Changes, Challenges,
Choices
Using the Myers Briggs Type
Indicator with your Millennial
Students
®
Presentation Outline
 Millennial students
 MBTI
 Using the MBTI with
Millennial Students
 Questions
®
®
Who are Millennials?
Generation c. 1982
“Baby on Board” generation
Ethnically diverse
Positive social habits
“Wanted” generation
Grown up with “family values”
Seven Distinctive Traits of
Millennials
 Special
 Sheltered
 Achieving
 Confident
 Conventional
 Team Oriented
 Pressured
Special
Protected
Earnest
Believed to solve world problems
Happy and confident
Strong friendship and family ties
Catered to by the media
Sheltered
Like spending time
with parents
Often reluctant to
leave home
Expect safe
environment
Dawn of the
“helicopter” parents
Confident
Confident in
themselves and
their peers
Optimistic
High levels of trust
Expect to get their
ideal job
Unrealistic
expectations
Conventional
Go with the group
Mixed feelings
around individualism
Comfortable with
parents’ values
Conventional view
points
Like to be part of the
crowd
Team Oriented
Value racial and ethnic diversity
Service and community oriented
Group learning
Cultural shift from “I” to “We”
Pressured
Need to make the
grades to ensure
college admittance
Yearn for a release
of their pressures
Stressed, ambitious
and sleep deprived
Constantly going
and doing
Achieving
Smart
Enjoy school
Civic minded
Value leadership
Have much more homework
For Millennials….
The Soviet Union has never existed
They have known only two presidents
There has always been only one Germany
Smoking has never been permitted on airlines
They have always been searching for “Waldo”
They grew up with virtual pets to feed, water,
and play games with
For Millennials…
A coffee has always taken longer to make
than a milkshake
“Google” has always been a verb
Milli Vanilli has never had anything to say
Reality shows have always been on TV
“So” as in “Soooooo New York” has always
been a drawn out adjective modifying a
proper noun, which in turn modifies
something else
Theory of Type Development
Developed by Carl G. Jung
In born preferences
Psychological type
Behaviour orderly and consistent
Perception: becoming aware
Judgment: coming to conclusions
Type Activity #1
Write (or print) your name with your
dominant hand
Write (or print) your name with your
non-dominant hand
Discussion
Type Characteristics
Product of heredity and the
environment
Lifelong process to gain greater
command
Expression of type varies according to
stages and life experiences
Dynamic not static
Development of the MBTI
Developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and
Katharine Briggs
Based on Jungian theory
Sort individuals into type categories
– Mental functions
– Orientation of energy
Developed and refined over 50+ years
16 distinctive personality types
®
Personality Types
Extraversion (E)
Introversion (I)
Direct and get energy
Sensing (S)
Intuition (N)
Take in information
Thinking (T)
Feeling (F)
Make decisions
Judging (J)
Perceiving (P)
Organizing the external world
E’s in College
Rely on activity
Use dominant process in external world
Think best while talking
Learn best in groups
Difficulty sitting in front of a book for long
periods
Need frequent breaks
Value active experience
Use trial and error
I’s in College
Need quiet time
Think best when alone
More comfortable with teacher centered/lecture
based instruction
Think before they act
May go unappreciated
Plan extensively
S’s in College
Concrete aspects of the here and now
Master facts and details
Put to use what they learn
Practical and realistic
Like clear and concise directions
Want to learn skills or procedures and perfect
them
Do not need a lot of variation
N’s in College
Seek general impressions
Want to master theories and concepts
Impatient with routine and structure
Prefer open ended assignments
Reluctant to observe details and learn facts
T’s in College
Like clearly presented set of performance
criteria
Need logical reasons for completing tasks
Thought process is rule based
Make decisions based on “reasons”
Concentrate on content rather than
process
May come to points too quickly
F’s in College
Put what they learn to work for people
they are concerned about
Motivated when hearts are in their work
Unless given personal encouragement,
may find tasks boring and unrewarding
Hierarchy of values
Expressive talk
J’s in College
Gauge academic progress by
accomplishments
Prefer structured learning environment
Take pleasure in accomplishing tasks
Overachievers
Viewed as organized and motivated
P’s in College
Depend less on accomplishing tasks to
feel comfortable
View learning as freewheeling and flexible
Feel imprisoned in highly structured
classroom
Tend to over commit themselves
May delay closure
Using the MBTI with
Millennial Students
®
May need help with time management for the
future due to immediate pressures
Have unrealistic expectations of job potential
and entrance levels
Many have 5 and 10 year plans
View of success is based on having a career
they love that allows them to lead a
“balanced” life
MBTI and Millennials
®
Highly organized, many having day planners
since they were in kindergarten
More students are achieving an “A” average
making the occasional “B” or “C” seem like a
penalty
Computers aren’t technology
Learn the “Nintendo” way of doing things
versus through logic
Dealing with Helicopter
Parents
Kids are more supervised
Spending more “quality
time” with parents
Families do things
together
Parents are disciplining
their children
Parents are often postsecondary graduates
Parents are overly
involved in education
Questions?
For more information, please feel free
to contact me:
Heather Doyle
Coordinator, Academic Advising
Lakehead University
(807)346-7916
[email protected]
References
Briggs Myers, I.; McCaulley, M.H., et.al. (1998).
MBTI manual (Third Edition). CPP, Inc.:
California.
Howe, N.; Strauss, W. (2000). Millennials rising: the
next great generation. Vintage Books: New York.
Provost, J.A; Anchors, S. (2003). Using the MBTI
instrument in colleges and universities. Center
for Applications of Psychological Type:
Gainesville, Fl.
®
®