptability.
This study will look
at whether critical care nurses have more of a
predominance of Perceiving types than Judging types in
comparison to other nurses.
Hypothesis 3:
There is no difference between the
means of operating room nurses and the means of
other hospital nurses on the 8/N, T/F, and J/P
scales.
Operating room nurses, as well as their supervisors
and managers, claim these nurses to be different.
They
have contact with neither patients who are conscious nor
their families.
They utilize medical tools, machines, and
technical procedures according to established rules and
specifications.
This study will compare operating room
nurses to other nurses in exploring whether there is a
predominance of Sensing Thinking Judging (STJ) types.
Hypothesis 4:
There is no difference between the
58
means of non-floor nurses and the means of other
hospital nurses on the S/N, T/F, and J/P scales.
The literature on MBTI type and business managers
(Jacoby, 1981; Gaster, Tobacyk, and London, 1984; Myers
and McCaulley, 1985) supports the hypothesis that business
managers will tend to be Sensing Thinking Judging (STJ)
types.
Non-floor nurses are the business employees of the
ho s p i t a 1•
They p 1an , organ i z e , d i r e c t , con t r o 1 , and
instruct nurses.
In this study, the non-floor nurses will
be compared to other nurses to explore whether a stronger
identification of STJ types are identified.
Quantitative differences between the means of nursing
groups in hypotheses 2, 3, and 4 will be calculated with a
one-way analysis of variance.
A significance level of .05
will be acceptable for this study.
Methodological Assumptions and Limitations
One valuable aspect of this study is its sample of
employed hospital nurses, rather than a sample of student
nurses.
However, there are drawbacks to collecting data
from the employed population.
Obtaining access to a
working population, and motivating them to participate, is
more time consuming and expensive than surveying classes
of student nurses.
The data collection procedure from the
five hospitals in this study rendered 160 respondents, 149
59
of which offered usable data.
Of these 149 respondents,
121 have three or more years of experience.
Ninety-two of
these experienced nurses scored more than zero on all four
scales of the MBTI.
These 92 nurses will be represented
in type tables.
The subjects of this study pose limitations common
to volunteer samples (Borg and Gall, 1983; Rosenthal and
Rosnow, 1975).
Volunteers tend to be more sociable, tend
to be higher in need for social approval, and more
extraverted than non-volunteers.
be more altruistic.
Volunteers also tend to
This study could, therefore, be
attracting a higher number of Extraverts and Feeling types
than is representative of the hospital nursing population.
Summary
This chapter has described the demographics of the
site and sample and the two instruments used in this
study, a Demographics Questionnaire and the MBTI.
The
hypotheses and the plan for statistical analysis have been
outlined.
In the next chapter, the findings of this study
will be discussed.
CHAPTER IV
Analysis and Evaluation
Findings
This chapter will treat each of the four null
hypotheses individually, reporting the results of two
evaluation strategies.
Differences of strength of
preferences within MBTI scales (1/E, S/N, T/F, and J/P),
and between nursing groups, were calculated by performing
a one-way analysis of variance.
These quantitative
differences will be reported under Hypotheses 2, 3, and 4.
Type distribution in frequency type tables for each of the
nursing groups will be observed and reported under
Hypotheses 1 through 4.
Hypothesis 1:
There are no predominant personality
preferences in hospital registered nurses.
Ninety-two (75%) of the sample of the study is
composed of experienced nurses scoring more than zero on
all four scales.
These nurses are represented in table 5,
a frequency type table, Experienced Registered Nurses.
There is an apparent non-random distribution of
experienced hospital nurses between the sixteen MBTI
personality types.
The null hypothesis is rejected.
Forty-eight percent (n = 45) of the experienced sample are
ISJ types.
Seventy-five percent (n
60
=
69) of the
61
~
experienced sample are S and J types.
eight percent (n
=
More than sixty-
63) of the sample are Introverts.
experienced sample is split evenly between the T/F
preferences.
The
.
62
TABLE 5
TYPE TABLE: EXPERIENCED REGISTERED NURSES
#
ISFJ
ISTJ
N =
25
N =
++++++++++ ++++++++++
+++
.
N =
20
.
.
1
N =
% =1.09
% =21.7
% =27.2
INTJ
INFJ
.
.
.
.
4
E 29
I 63
31.52
68.48
s
% =4.35
69
N 23
75.00
25.00
..
T 46
F 46
50.00
50.00
J 69
23
75.00
25.00
IJ50
IP13
! EP10
I
EJ19
54.35
14.13
10.87
20.65
ST35
SF34
NF12
NTll
38.04
36.96
13.04
11.96
SJ57
SP12
NP11
NJ12
61.96
13.04
11.96
13.04
TJ39
TP 7
FP16
FJ30
42.39
7.61
17.39
32.61
IN11
EN12
IS52
ES17
11.96
13.04
56.52
18.48
++
.
p
ISTP
N =
N =
2
% =2.17
.
.
+
.
% =2.17
.
+
.
.
N =
.
.
+++
.
---
= 92
(+ = 2%)
N
% =6.52
=6.52
.
.
.
N =
.
2
% =2.17
..
.
.
.
4
N =
3
% =4.35
% =3.26
+
.
ENTJ
N =
6
I
.
+
ENFJ
N =
6
3
.
.
ESFJ
% =1.09
% =3.26
+
.
.
ESTJ
.
.
1
EN'I'P
N =
3
% = 3. 3
+
N =
.
.
.
.
.
ENFP
N =
2
5
% =5.43
++
ESFP
N =
+++
.
.
.
INTP
N =
5
% =5.43
++
ES'I'P
%
INFP
ISFP
%
++
.
-----
..
~
.
63
Hypotheses 2:
There is no difference between
the means of critical care nurses and the means of
other hospital nurses on the J/P scale.
