Volume 6 (1)

Fall 2015

SPECTRUM Journal of Student Research

at Saint Francis University

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 2

SPECTRUM: Journal of Student Research

at Saint Francis University

Faculty Editors: Balazs Hargittai Grant Julin

Professor of Chemistry Assistant Professor of Philosophy

bhargittai@francis.edu gjulin@francis.edu

Student Editorial Board: Allison Bivens ’12 Kayla Brennan

Morgan Dutrow Hayden Elliott

Cathleen Fry Eric Horell ’13

Paul Johns ’07 Elise Lofgren ‘14

Sarah McDonald Jonathan Miller ’08

Steven Mosey ‘14 Morgan Onink

Rebecca Peer ‘14 William Shee

Margaret Thompson Stephanie Wilson

Staci Wolfe Jennifer Yealy ‘13

Managing Designer: Grace McKernan

Cover: Photo by Balazs Hargittai

SPECTRUM 6 (1)

3

SPECTRUM

Table of Contents

Are Saint Francis University students meeting 4

current physical activity recommendations?

Christopher S.J. Foore; Kristofer Wisniewski

Opposing Obstacles and Overcoming Opposition: 8

The First Graduates of the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania

Christie J. Olek; Lori Woods

Extroversion/Introversion Trait’s Effect on Perception 23

of how Personality Contributes to Success

Morgan L. Dutrow; Katee A. Gresko; Marnie L. Moist

Contents of SPECTRUM Volumes 4 – 5 30

Call for papers 32

(Student authors’ names underlined.)

5TH ANNUAL

SAINT FRANCIS UNIVERSITY

RESEARCH DAY

Thursday, November 19, 2015

12:30 – 4:00 pm

JFK Student Center

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 4

Are Saint Francis University students meeting current physical activity

recommendations?

Christopher S.J. Foore Kristofer Wisniewski, Ph.D.

Physical Therapy Department Physical Therapy Department

School of Health Sciences School of Health Sciences

csf100@francis.edu kwisniewski@francis.edu

Current Physical Activity (PA) recommendations from the American Heart Association (AHA) and

American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) state that adults should engage in Moderate-Intensity

Physical Activity (MPA) at least 150 min/week, and Vigorous-Intensity Physical Activity (VPA) at least

75 min/week, or a combination of both to elicit optimal health benefits. It is not known if Saint Francis

University (SFU) students are meeting these recommendations. Our purpose is to examine if SFU

students are meeting current PA recommendations for adults. 152 (118 female, 34 male) SFU students (35

freshmen, 37 sophomores, 38 juniors, 30 seniors, 12 graduate students) completed an online questionnaire

assessing subject demographics and their MPA and VPA habits. The number of students who claimed

participation in MPA and VPA were 110 and 93, respectively. Median and interquartile range of MPA

were 60 min/week and 180 min/week, respectively. Median and interquartile range of VPA were 60

min/week and 195 min/week, respectively. 83 (54.6%) students were meeting the current PA

recommendations for adults. According to the 2013 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS),

47.8% of Pennsylvanians and 50.8% of Americans were meeting the PA recommendations. Subjects

involved in the present investigation exceeded the prevalence of those meeting the recommendations at

the state and national levels. It is inferred that subjects in this study are representative of the entire SFU

student population. Therefore, SFU students may also be exceeding the state and national prevalence of

meeting the PA recommendations for adults.

Introduction

It has long been known that physical activity

(PA) is beneficial to health and longevity in life.

According to the American College of Sports

Medicine, premature mortality, cardiovascular

disease, coronary artery disease, hypertension,

stroke, osteoporosis, Type 2 diabetes mellitus,

metabolic syndrome, obesity, colon cancer, breast

cancer, and depression have all been shown to have

an inverse relationship with PA. Evidence has also

shown that PA helps improve functional health and

cognitive function, as well as decreases the risk of

falling. More specifically, cardiorespiratory fitness

has been shown to decrease the risk of all-cause

premature mortality, especially from cardiovascular

disease (2014).

