Things such as personality and behavior (attending class) have shown to be good predictors of academic performance and they may be useful in helping students improve their academic development (Conard, 2006). The tests Conard was using to help predict academic performance were the SAT and the ACT, these are the standardized tests that students use to get into college. With most colleges requiring one or the other and possibly both, it is important to see how much of a role personality plays in these tests. Anyone who has been to a college or university knows that most of the tests you take are tests where you have to recall the information you memorized and put it back into the test.

There are two basic systems when you are talking about memory the structure and control. The structure is the physical and wired in processes that will remain constant across experiences. While the control is while the control is the one that varies across people and situations. (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968 as cited in Johnson, 1974). Control can also refer to the techniques that people use to recall information,

Short term memory or short term store usually lasts for about 30 seconds before it dissipates, this can be avoided by repetition or with some sort of aid or control device (technique for recall). If the sensory information makes it into long term storage it is considered remembered and the individual can recall that information at a later date.

Memory studies before 1956 generally studied episodic long term storage (LTS), as it was seen that short term storage was of limited use. Most of this work was concerned with interrupting memory recall. Studies today are mostly focused on how memory is stored and encoded in long term storage and how it is recalled when needed. There is little work done on short term memory and personality as they relate to each other. It is important to note that some view short term memory as not acceptable for testing unless the chance for recall is immediate. One of the best articles on classic studies of personality and memory was by Johnson (1974) who does an excellent job of summing up all of the important works up to his time.

Two of the most common ways to measure personality are through the Big Five personality traits: Openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. The other is Jungian Typology which consists of two attitudes introversion and extroversion as well as four functions of sensing, intuition, thinking, and feeling. Introversion and extraversion are focuses of cognitive activity in individuals. Introversion is the focus on the internal representation of experiences, while extroversion focuses on the outside world.

The Jungian typology test has given rise to a major standardized personality inventory the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Myers, 1962 as cited in Carlson & Levy, 1973). This test is used in many colleges and universities in the assessment of student’s personalities for potential strengths and weaknesses.

In Study 1 of Carlson and Levy (1973) short term memory (STM) was tested by presenting subjects with a stimulus for a brief period of time, and then they were asked to recognize or reproduce stimulus content. Testing STM requires individual differences in cognitive orientation thus testing extroversion and introversion. In this study they found that Introverts were significantly superior on digit span tasks and extraverted were significantly more accurate on facial expressions.

My theory is that introverted personality types will do better on number recollection, while extroverts will recall words better. Using a Jung Typology test I will test individuals for their major personality type introverted or extroverted. To see the difference between the two I will use four memory lists, two will be words and the other two will be three digit numbers. With extroverts focus on the outside world I believe the words will be easier because they represent things in the outside world, while the numbers or digits will not have any reference to the outside world and will be easier to internalize. By changing between words and numbers I hope to see a difference between recall accuracy and personality types.

PARTICIPANTS
I used 64 undergraduate students from Missouri Western State University were used. These students were taken from introduction level psychology classes. These students were given extra credit for their psychology class for their participation. The exact amount given was determined by the professor of the psychology classes. Out of the 64 students there were 36 extroverts, 16 were introverts, and 12 were unusable because of incomplete forms.

MATERIALS
For this experiment I used a 72 question Jungian Typology Test from http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm to measure introversion and extroversion. There were two word lists and two number lists used in this experiment. The two word lists had 15 random words each of which were chosen from zokutou.co.uk/randomword. The two number lists had 15 random numbers each ranging from 100-999 that were chosen from http://www.random.org/nform.html. The memory tests were presented on a power point presentation. I handed out data collection sheets to write down the information from the tests to the participants. At the bottom of these sheets there were also be instructions on how to get to the personality test, as well as room to write down the results of the test. An envelope big enough to fit a normal 8 ½ by 11 sheet of paper was used to put the data collection sheets in.

PROCEDURE
Every participant received a data collection sheet that had space to write down recalled words and numbers. I then gave the give the participants the memory tests consisting of the four memory lists. The time for learning the lists was 40 seconds. That was followed by 20 seconds of transition time, then a minute for recall. After the memory tests were over participants were instructed to read the bottom of their data collection sheets that instruct them on how to get to the personality test. After they have done the personality test and recorded their answers the sheets they were given to the instructor of the class and put in an appropriate sized envelope and sealed and given to me. Students were given their extra credit at the time of hand in, and only received the credit if they hand in the sheet with everything filled out.

A 2 (Personality) x 2 (Type of Memory Test) mixed design ANOVA was calculated for the number of words incorrectly recalled. The main effect for type of memory test was significant (F(1,45) = 62.54, p<.05). The main effect for personality type was not significant (F(1,45) = 1.501, p=.227). The type of memory test by personality type interaction was significant (F(1,45) = 6.567, p<.05). Thus it appears that the type of memory test has a significant affect on the number of correct recalls. The personality type does not have a significant effect on the number of correct recalls. Extroverts were more willing to recall a false words (m = .8788, sd = 1.746) than Introverts (m = .5714, sd = .9376). And Introverts were more willing to recall false numbers (m = 4.786, sd = 3.285) than Extroverts (m = 3.030, sd = 2.518). See Figure two.

while increasing the correct recall rate. If it would be possible to make personal learning programs for students when they are young maybe we can help them develop better, or understand why this occurs in the first place.