The comparison of means of the J/P scale between the
critical care nursing group and the floor nursing group is
significant at the .05 level (table 6).
The null
hypothesis is rejected.
Table 6
One-Way Analysis of Variance of the J/P Scale
Between Floor Nurses and Critical Care Nurses
Judging/Perceiving Scale
Nursing
Group
Frequency
Absolute/Relative
(n
Floor
Critical Care
50
23
=
Mean
Square
Significance
73)
68.4
31.5
563.4982
563.4982
11.10979
p
= <.05
Critical Care nurses differ significantly on the J/P scale
from floor nurses.
These two nursing groups, although
qualitatively the same, vary quantitatively in their
strength of the Judging preference.
Experienced floor nurses are the largest nursing
group in this sample, as well as in the hospital setting.
64
Table 7, Experienced Floor Nurses, indicates an apparent
non-random distribution of types within this group.
More
than 78 percent of floor nurses are Sensing types; Judging
types represent 82.93 percent of the floor nurse sample.
Introverts are 65.85 percent of the floor nurse sample.
The third scale, Thinking/Feeling, is more evenly
distributed, having 58.54 percent Thinking types.
SJ
types account for 70.73 percent of floor nurses; IJ types
represent 58.54 percent of this group; ST types represent
48.78 percent.
65
TABLE 7
TYPE TABLE: EXPERIENCED FLOOR NURSES
#
ISTJ
INFJ
ISFJ
N =
13
N =
10
% =24.4
% =31.7
++++++++++ ++++++++++
+++++.
++
.
ISTP
ISFP
N =
1
.
% =4.88
.
.
.
.
++
.
ESTJ
4
% =4.88
.
.
.
= 41
(+ = 2%)
N
++
.
.
.
% =2.44
.
.
.
.
N =
2
% =4.88
++
s
32
9
78.05
21.95
T 24
F 17
58.54
41.46
J 34
p
7
82.93
17.07
IJ24
IP 3
EP 4
EJlO
58.54
7.32
9.76
24.39
ST20
SF12
NF 5
NT 4
48.78
29.27
12.20
9. 7 6
SJ29
SP 3
NP 4
NJ 5
70.73
7.32
9.76
12.20
TJ20
TP 4
FP 3
FJ14
48.78
9.76
7.32
34.15
IN 3
EN 6
IS24
ES 8
7. 3 2
14.63
58.54
19. 51
N
1
N =
ENTJ
N =
2
.
+
ENFJ
N =
% =9.76
1
.
.
.
.
ENTP
% =2.44
+
.
ESFJ
N =
++++
.
34.15
65.85
0
% =0.00
..
.
.
N =
% =0.00
.
N =
2
% =4.88
0
.
.
E 14
I 27
INTP
N =
.
1
% =2.44
+
ENFP
N =
2
.
.
++
ESFP
N =
..
0
.
.
.
ESTP
% =0.00
% =0.00
.
.
.
N =
0
INFP
N =
% =2.44
+
N =
INTJ
%
.
.
2
% =4.88
++
.
.
.
66
Table 8, Experienced Critical Care Nurses, indicates
an apparent non-random distribution of types.
More than
63 percent of critical care nurses are Sensing and
Feeling.
Fifty-nine percent of these nurses are
Introverts; Judging types account for 54.55 percent of
this group.
67
TABLE 8
TYPE TABLE: EXPERIENCED CRITICAL CARE NURSES
#
ISTJ
ISFJ
N=
3
.
% =9.09
++++
.
N =
2
N =
% =13.6
++++++
INFJ
.
.
.
INTJ
1
% =4.55
.
++
.
% =9.09
.
.
++++
.
2
N =
.
E 9
I 13
40.91
59.09
s
N
14
8
63.64
36.36
T
8
36.36
63.64
F 14
ISFP
N=
N=
1
% =4.55
.
.
++
.
54.55
45.45
IJ
IP
EP
EJ
8
5
5
4
36.36
22.73
22.73
18.18
.
% =0.00
.
.
ST
SF
NF
NT
5
9
5
3
22.73
40.91
22.73
13.64
% =13.6
SJ
SP
NP
NJ
8
6
4
4
36.36
27.27
18.18
18.18
.
N=
% =4.55
.
.
.
= 22
(+ = 2%)
N
2
.
.
.
N =
TJ
TP
FP
FJ
6
2
8
6
27.27
9.09
36.36
27.27
IN 5
EN 3
IS 8
ES 6
22.73
13.64
36.36
27.27
.
.
.
.
ENTJ
N=
1
% =4.55
++
1
% =4.55
++
.
N =
% =9.09
++++
1
ENFJ
N=
1
.
.
ENTP
.
.
ESFJ
% =0.00
% =4.55
++
.
0
N =
.
.
.
.
N=
3
++++++
ESTJ
++
.
ENFP
N=
0
2
% =9.09
++++
ESFP
N =
.
.
..
INTP
N=
2
% =9.09
++++
ESTP
INFP
12
p 10
J
ISTP
.
.
0
% =0.00
.
.
%
.
.
68
Hypothesis 3:
There is no difference between
the means of operating room nurses and the
means of other hospital nurses on the S/N, T/F,
and J/P scales.
There is no significant difference between operating
room nurses and each of the other three nursing groups
when comparing mean scores between nursing groups on all
four preference scales.
The null hypothesis is not
rejected.
Table 9, Experienced Operating Room Nurses, indicates
an apparent non-random distribution of types.
More than
81% of the sample of operating room nurses are Introverts
and Judging types.
types.
More than 87 percent are Sensing
The third scale is more evenly split, Feeling
types representing 56.25 percent of operating room nurses.
The IJ type combination represents 62.5 percent.
Sensing
Feeling types represent half of all operating room nurses.
Sensing Judging and Introverted Sensing types both
represent 75 percent of the experienced operating room
nurse sample.
