Personality and geographical Diversity in a Learning Team

Personality Differences

Personality, as defined by Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn (2002), “represents the

overall profile or combination of characteristics that capture the unique nature of a person

as that person reacts and interacts with others”. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

(MBTI) is, according to Barkdoll, is “recognized as the most widely used personality

inventory in the world”. There are four scales that are used with the MBTI. They are:

1. Extroversion-Introversion (E versus I)

2. Sensing-Intuition (S versus N)

3. Thinking-Feeling (T versus F)

4. Judging-Perceiving (J versus P)

According to the MBTI website, extroversion and introversion are “the primary

modes of living. (Introverts) deal with things rationally and logically…(Extroverts) take

things in via your five senses in a literal, concrete fashion”.

The ability to gather information through the five senses is referred to as either

sens...