SelfPerception and Temperament Type of Gifted Children

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Self-Perception and Temperament Type of Gifted
Children Youth

• Lamar University
• Education Research Conference
• March 27 28, 2008
• Presented by
• Debra A. Troxclair, Ph.D.
• University of Louisiana at Monroe
• College of Education and Human Development
• Curriculum Instruction Dept.
• 700 University Blvd. Strauss 233
• 318-342-1279 (O)
• troxclair_at_ulm.edu
• http//www.ulm.edu/troxclair/2008

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Self-concept Achievement of Gifted

• Do gifted individuals have better self-concepts
  than non-gifted individuals?
• If they do, why?
• If they dont, why not?

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Introduction
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The debate???

• High self-concept vs. Low self-concept
• Of
• Gifted

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What about effects of personality on self-concept?

• Gifted children have social and emotional
  developmental needs because of variations in
  facets of development and may have difficulties
  resulting from a lack of awareness and acceptance
  of their personality type.

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Self-Perception, Temperament Type, Achievement,
Grade Level, and Gender in Intellectually Gifted
Youth

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How is the self-perception of a gifted child
influenced by .

• Personality type (specifically extroversion/introv
  ersion)
• Academic achievement
• Gender
• Grade level

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Performance in school is strongly influenced by
the ways they think and feel about themselves
(Lewis, 1994).

• Gifted children have special needs because of
  their unique, differentiating characteristics
• Large accumulation of information about emotions
  that has not been brought to awareness
• Being unusually sensitive to the expectations and
  feelings of others
• Having a heightened self-awareness accompanied by
  feelings of being different
• Experiencing early development of an inner locus
  of control and satisfaction
• Being strongly motivated towards
  self-actualization

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Background and Importance of the Study
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Needs of gifted individuals

• Needs related to these differentiating
  characteristics include a need to
• Identify their own and others perceptual filters
  and defense systems
• Learn to clarify the expectations of others
• Assert their own needs and feelings
  non-defensively
• Share the self with others for
  self-clarification
• Confront and interact with the value systems of
  others
• Learn to set realistic goals and to accept
  setbacks as part of the learning process
• Follow divergent paths and pursue strong
  interests
• Acquire help in understanding the demands of
  self-actualization

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Type theory help gifted students learn
affectively and cognitively

• Cognitive development can be affected by type
  theory as it offers a framework for structuring
  teaching and learning activities
• Personality type affects preferences for teaching
  and learning
• There is a relationship between psychological
  type and subject matter preferences that may play
  a part in an individuals level of achievement in
  a particular subject area.
• Underachievement occurs more often due to a
  mismatch of type between teacher and students
  than to poor self-concept (Barger Hoover, 1984)

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Statement of the Problem
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• The purpose of the study was to discover the
  relationships between
• Self-Perception
• as related to
• Temperament type (Extroversion/Introversion)
• Achievement
• Grade Level
• Gender

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Harters Model of Self-Concept

• Self concept
• The image we hold of ourselves (Hoge Renzulli)
• Attitudes, feelings, and knowledge about our
  abilities, skills, appearnace, and social
  acceptability (Byrne, as cited in Hoge
  Renzulli)
• Dimensions of self-concept
• Cognitive
• Perceptual
• Affective
• Evaluative or self-esteem dimension

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Streins Hierarchy of Self-Concept

• Self-perception
• Descriptive
• Emphasis on behaviors instead of feelings
• Self-acceptance
• Self-confidence
• Self-regard

Evaluative
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Self-Concept Models

• Nomothetic ---gt Global Self-Worth
• Hierarchical
• Multi-dimensional view of self-concept

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Self-Perception
Self-perception The way children perceive their
competence and self-adequacy across specific
domains as measured by the Harter
Self-Perception Profile for Children (HSPPC)
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HSPPC .
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Jungs Personality Type

• Temperament Type
• Signature of ones actions that makes one
  recognizably his/her own as measured by the
  Murphy-Meisgeier Type Indicator for Children
  (MMTIC)

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NF Temperament Types
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SJ Temperament Types
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NT Temperament Types
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SP Temperament Type
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The Extrovert/Introvert Dimension