69
TABLE 9
TYPE TABLE: EXPERIENCED OPERATING ROOM NURSES
--
E 3
INTJ
INFJ
ISFJ
ISTJ
#
I 13
N =
N =
5
=31.3
%
%
=31.3
++++++++++ ++++++++++
+++++.
+++++.
N =
%
.
.
.
.
%
=0.00
.
.
.
%
.
.
.
.
.
.
N =
N
1
.
.
.
N
= 16
(+
=
2%)
+++
.
=0.00
.
.
.
.
N
14
2
87.50
12. 50
T
F
7
9
43.75
56.25
J 13
p
3
81.25
18.75
IJ10
IP 3
EP 0
EJ 3
6 2. 50
18.75
0.00
18.75
ST
SF
NF
NT
6
8
1
1
37.50
50.00
6. 2 5
6. 2 5
SJ12
SP 2
NP 1
NJ 1
75.00
12.50
6. 2 5
6. 2 5
TJ
TP
FP
FJ
7
0
3
6
43.75
0.00
18.75
37.50
IN 1
EN 1
IS12
ES 2
6.25
6.25
75.00
12.50
0
% =0.00
.
.
.
.
ENTJ
=
N =
0
% =0.00
% =6.25
=6.25
+++
N
1
N =
0
ENFJ
=
.
.
ENTP
.
.
.
ESFJ
ESTJ
%
s
0
% =0.00
.
.
.
.
N =
=0.00
.
.
N =
1
% =6.25
0
=0.00
.
.
ENFP
N =
0
=
N =
.
ESFP
N
%
.
.
%
0
18.75
81.25
INTP
+++
++++++
ESTP
..
.
% =12.5
=0.00
=0.00
.
2
N =
0
%
N =
0
INFP
ISFP
ISTP
N =
5
%
.
.
%
+++
.
1
=6.25
.
.
70
Hypothesis 4:
There is no difference between the
means of non-floor nurses and the means of other
hospital nurses on the 8/N, T/F, and J/P scales.
There is no significant difference between non-floor
nurses and each of the other three nursing groups when
comparing mean scores between nursing groups on each
preference scale.
The null hypothesis is not rejected.
Table 10, Experienced Non-Floor Nurses, indicates an
apparent non-random distribution of type.
More than 76
percent of non-floor nurses are Introverted and Judging.
More than 69 percent are Sensing types.
The third scale,
Thinking/Feeling, is more evenly split, Thinking types
representing 53.85 percent.
More than 61 percent of the
non-floor nurses are IJ and SJ types.
71
TABLE 10
TYPE TABLE: EXPERIENCED NON-FLOOR NURSES
#
N =
% =0.00
% =23.1
% =30.8
++++++++++ ++++++++++
+
+++++.
.
.
.
E
3
I 10
23.08
76.92
s
69.23
30.77
% =7.69
N
9
4
..
T
F
7
6
53.85
46.15
J 10
3
76.92
23.08
IJ
IP
EP
EJ
8
2
1
2
61.54
15.38
7.69
15.38
ST
SF
NF
NT
4
1
3
30.77
38.46
7.69
23.08
SJ
SP
NP
NJ
8
1
2
2
61.54
7.69
15.38
15.38
TJ
TP
FP
FJ
6
1
2
4
46.15
7.69
15.38
30.77
IN
EN
IS
ES
2
2
8
1
15.38
15.38
61.54
7.69
+++
.
.
1
N =
0
N =
3
N =
4
I-NTJ
INFJ
ISFJ
ISTJ
.
p
.
.
.
+++
.
.
N
0
N =
N
0
.
.
= 13
(+ = 2%)
+++
.
.
=
N
1
.
.
.
.
N =
0
.
.
1
% =7.69
% =0.00
.
.
ENTJ
=
+++
.
5
0
% =0.00
.
.
.
ENFJ
% =7.69
% =0.00
N
.
..
N =
1
% =7.69
+++
ESFJ
N =
.
ENTP
N =
0
.
.
ESTJ
.
.
=
.
.
.
.
+++
.
ENFP
% =0.00
% =0.00
.
.
.
ESFP
ESTP
.
.
.
.
% =7.69
% =0.00
% =7.69
% =0.00
1
N =
0
N =
1
N =
0
N =
INTP
INFP
ISFP
ISTP
%
..
72
Discussion
In theory, occupations attract particular types of
people, and occupations should have similar type
distributions (Myers and McCaulley, 1985, p. 77).
In
collecting data on occupations and type, the Center for
Applications of Psychological Type (CAPT) finds the S/N
preference to be most important in choice of career.
There is a more significant relationship relevant to
career choice on this second MBTI scale.
This study
supports the finding of a predominance of Sensing types
represented more in all areas of hospital nursing.
This
corresponds to the work expectations of this preference:
"work that requires attention to details and careful
observation" (Myers and McCaulley, 1985, p. 78).
One nursing group, critical care nurses, was found to
significantly differ on the J/P scale from the floor
nursing group.
The continuous mean scores on the last
scale were 1.565 for critical care nurses and 21.5 for
floor nurses on the Judging preference.
According to the
MBTI manual (Myers and McCaulley, 1985), slight scores
(preference scores below ten) can generally be interpreted
as a reflection of tension between the opposite
preferences.
It is possible that the continuous mean J
score for critical care nurses is not a clear preference.
It is appropriate to consider the Perceiving preference
for this nursing group as well.
The work expectations for
73
the critical care nurses, as stated in the hypothesis
(Chapter three), demand more flexibility and adaptability
to change.
The theoretical work expectation of the
Perceiving type is as follows:
"work that requires
adapting to changing situations, or where understanding
situations is more important than managing them" (Myers
and McCaulley, 1985, p. 78).
Indeed,
the work
requirements of the critical care nurse and personality
preference, Perceptive, parallel.
