Group work in higher education: are introverted students disadvantaged?

Previous studies have found that whilst some students find group work highly enjoyable, others find it highly problematic. One possible explanation for this difference relates to personality type, with students with more extraverted personalities being more likely to enjoy group work participation. However, whether having a more extraverted personality is an academic advantage is less easy to determine, as historically a negative relationship has been found between extraversion and examination marks. This paper compares self-ratings for extraversion and group work experience from 172 second year undergraduate students taking a small-group practical in psychology. The results showed that whilst introverts compared to extraverts and controls reported having a more negative group-work experience, the three groups did not significantly differ in their assessment marks. The author suggests that further research needs to be carried out in this area as findings may differ depending upon the type of group work task and the type of assessment.