Carlson and Levy (1973) in their first study found that Introverts were better at a digit span test and Extroverts were better at remembering facial expressions. Perhaps, if I had a bigger sample size and an even number of Introverts to Extroverts I might have found that the findings could have carried over to words and numbers. I found myself limited in not having enough Introverts for my research. As I stated if it were possible I would like to have anywhere between 50 and 100 of each personality type, I believe this would provide greater results than what I was able to find. As well it should be mentioned there has been some debate as to whether college students are good as research subjects. If anyone else were to do this study I would advise them to use a group of non college students and a group of college students. If I were to do this again instead of just three digit numbers I would use a digit span test like Carlson and Levy. I believe that a digit span test would be a better measurement for Introverts than just remembering sets of numbers.

Conard, M. (2006). Aptitude is not enough: How personality and behavior predict academic performance. Journal of Research in Personality, 40(3), 339-346

Johnson, J. (1974). Memory and personality: An information processing approach. Journal of Research in Personality, 8(1), 1-32.

Yell

Zero

White

Nanny

Investing

Lion

Sexism

Fatigue

Challenge

Blue

Wild

Year

Elvis

Orange

Bus

250

374

383

161

599

897

862

166

483

490

567

832

184

109

289

Christmas

Shirt

Confidential

Sight

Evolution

Lamp

Sea

Tender

Bend

Distort

User

Job

Settle

Repair

Fight

807

374

538

276

159

940

361

630

216

158

274

197

575

758

665

As a rule, current preoccupations worry

you more than your future plans

Yes No

You find it difficult to talk about your feelings

Yes No

You feel at ease in a crowd

Yes No

You do your best to complete a task on time

Yes No

You are strongly touched by the stories about people`s troubles

Yes No

You are more interested in a general idea than in the details of its realization

Yes No

Strict observance of the established rules is likely to prevent a good outcome

Yes No

Often you prefer to read a book than go to a party

Yes No

You tend to rely on your experience rather than

on theoretical alternatives

Yes No

It`s difficult to get you excited

Yes No

You rapidly get involved in social life

at a new workplace

Yes No

It is in your nature to assume responsibility

Yes No

You frequently and easily express your feelings and emotions

Yes No

You often think about humankind and its destiny

Yes No

You believe the best decision is one that can be easily changed

Yes No

You are a person somewhat reserved and distant in communication

Yes No

You prefer to act immediately rather than speculate

about various options

Yes No

You trust reason rather than feelings

You spend your leisure time actively socializing

with a group of people, attending parties, shopping, etc.

Yes No

You usually plan your actions in advance

Yes No

Your actions are frequently influenced by emotions

Yes No

You often contemplate about the complexity of life

Yes No

You often do jobs in a hurry

Yes No

You find it difficult to speak loudly

Yes No

You get bored if you have to read theoretical books

Yes No

You value justice higher than mercy

Yes No

The more people with whom you speak, the better you feel

Yes No

You like to keep a check on how things

are progressing

Yes No

You easily empathize with the concerns of other people

Yes No

You are more inclined to experiment than

to follow familiar approaches

Yes No

You avoid being bound by obligations

Yes No

You prefer to isolate yourself from outside noises

Yes No

It`s essential for you to try things with your own hands

Yes No

You think that almost everything can be analyzed

Yes No

You are usually the first to react to a sudden event:

the telephone ringing or unexpected question

Yes No

You take pleasure in putting things in order

Yes No

You feel involved when watching TV soaps

Yes No

You easily understand new theoretical principles

Yes No

The process of searching for solution is more

important to you than the solution itself

Yes No

You usually place yourself nearer to the side

than in the center of the room

Yes No

When solving a problem you would rather follow

a familiar approach than seek a new one

Yes No

You try to stand firmly by your principles

Yes No

It is easy for you to communicate in social situations

Yes No

You are consistent in your habits

Yes No

You willingly involve yourself in matters

which engage your sympathies

Yes No

You easily perceive various ways

in which events could develop

Yes No

A thirst for adventure is close to your heart

Yes No

You prefer meeting in small groups to interaction

with lots of people

Yes No

When considering a situation you pay more attention to

the current situation and less to a possible sequence of events

Yes No

You consider the scientific approach to be the best

Yes No

You enjoy having a wide circle of acquaintances

Yes No

You are almost never late for your appointments

Yes No

You readily help people while asking nothing in return

Yes No

You often spend time thinking of how things

could be improved

Yes No

Your decisions are based more on the feelings

of a moment than on the careful planning

Yes No

You prefer to spend your leisure time alone

or relaxing in a tranquil family atmosphere

Yes No

You feel more comfortable sticking to

conventional ways

Yes No

Objective criticism is always useful in any activity

Yes No

You enjoy being at the center of events in which

other people are directly involved

Yes No

You know how to put every minute of your

time to good purpose

Yes No

You are easily affected by strong emotions

Yes No

You are always looking for opportunities

Yes No

Deadlines seem to you to be of relative, rather than absolute, importance

Yes No

After prolonged socializing you feel you need

to get away and be alone

Yes No

Your desk, workbench etc. is usually neat and orderly

Yes No

You tend to be unbiased even if this might endanger

your good relations with people

Yes No

You like to be engaged in an active and fast-paced job

Yes No

You have good control over your desires and temptations

Yes No

You tend to sympathize with other people

Yes No

You easily see the general principle behind

specific occurrences

Yes No

You are inclined to rely more on improvisation

than on careful planning

Yes No

You get pleasure from solitary walks

Yes No

Please put your answers for each test in the corresponding section.

Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test 4

Please go to http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm and click the button that says: do it! Once you have clicked on the button please fill out the questions. When you are done hit submit and you will be given four categories with a number below them. Please copy down the categories and their corresponding numbers in the space below. Example – Sensing 15%

_______________ _______________ _______________ ______________

Author Contact Information:email

Manuscript Submitted 12/7/2006 12:40:42 PM
Manuscript Last Edited 12/7/2006 1:00:19 PM
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