Another interpretation for slight scores is that the
respondent has a good command of both preferences (Myers
and McCaulley, 1985, p. 58).
The hospital nursing
environment has been found to be primarily Judging in this
study and in other studies (Myers, 1967; Myers and Myers,
1984).
Should critical care nurses be Perceiving types
working in a Judging environment, the demands of the job
would encourage development of the less preferred
preference, Judging,
thus supporting the balanced
interpretation.
The other relationships between nursing groups cited
in hypotheses 3 and 4 were not found to be significant.
The small sample size of sixteen in the operating room and
thirteen in the non-floor nursing groups is a contributing
factor in the lack of statistical significance.
However,
the distribution of types within type tables was
apparently non-random compared to distribution in the
74
general population (table 11).
Table 11 reports
distribution of type for a general population sample of
non-student females over age 24, whose highest grade
completed was twelve (N
= 1337)
(Myers and McCaulley,
1985, pp. 48-49).
Table 9 indicates operating room nurses had the
highest percentage of SJ types of all nursing groups.
The
work of the operating room nurse is more mechanical and
structured than the other hospital nurse specialties.
The
demands of the job are conducive to this stronger SJ
preference.
The Intuitive type was most prevalent in the critical
care nurses (36.36%) and non-floor nurses (30.77%) and
least representative in operating room nurses (12.5%).
The work expectation for this preference is as follows:
"work that provides a succession of new problems to be
solved" (Myers and McCaulley, 1985, p. 78).
The need for critical care nurses to adapt to
immediate critical situations, and the see-the-wholepicture problem solving orientation of the non-floor
nurses would indeed utilize the intuitive process.
The
operating room nurses' strict attention to mechanical
physician support is in agreement with the low Intuitive
preference.
The largest percentage of Introverts is within the
'
75
TABLE 11
TYPE TABLE: GENERAL POPULATION
H.S. GRADS/FElWALE
#
ISTJ
INTJ
N = 129
N = 256
N =
% =9.65
% =19.1
% =3.59
++++
.
.
.
+++++++++
.
.
ISTP
ISFP
.
+
.
% =7.93
% =5.31
.
.
.
.
ESFP
ESTP
.
ENFP
N =
% =2.62
% =8.08
% =6.06
.
.
.
ESTJ
++++
.
.
.
+++
.
% =9.42
% =14.1
% =2.92
.
N = 1337
=
2%)
+++++++
.
.
+
.
IJ465
IP236
EP243
EJ393
34.78
17.65
18.18
29.39
ST331
SF659
NF239
NT108
24.76
49.29
17.88
8.08
SJ700
SP290
NP189
NJ158
52.36
21.69
14.14
11.82
TJ326
TP113
FP366
FJ532
24.38
8.45
27.37
39.79
IN169
EN178
18532
ES458
12.64
13. 31
39.79
34.26
18
.
.
N =
19
% =1.42
.
.
ENTJ
N =
.
64.17
35.83
.
N = 189
.
J 858
p 479
.
.
.
N = 126
++++
32.83
67.17
% =1.35
81
ENFJ
ESFJ
T 439
F 898
ENTP
N = 108
+
.
.
.
.
35
N =
74.05
25.95
N =
71
.
.
++
990
N 347
INTP
INFP
% =3.07
+++
47.57
52.43
s
.
N =
.
.
32
E 636
I 701
% =2.39
+
.
N = 106
+
N =
48
41
N =
(+
INFJ
ISFJ
%
N =
39
.
.
39
% =2.92
+
.
.
.
.
76
operating room nursing group (81.25%), decreasing with the
non-floor nurses (76.92%), floor nurses (65.85%) and
critical care nurses (59.09%).
The work expectations for
the two preferences on the first scale are as follows:
Extravert types: Work interactively with a
succesSIOn of people, or with activity outside
the office or away from the desk.
Introvert types: Work that permits some solitude
ana-TTffie-ror concentration.
(Myers and McCaulley, 1985, p. 78)
This is in agreement with the work of these nursing
groups.
Floor nurses and critical care nurses are with
more people and are on the move in their jobs, while the
operating room nurses work in a confined area with limited
contact with other health care providers and little
conscious patient contact.
The jobs of non-floor nurses
require the introverted desk activities as well as contact
with fellow nurses.
Operating room nurses work primarily with tools in
carrying out surgical support and procedure.
They neither
interact with conscious patients nor their families.
They
interact mainly with other operating room nurses and
physicians.
Because of the requirements of the job and
the author's conversations with operating room nurses and
hospital administrators, it was hypothesized that the
Thinking preference would be prevalent.
The preference on this scale is split somewhat
evenly.
Fifty-six percent of the operating room nurses
77
are Feeling types; forty-four percent are Thinking types
(table 9).
When a one-way analysis of variance was
performed on the continuous T/F scale, the mean score on
this scale was 3.05 in the Feeling preference, a slight
score.
The predominant ISFJ type is using the Sensing
function dominantly and the Feeling function as an
auxiliary support.
The Thinking function is the tertiary
function and is introverted; the Feeling function is
extraverted.
There is a lack of congruence between the
job duties of an operating room nurse and the ISFJ
personality.
As the mean score on the third scale is slightly in
the Feeling preference, it is probable that the ISFJ
person, attracted to the field of nursing,
is now in the
operating room specialty utilizing their tertiary function
in a Thinking environment.
This would account for the
slight mean score in the Feeling preference rather than a
clear score.
The work expectations of the ISJ type, found
in operating room nurses, parallels the work of the
operating room nurse.
Introverts: Work that permits some solitude and
time for concentration.
Sensing types: Work that requires attention to
details and careful observation.
Judging types: Work that imposes a need for system
and order.
(Myers and McCaulley, 1985, p. 78)
78
The T/F scale was found to be least reliable of all
MBTI scales (Myers and McCaulley, 1985).
