Teaching Personality Type in Mainland China

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) was administered to 119 mainland Chinese nationals who held managerial or professional positions in a Chinese joint venture company in the People’s Republic of China in 1997-98. The results show high proportions of STJ, NTJ, sensing, thinking, and judging types, and slightly more introverts than extraverts. Almost 65% of females and over 80% of males preferred thinking. The verification process did not significantly change the proportions of types in this sample. Experiences unique to helping this population validate their types are discussed. Introduction Very little information has been published about using the MBTI with Chinese nationals. No information has been published about using the MBT with Chinese national business managers and/or business professionals. A dissertation by Yanping Yao at Mississippi State University used the MBTI to determine the personality types of 293 Chinese female school administrators in mainland China (Yao, 1993). At the ninth conference of the Association for Psychological Type, C. H. Huang and C. E. Huang presented their results in using the MBTI to determine the types of Taiwanese university students (Huang & Huang, l991). Method and Scope Participation in a two-day workshop to determine one’s personality type by taking the MBTI was open to all managers and professionals on a volunteer basis in a Chinese joint venture company with approximately 800 employees. One hundred and nineteen managers and professionals chose to attend. Although the participants were currently living and working in Guangdong province in southern China, they had been born and raised in provinces throughout China. Genders, Ages: There were 66 males (55%) and 53 females (45%). The group ranged in age from 22 to 43 years. The average age of the group was 29.8 years; the median age was 28 years. Seventy-three participants (61%) were age 22 to 29; thirty-five participants (29%) were in their thirties; 4 participants (3.3%) were age 40 to 43. Seven participants (5.9%) did not report their age. All participants had completed all of their schooling in China. Education: All participants had completed at least 14 years of school. All but 5 (96%) had degrees from Chinese universities. Forty-two participants (35%) had been trained as engineers. Since students usually graduate from Chinese universities when they are age 23 or 24, the majority of the participants were recent university graduates with a few years of very successful work experience. Employment: Fifty-five participants (46%) were employed in professional or administrative positions, e.g., training instructor, executive secretary, purchasing agent, human resources administrator, customer service representative, and the like. Forty-two participants (35%) were trained as engineers. Thirty-four participants (29%) were managers. (Engineers who were employed as managers were counted in both categories.) Workshops Described. A total of nine two-day workshops were presented. The number of participants per workshop ranged from 12 to 28 people; the average class size was 15 people. The workshops were presented in a relaxed, living-room-like environment off-site from the organization’s offices. The workshops were designed and facilitated by Eileen Broer (an American woman) in English with Chinese translation. Written workshop materials were presented in both English and Chinese, and included the English and Mandarin versions of Introduction to Type in Organizations (Hirsh & Kummerow, 1990). The participants had varying degrees of facility with the English language. (English is a compulsory course in the PRC starting in elementary school.) Most of the participants could speak and understand English fairly well. The translator and the participants themselves helped everyone understand each other so that the facilitator could ensure that the participants correctly validated their types. Teaching Personality Type in Mainland China By Eileen Broer and Nancy McCarley