• Extraverts
• Seek external activity
• Change
• Interaction in order to create the energy needed
  to guide themselves through the day
• Get energy by initiating activity in the
  environment
• Need to externalize thoughts and ideas aloud
• Thrive on seeking stimulus from their surroundings

• Introverts
• Energy is derived and revitalized by reflecting
  upon stimulus received from their surroundings
• Do not feel the need to externalize thoughts or
  ideas until pressure to communicate with others
  requires it
• Feels ideas and thoughts are satisfying in and of
  themselves
• Energy comes from the peace of their internal
  garden rather than from outside stimuli energy
  is within themselves
• They expend their energy by painting an internal
  picture of what is real

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Method
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Data Collection
Self-Perception
HSPCC May 1997
Temperament Type
MMTIC May 1997
California Achievement Test Scores from Spring
1996 May 1997
Achievement Data
Gender/Grade Level
Demographics section of MMTIC May 1997
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Additional information

• Participation was voluntary in accordance with
  all school district policy
• Administration of the instruments was
  counterbalanced the MMTIC was administered first
  at one schools followed by the HSPPC. At the next
  school the order of admissions was reversed
• It took about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes to
  complete the instruments

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The Murphy Meisgeier Type Indicator for Children

• 70 item self-report measure respondent is asked
  to choose a preferred response from 2 choices,
  neither of which is right or wrong
• The four dimensions of personality type were
  assessed by this instrument
• SN (Sensing iNtuiting)
• TF (Thinking Feeling)
• JP (Judging Perceiving)
• EI (Extroversion Introversion)
• Responses were made by selecting the a or b
  choice on a hand-scorable answer sheet and are
  recorded as a standard four letter code, one
  letter from each of the four pairs (SN, TF, JP,
  or EI) for a total of 16 possible personality
  types. Those types are ISTJ, ISFJ, INFJ, INTJ,
  ISTP, ISFP, INFP, INTP, ESTP, ESFP, ENFP,
  ENTP,ESTJ, ESPJ ENFJ, AND ENTJ)

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More on MMTIC

• Content validity reported by 21 members of the
  Association of Psychological Type
• Construct validity reported with
• Childrens Personality Questionnaire,
• the Learning Preferences Inventory,
• and the Learning Pattern Assessment

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More on MMTIC

• Reliability
• Internal consistency of discriminant function
• Spearman-Brown Split-hal reliabilty for
  discriminant function scores
• EI .62 .65
• SN .68 .63
• TF .65 .64
• JP .72 .75
• Pearson Test-retest reliability
• Preference Classifications (gamma) and
  Discriminant Function Scores (Pearson product
  moment correlation)
• EI .71 .61
• SN .75 .69
• TF .64 .58
• JP .71 .68

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The Harter Self-Perception Profile for Children

• 36 item paper and pencil instrument which has
  responses devised in a structured alternative
  format. This means the student is first asked to
  decide which kind of child is most like him or
  hen and then is asked if this is only sort of
  true for him/her, or is really true for him/her
• Responses are scored on a scale from 1 to 4 where
  1 indicates a low perception of confidence and a
  score of 4 reflects a high perceived competence
• Validity
• Internal consistency (Coefficient alpha) .71 -
  .86
• Reliability
• Test-retest coefficient
• .70 to .87 after 3 months
• .69 to .89 after 9 months

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Hypotheses, Research Design Results
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Hypotheses

• H1 There is a significant relationship between
  the criterion variable of temperament type and
  the composite set of predictor variables of
  self-perception, the E/I dimension, academic
  achievement, gender, and grade level in selected
  intellectually gifted students in grades 4
  through 8.
• MDA was used to test this hypothesis
• Results Accepted There was a low to moderate
  significant relationship with temperament type
  and the predictor variables and that these
  variables were highly intercorrelated.

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Hypotheses

• H6 The relationship between self-perception and
  the independent variables of grade level, gender,
  academic achievement, and the E/I dimension
  significantly differ according to temperament
  type
• MANOVA procedure was used
• Results Accepted
• The following significant differences were found
  between
• NF and SJ
• NF and Undecided
• NT and SJ
• NT and Undecided
• SJ and SP
• Undecided and SP
• The largest difference was found between the SP
  and the Undecided groups and the smallest
  difference was between the NT and NF groups.