The variation
between the four nursing groups on the T/F scale is slight
and not significant.
The nursing sample is evenly split
on this scale, 50 percent Thinking and 50 percent Feeling.
The work expectations of these preferences are as follows:
Thinking types: Work that requires logical order,
especially with ideas, numbers, and physical objects.
Feeling types: Work that provides service to people,
and a harmonious and appreciative work environment.
(Myers and McCaulley, 1985, p. 78)
The most prominent MBTI types in nursing are ISTJ
and ISFJ.
Nurses in the hospital setting report to the
researcher the differences in the way different nurses go
about their job.
Some are accused of being more callous
and others of being too sensitive to the direction of
hospital administration and physicians.
Although the job requires utilization of the ISJ
personality, the choice of Thinking or Feeling preferences
in the auxiliary of the personality,
nurse carries out her duties.
influences how a
The nurse with a Thinking
preference focuses more on the bottom line principle at
hand, communicating in a more brief and concise manner.
The nurse with the Feeling preference focuses more on
human values and feelings, working to establish harmony,
communicating in a more sensitive manner.
79
Summary
Ninety-two experienced hospital registered nurses
were typed on the MBTI to produce the results of this
study.
These nurses were categorized into four groups:
operating room nurses, floor nurses, non-floor nurses, and
critical care nurses.
A one-way analysis of variance was
performed to determine any qualitative and quantitative
differences between each of the four sets of preferences
(E/1, S/N, T/F, J/P) among collapsed nursing groups.
The
E/I, S/N, and T/F scales were not significant at the .05
level.
The J/P scale was significant at the .05 level.
Multiple comparisons among means of the six possible
combinations of nursing groups were computed using the
Scheffe test for significance.
Results of these analyses
for the J/P scale were reported under hypotheses 2, 3, and
4.
The comparison of mean scores for the critical care
nurses on the J/P scale were found to be significantly
(p <.05) different than the floor nurses.
1 and 2 were rejected.
Null hypotheses
Type tables for the four nursing
groups and the experienced nursing sample indicate an
apparently non-random distribution and a predominance of
ISTJ and ISFJ personality types.
The researcher offered
interpretations for the quantitative differences between
nursing groups, paralleling job requirements to prominent
80
personality preferences, offering face validity to the
findings of this study.
Chapter five will conclude this study with
recommendations for future research.
Suggestions for
implemention and further analysis will be provided.
CHAPTER V
Conclusions and Recommendations
Conclusions
This study offers evidence that there are predominant
MBTI personality types in hospital registered nurses.
There are predominant personality preferences within
different specializations of hospital registered nurses;
and,
these preferences differ between specializations of
hospital registered nurses.
These conclusions must be considered within the
limitations of this study.
The sample in this study is
composed of volunteer subjects.
Therefore, this study may
have possibly attracted more Extraverted and Feeling types
than is representative of the hospital registered nursing
population.
The small number of experienced nurses in the two
collapsed nursing groups, operating room nurses and nonfloor nurses,
is another limiting factor to the
statistical analysis of this study.
2 was rejected empirically.
Only null hypothesis
The results supporting
rejection of null hypotheses 1, 3, and 4 are observed and
apparently non-random rather than empirically significant.
81
82
Recommendations
The researcher suggests that this research be
replicated overcoming the limitation of a small sample in
the operating room and non-floor nursing groups.
Type tables in the study were observed to be
apparently non-random.
The researcher recommends these
frequency type tables be tested for empirical
significance.
Should this study be replicated, the researcher
recommends that a number of variables that were identified
in the Demographics Questionnaire (Appendix G) be
incorporated.
The Demographics Questionnaire posed two
questions to determine degree of job satisfaction.
The
relationship of job satisfaction and type could be
explored to determine whether the predominant types within
each nursing specialty have more satisfied nurses than
less predominant types within the same nursing specialty.
Findings could offer not only significant predominant
personality preferences within hospital registered nursing
specialties, but the effect of the interaction of type and
environment for nurses who are of the predominant
personality type and those nurses who are not.
Questions 14 and 15 of the Demographics Questionnaire
inquired about the respondent's position in the hospital
nursing hierarchy.
Jacoby (1981) found homogeneity of
MBTI preferences within upper ranks of the accounting
83
audit career hierarchy, as well as more diversity of type
within lower ranks.
Should this study be replicated, this
variable could be utilized to explore the relationship
between homogeneity or diversity of type and position in
the hospital nursing hierarchy.
The implication of this study for future MBTI
career typing research is the need for attention to the
trend of specialization.
This study provides empirical
evidence that specializations within careers utilize and
attract people with different MBTI personality
preferences.
The researcher recommends further research
typing specializations within careers as well as careers
as homogeneous entities.
These findings can be used by career counselors in
educational institutions to facilitate career decision
making and in selecting a nursing specialty.
Educating
students about type can help students having personality
types not of the predominant type to understand their
unique contribution in the workplace.
In hospitals, these findings can be used in job
placement of registered nurses.
When recruiting nurses,
hospital administors can use this research specifically to
emphasize the attributes of a nursing position that are
compatible with the values and interests of the
predominant personality type of that position.
For nurses
expressing lack of job satisfaction for the work itself,
84
hospital administrators can explore a transfer to a
specialization more conducive to the needs and attributes
of that type of nurse.
Because various personality types
differ in their values and interests, this research can be
used to determine the form of reinforcers relevant to the
nurse's personality type.
These findings can be used in the area of training
and development of hospital registered nurses.
The
researcher conducted MBTI interpretive workshops in the
five participating hospitals.
Nurses and administrators
expressed a need for application of type to improve
co~nunication,
as well as conflict resolution, with
nurses, doctors, and administrators.
With the
understanding of the positive attributes and needs of each
type, a more empathetic interaction is more probable.
The objective of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is
to help people identify and appreciate their strengths.
person can be a failure in an occupation not conducive to
one's personality and a success in an occupation that
utilizes one's natural assets.
Utilization of this
research and other research that profiles career
specializations can assist counselors, job placement
personnel, and students in the
career decision making
process by making some of the needs of the work
environment and the student more concrete.
Understanding
of personality type can make one's perceptions clearer,
A
85
judgments sounder, and one's life closer to one's natural
preferences (Myers and Myers, 1980, p. 211).
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Alumni
APPENDIX A
Proposal to Hospital Sites
Mary C. Martin
Thesis Description
California State Univ.,
Northridge
Thesis Title: Psychological Type, As Measured By the
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Within Hospital Registered
Nursing Specializations in Southern California.
Hypotheses: The objectives of this exploratory study are
to determine whether:
(1)
there are predominant personality types within
hospital registered nurses,
(2)
there are predominant personality types within
nursing specialties,
(3) predominant personality types will differ between
nursing specialties.
Sample: Registered nurses working in hospitals who are
satisfied with their work and have been working in their
nursing specialty for at least three years.
Method: Data collection includes the completion of a
demographics questionnaire (approximately three minutes to
complete) and the personality instrument, Myers-Briggs
Type Indicator (MBTI).
I propose data collection be
incorporated in a free seminar on "Communication Styles"
(see Seminar Outline attachment) and that this seminar
offer participants continuing education units. The only
part of data collection not pertinent to the seminar, but
to the thesis study, is the demographics questionnaire.
The MBTI is an integral part of the seminar.
I suggest an invitation to participate be distributed
with payroll and that signups for the seminar be handled
as is customarily done in your organization.
Collective results from this study shall be available
to (hospital).
Purpose of Study: Career satisfaction has been found to
negatively correlate with turnover.
Should my hypotheses
be supported by this study, hospitals can employ knowledge
of personality type in hiring within areas of nursing and
in transferring dissatisfied nurses in order to retain
valued employees. Results can also be used in career
development at the college level, and in self
understanding. An increased understanding of self and
95
96
others is a tool in increasing empathy and cooperation.
Such lends itself to more effective communication.
About the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator:
The MBTI is a self report instrument used for normal
individuals in assessing Jungian preferences. Developed
prior to 1962, the MBTI is based on Carl Jung's theory
that apparently random behavior on an individual's part is
t•eally not random at all, but has a pattern to it. This
pattern will reflect the person's preferences.
The MBTI is nonjudgmental. Some inventories can
leave you feeling that there is something wrong with you,
that you may be deficient in some way. This is not the
case with the MBTI. Each type has its strengths and
contributions. The MBTI is a confirming inventory that
leaves people feeling good about who they are.
It
clarifies the attributes of different types of people and
teaches us about how different types of people prefer to
communicate. This enables one to let others know what
they need in an exchange and also to communicate more
effectively to be heard by others.
The MBTI is well researched and is used
internationally.
It has been subjected to rigorous
testing as a research instrument revealing the MBTI to
valid and reliable. Companies such as Honeywell, IBM,
TRW, Xerox Corp., and Livermore National Laboratories use
the MBTI in training, career development, and
organizational development.
I have led this Communication
Styles seminar at Moorpark College as partial fulfillment
of a three unit transferrable course in Career
Development. Participants utilize their new knowledge in
dealing with peers and supervisors on the job as well as
when interacting with friends and family.
97
Seminar Outline
First Hour:
Introductions
Administration of MBTI
Completion of Demographics Questionnaire
Break
Second and Third Hours:
Interpretation of MBTI
Scoring the MBTI
Using the MBTI in Communicating to Type
Case Study/Group Exercise
Post-Test
Evaluation
This is a seminar offered to (hospital) and
participating registered nurses free of charge in exchange
for data collection for my Masters thesis.
98
BENEFITS OF THE lVIBTI TO THE HOSPITAL
Offers a Logical and Orderly Model of Human Behavior.
The MBTI model-r0cuses on how people's apparently
random behavior is actually consistent when it comes to
how they prefer to get information, make decisions, and
orient their lives.
Reduces Unproductive Interpersonal and Intraorganizational
COiiTli ct.
When people are aware of their differences in
perception and judgment, they can reduce conflict and
build on their differences. This results in a more
cooperative communication where each participant can be
heard. Conflict is reduced and decision making is
enhanced resulting is increased profits.
Is Neither Judgmental Nor Pejorative.
The MBTI model promotes discussion of sixteen
preference types in terms of their different contributions
and gifts. Each type is reported in positive,
constructive terms.
Identifies Strengths and Liabilities of Project and Work
Teams as Well as Particular Organizational Levels or
FunctTons.
The MBTI can indicate particular strengths and
blindspots of organizational units.
It is useful for
people at the same level, people in the same functional
area, and throughout a vertical hierarchy. Strengths of
individuals are clarified so the organization can utilize
its staff better.
Is Straightforward and Easily Understood.
Once the MBTI has been administered and scored, the
results can be interpreted for an entire group in a
two-hour to three-hour session. Participants in MBTI
workshops learn about their behavior as it relates to
taking in information and making decisions. They work
with a model of human behavior that is easy to assimilate
yet complex enough to warrant further study, and they can
develop a framework in which to analyze themselves in
relation to their work environment and their coworkers.
Helps to Assess the Fit Between Person and Job.
From the beginning, Isabel Myers, one of the MBTI's
authors, was interested in the fit between person and job.
Occupational data have been gathered over the last forty
years showing that certain types tend to seek certain
kinds of work experiences. Being aware of employees'
preferences in the work environment is a tool in training
99
and career development.
Has Solid Research Backing.
The MBTI was first published by Educational Testing
Service, which produces the College Board Examinations.
Over 230 dissertations have been written about the MBTI.