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Hypotheses

• H7 There is a significant difference between
  temperament type and the E/I dimension on the
  cirterion varialbe of self-perception
• MANOVA method was used
• Results Hypothesis 7 was accepted for the E/I
  dimension and rejected for the temperament type
  variable.
• Extraverts scored significantly difference from
  introverts and the undecided group on athletic
  competence
• The Undecided group scored significantly
  different from introverts on the social
  acceptable scale of self-perceptions

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Hypotheses

• H8 There is a significant interaction between
  the variables of temperament type, the E/I
  dimension, and academic achievement on the
  criterion varialbe of self-perception.
• MANOVA method was used
• Results rejected
• While there was no significant interaction among
  any of the three variables of the E/I dimension,
  temperament type, and achievement, the
  self-perception means differed according to the
  E/I dimension
• The extravert group mean was significantly higher
  than both the introvert and undecided groups on
  athletic competence
• The extravert group mean was significantly higher
  than the introvert and undecided groups on social
  acceptance.

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Hypotheses

• H10 There is a significant interaction between
  males and females across grade levels on the
  criterion variable of self-perception.
• MANOVA method was used
• Results rejected
• While there was no significant interaction found
  between the composite set of gender and grade
  level on self-perception, there was signifcant
  interaction between grade level and the physical
  appearance scale and between gender and athletic
  competence, physical appearance, and behavioral
  conduct self-perception.
• Males scored significantly higher than females on
  athletic competence, physical appearance scales
• Females scored significantly higher than males on
  behavioral conduct scale
• Fifth graders scored higher on the physical
  appearance scale than did subjects in all other
  grade levels.

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Discussion
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• Within this study, a low to moderate significant
  relationship was found between temperament type
  and the composite set of variables of
  self-perception, the E/I dimension of personality
  type, academic achievement, gender, and grade
  level. However, there were no significant
  independent relationships between temperament
  type and each of the variables. These variables
  were highly intercorrelated.

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• The relationship between the composite set of
  independent varialbes of grade level, gender,
  academic achievement, and the E/I dimension
  significantly differed according to temperament
  type. These significant differences were found
  for the NF and SJ types. Additionally, 5 out of
  the 6 other significant differnces found included
  those students with the N dimension in their
  temperament types.
• Consistent with Myers McCaulleys findings (as
  cited in Bireley, 1991) which link the gifted
  childs preference for the N domain to his/her
  feelings of being different. (Olszewshi-Kubilius
  Kulieke, 1989, also found gifted 7 to 9th
  graders to be N males were NT and females for NF

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• Gifted children are more likely to be I
  (Gallagher, Geiger, Myers McCaulley)
• Students in this present study were extraverts
  (56.5) rather than intraverts (25.3) or
  Undecided (18.27) with no significant
  differences relative to gender.
• Self-perception means for the variables of
  athletic competence and social acceptance
  significantly differed according to the E/I
  dimension
• Es scored higher than Is and Undecideds on
  athletci competence
• Undecided groups scored significantly higher than
  introverts on the social acceptance scale of
  self-perception.
• Gender was significantly related to
  self-perception scales of athletic competence,
  physical appearance, and behavioral conduct.
• Findings concurred with Hoge and McSheffrey for
  athletic competence and physical appearance and
  with Li regarding physical appearnance

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• Self-perception means for variables of athletic
  competence and social interaction between grade
  level and physical appearance
• Fifth graders scored significantly higher than
  did subjects in the remaining grades
• Inconsistent with Lis findings who reported that
  4th graders were more positive in perception of
  their physical appearance.

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Recommendations
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• Examine the relationship between temperament type
  and
• experience or length of time in gifted programs,
• self-actualization,
• locus of control,
• leadership,
• thinicity,
• overexciteabilities

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• Longitudinal studies of gifted individuals would
  be useful to reveal if personality/temperament
  type and self-perception change or maintain over
  time
• Studying personality type in atypical populations
  of gifted individuals (gt/ld, underachievers,
  artistically talented/creative gt students) and
  comparing/contrasting those students with more
  typical gifted students would add insight into
  how those students function
• Studies investigating the effects of matching
  teachers of the gifted and their students
  according to personality type on achievement and
  self-perception
• Development of an affective curriculum about
  personality type