The MBTI is a reputable inventory and is now being used in
the area of training and development by such companies as
TRW, IBM, Allergen, and Livermore Laboratories.
Is Quick to Administer, Cost Efficient, and Professionally
Interpreted.
Administration of the MBTI takes less than thirty
minutes.
Interpretation requires training and coursework,
both of which Ms. Martin has.
Builds an Objective Framework for Dealing with Conflict.
The MBTI can bring objectivity and rationality to
work-related conflict.
It allows people to look at their
different ways of meeting an objective or doing a job.
Has Many Applications and Developmental Aspects for Areas
Such as Communication, Career Development, Management
Trarfltng, Team Building, and Motivation.
The MBTI is complex enough to be useful in many
different ways. The organization can introduce it in a
limited workshop, assess it's benefits, then use it
throughout the organization. Participation in this thesis
study offers the opportunity to experience the MBTI in an
inexpensive and professional way.
adapted from:
Hirsch, Sandra Krebs.
(1985). Using the
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in Organizations, A
Resource Book. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting
Psychologists Press.
100
BENEFITS OF THE MBTI TO INDIVIDUALS
Helps Individuals Learn About Themselves and Their
Preierences.
The MBTI offers people a straightforward and
affirmative way to look at themselves. For many people
self-awareness does not come easily and is often
threatening. The MBTI gives a clear road map to selfunderstanding.
Offers a Logical and Orderly Model of Human Behavior.
The MBTI model-rQcuses on how people's apparently
random behavior is actually quite consistent when it comes
to how they prefer to get information, make decisions, and
orient their lives.
Is Neither Judgmental Nor Pejorative and Helps to Raise
Self-Esteem.
The MBTI model discusses sixteen preference types in
terms of their different contributions and gifts. Each
type is reported in positive, constructive terms.
Helps Assess the Fit Between Person and Job.
From the beginning, Isabel Myers, one of the MBTI's
authors, was interested in the fit between person and job.
Occupational data have been gathered over the last forty
years showing that certain types tend to seek certain
kinds of work experiences.
Builds an Objective Framework for Emotional Issues.
The MBTI can bring some objecTIVity and reason to
emotional issues.
It allows people to look at their
different ways of meeting an objective or of living
through a situation.
Shows How to Persuade and Influence Others (How to Sell
Your Ideas).
By showing the different ways people prefer to
communicate, the MBTI offers individuals a way to build
communication patterns that will meet their needs as well
as the needs of others. This allows them to be more
effective in getting their ideas heard and implemented.
Helps Build Better Relationships With Others on the Job
and at Home.
The MBTI has been used very successfully in
relationships between boss and employee, husband and wife,
and many others.
In strained relationships, it can help
each person analyze the source of the conflict and build a
strategy to reduce it.
101
Indicates Why Some Thin~s Come Easily To People and Why
Other Things Are More D1fficult To Do.
Many people take their giiTS-rDr-granted or
underestimate them because these gifts come so easily.
The MBTI helps people to value their strengths. They also
become more aware of those areas in which development may
be warranted.
Provides Self-Awareness in Many Different Areas.
Tfie MBTI can be useful in career development, stress,
and time management, assertiveness, and many other selfmanagement and interpersonal skills areas.
Improves Motivation.
Isabel Myers said there are sixteen paths to
excellence. Finding the pathway that has the rewards that
a particular person values leads to motivated and
committed behavior.
adapted from:
Hirsch, Sandra Krebs.
(1985).
Using the
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in Organizations, A
Resource Book. Palo-Alto, CA: Consulting
PsychologTSTS Press.
102
REGISTERED NURSES ONLY!
L 0 T T E R Y
A N D
C E U s
WHOLE-BRAIN CG~UNICATION
Getting People to Understand You
By Understanding Them
You were born to prefer your left or right hand; some
believe you were born with a certain temperament and
preferences. This seminar will teach methods you can use
on the job and with patients, physicians, and supervisors .
•• and to enhance your career, your friendships and your
family 1 i fe. At this seminar you wi 11 learn:
* How to listen actively, what to listen for,
* How to get your ideas across to others,
* How to talk so others can see your point of view,
* How to get people to hear you better,
* How to adjust your style to get on others'
wavelengths,
* Why many of us perceive the same things in
different ways,
*To understand the different ways people think,
* To speak the others person's language.
Mary Martin will be your seminar leader. Ms. Martin
is a graduate student at California State University,
Northridge, in Educational Psychology. This seminar and
your input on a demographics questionnaire and the the
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator will provide data for her
Ma s t e r s t h e s i s •
All participants will be eligible for the $25 lottery to
be drawn on (date).
To sign up for one of the seminars listed, please
contact the Education department.
(Times, dates and locations of seminars here.)
103
WHOLE-BRAIN COMIVIUNICATION
POST-TEST
Please circle one correct response per question.
1. Linda tends to be practical and very thorough when
working with details.
She can be counted on to be factual
and show why an idea maJ(es sense. Which best identifies
Linda?
a. Feeling
b. Judging
c. Sensing
2. Jack is sometimes accused of being cold and
analytical. He can be counted on to add a logical
perspective, moving from point to point, listing all the
costs and benefits of an idea. Which best identifies
Jack?
a. Thinking
b. Feeling
c.
Intuitive
3.
If you are presenting an idea to a Feeling type, what
approach would be most effective?
a. Be concise and to the point, focusing on the
bottom line.
b. Tell why its valuable and explain why it would be
helpful.
c. Be factual and detail oriented in your
presentation of ideas.
4.
If you are presenting an idea to a Thinking type, what
approach would be most effective?
a. Be concise and to the point, focusing on the
bottom line.
b. Tell why it's valuable and explain why it would be
helpful.
c. Be factual and detail oriented in yout•
pre'sentation of ideas.
5. What is the objective of the Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator?
a. To bring forth your positive qualities.
b. To help you appreciate the gifts of different
others around you.
c. Both a. and b.
APPENDIX B
A Comparison of Internal Consistency of MBTI Scales Using
Estimates From Phi Coefficients and Tetrachoric
Correlations, All Corrected Using the Spearman-Brown
Prophecy Formula
Statistical
Formula
Eli
SIN
TIF
JIP
(Ranges from eight studies)
Phi Coefficient
Tetrachoric Correlations
55-74
79-92
(Myers and McCaulley, 1985, p. 171)
104
54-77
79-89
49-66
67-89
58-76
79-93
APPENDIX C
Seven Week Test-Retest Reliability Coefficients, Form G
Sex
E/I
S/N
Male
Female
.79
.86
105
T/F
J/P
.84
.48
•63
• 87
.87
• 80
APPENDIX D
Four Year Test-Retest Reliability Coefficients, Form F
MBTI Scales
E/I
SIN
T/F
J/P
.51
.58
.45
.45
106
APPENDIX E
Ranges of Significant Correlations Between the MBTI and
Thirty Personality Instruments.
MBTI Preferences
Significant Correlations
Extraversion
Introversion
Sensing
Intuition
Thinking
Feeling
Judging
Perceiving
.40-.77
.40-.75
.40-.67
.40-.62
.40-.57
.40-.55
.40-.59
.40-.57
(p <.01)
107
APPENDIX F
Significant Correlations Between the MBTI and Jungian Type
Survey
Preference
Correlations
Extraversion
Sensing
Thinking
Introversion
Intuitive
Feeling
(p <.05)
108
.68
.54
• 33
.66
.47
.23
APPENDIX G
Demographics Questionnaire
1. Are you a Registered Nurse?
a. yes
b.
no
Questions 2 and 3.
Indicate your highest level of education.
(Please
choose one response irom questions 2/3.)
2 • a • As soc i a t e
b. Diploma
c. B. S. N.
d. Bachelors degree, another area other than nursing
e. M. S. N.
3. a. Masters degree, another area other than nursing
b. PhD.
4. If you are presently enrolled in a degree program,
please indicate which one.
a. B. S. N.
b. Bachelors degree, another area other than nursing
c. M. S. N.
d. Masters degree, another area other than nursing
e. PhD.
5. Do you work in a hospital?
a. yes
b. no (Please go on to question 8).
6 • What type of program did you attend to obtain your
initial RN credential? (Please choose one response.)
a. Associate
b. Dip 1 oma
c. B. S. N.
d.
M.
S. N.
7. Please choose the schedule that best describes your
work?
a.
full time
b. part time
8. How many total beds are in your HOSPITAL (not your
unit)?
a. under 100
b.
100-500
c.
over 500
109
11 0
Quest i on s 9 , 1 0 , and 11 •
In what area of nursing are you currently employed?
(Please choose one response from questions 9/10/11.)
9. a.
Intensive Care
b. Cardiac Care
c • Neon a t a I I n t en s i v e Ca r e
d. Pediatrics
e. Labor and Delivery
10. a.
Operating Room
b. Orthopedics
c. Recovery
d. Medical-Surgical
e. Post Partum/Newborn Nursery
11. a.
Psychiatric
b. Education
c. Rehabilitation
d. Administration
e. Other; Please indicate
Questions 12 and 13.
If you were to begin all over again, would you go into
the same nursing special!Y? (Please choose one response.)
definitely
yes
probably
yes
not
sure
probably
no
definitely
no
I ..... I ..... I ..... I ..... I ..... I ..... I ..... I ..... I ..... I
12a
12b
12c
12d
12e
13a
13b
13c
13d
13e
Questions 14 and 15.
Which type of position best describes the work you do?
(Please choose one response from questions 14/15.)
14. a. Administrator
b. Manager
c. Supervisor or Assistant
d.
Instructor
e. Head Nurse or Assistant
15. a. General Duty/Staff Nurse
b. Clinical Nursing Specialist
c. Nurse Anesthetist
d. Nurse Midwife
e. Other; Please indicate
16. How long have you worked in the nursing specialty
indicated in questions 9/10/11?
a.
less than two years
b.
two years or more, but less than three years
c.
three years or more
111
Questions 17 and 18.
How do you feel about your work in your nursing
specialty? (Please choose one response.)
most
satisfied
like
dislike
not
sure
it
i t
most
dissatisfied
I •••••I•••••I••• ••I •• •••I•••• •I•• •••I• ••••I• ••••I •••••I
17a
17b
17c
17d
17e
18a
18b
18c
18d
18e
APPENDIX H
Pre-Test Letter, Pilot Study
Dear Nurse,
This study is part of the research being conducted
for my Masters thesis at California State University,
Northridge. The results of this thesis will be used to
identify the predominant personality preferences within
nursing specialties and will enable college career
counselors to more effectively advise nursing students.
All information provided in connection with this
study will remain CONFIDENTIAL and will be disclosed only
as a part of group data.
Individual responses will be
anonymous and confidential. However, I would be happy to
provide you with a summary of results and try to answer
any questions regarding my thesis.
The purpose of your participation in completing the
attached demographics survey is to 'pretest' this
questionnaire.
I am trying to determine whether all
questions are easy to understand and answer according to
my instructions. Therefore, if you find any questions
difficult to answer and/or if you have any suggestions for
me, please make a notation directly on the survey form.
Please read the directions before you begin.
Your participation is greatly appreciated.
This
survey should take less than five minutes to complete.
I
would greatly appreciate your returning this form to the
Director of Education at your earliest convenience.
Thank you again for your time and interest and for
making this pretest possible.
Sincerely,
Mary C. Martin
Candidate, M. A. in Education a 1 Psycho 1 ogy
California State University, Northridge
112
COPYRIGHT
December 1986
by
Mary Catherine Reitz Martin
113