The current PA recommendations set forth by

the American Heart Association (AHA) and

American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)

state that adults should engage in Moderate-

Intensity Physical Activity (MPA) at least 150

minutes per week, or Vigorous-Intensity Physical

Activity (VPA) at least 75 minutes per week, or a

combination of both to elicit optimal health

benefits (2014). According to the Behavior Risk

Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 47.8% of

Pennsylvanians and 50.8% of Americans were

meeting the PA recommendations of 150 minutes of

aerobic PA per week (2013). It was not known if

Saint Francis University (SFU) students are

meeting these recommendations. Therefore, the

objectives of this investigation were to examine

SFU student PA habits, and to examine if SFU

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 5

students were meeting the current PA

recommendations for adults. In addition, SFU

student PA levels were compared to the

Pennsylvania and United States national levels of

those meeting aerobic PA recommendations.

Methods

All SFU students were sent an email explaining

the study which included a hyperlink to complete

the online survey through SurveyMonkey

(SurveyMonkey Inc., Palo Alto, California). They

were asked to provide demographic data including

their: age, gender, height, weight, academic major,

academic year, residence in proximity to campus, if

they are an athlete, and if so what sport. Next,

subjects completed questions from the World

Health Organization’s validated Global Physical

Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) (Armstrong, 2006).

These questions assessed current PA in a typical

week. This information included how often, how

long, and how intense they exercise in a typical

week. Once completed, all responses to the

SurveyMonkey questionnaire were analyzed using

Minitab verson 16.0 (Minitab Inc., State College,

Pennsylvania). The α level was set a priori at 0.05.

The data provided by subjects in regard to

academic major was categorized by SFU academic

schools. The SFU academic schools were

classified as Arts and Letters (A & L), Business

(B), Health Sciences (HS), Sciences (S), and Adult

Degree and Continuing Studies (AD & CS).

Based on each subject's responses to how much

PA they perform in a typical week, subjects were

classified as either meeting or not meeting current

PA Recommendations for adults. Demographic

data was used in determining which populations of

students (academic major and year) were meeting

the recommendations. The MPA and VPA data

were analyzed using the Mood Median Test.

Results

The present study investigated the PA habits of

SFU students. A total of 152 SFU students

completed the online questionnaire. Freshmen (n =

35, 23.03%), Sophomores (n = 37, 24.34%),

Juniors (n = 38, 25.00%), Seniors (n = 30, 19.74%),

and Graduate Students (n = 12, 7.89%) completed

the survey. The total reported median ±

interquartile range of MPA and VPA for subjects

were 60.0 ± 180.0 minutes per week and 60.0 ±

195.0 minutes per week, respectively, (Table 1).

Health Science students presented the greatest

number of responses to the survey. The median

amount of minutes per week HS students reported

they participated in MPA and VPA was 80

min/week and 60 min/week, respectively. Science

students were the second highest population of

respondents to the survey with median MPA and

VPA minutes per week of 60 and 45, respectively

(Table 2).

Table 1. Median and Interquartile Range for MPA and VPA

Table 2. Comparison of PA recommendations being met by

students from each academic school

MPA

(min/wk)

Median; IQR

VPA

(min/wk)

Median; IQR

A & L (n = 13) 30; 120 60; 215

B (n = 6) 120; 421 170; 275

HS (n = 105) 80; 158 60; 225

S (n = 25) 60; 225 45; 165

AD & CS (n = 2) 128; 195 688; 1375

Mood Median

Test Results

χ2 = 1.10

p = 0.894

χ2 = 3.11

p = 0.540

MPA

(min/wk)

Median; IQR

VPA

(min/wk)

Median; IQR

Males

(n = 34) 115.0; 236.3 164.0; 292.5

Females

(n = 118) 60.0; 135.0 45.0; 180.0

Total

(n = 152) 60.0; 180.0 60.0; 195.0

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 6

In addition, the number of SFU students who

participated in and met the current recommended

amounts of PA (≥150 minutes per week MPA or

≥75 minutes per week or combination of both) was

83 students, which was equivocal to 54.6% of the

sample of SFU students (Table 3). The number of

SFU students who did not meet the current PA

recommendations (<150 minutes per week MPA or

<75minutes per week VPA) was 69 students, which

was equivocal to 45.4% of the sample of SFU

students.

Table 3. A comparison of Academic School for those who

are and are not meeting PA recommendations

School Meeting

n (%)

Not Meeting

n (%)

Arts and Letters 6 (46.2) 7 (53.8)

Business 5 (83.3) 1 (16.7)

Health Science 57 (54.3) 48 (45.7)

Science 14 (56.0) 11 (44.0)

Adult Degree &

Continuing

Studies

1 (50.0) 1 (50.0)

Total 83 (54.6) 69 (45.4)

Discussion Students reported a median participation in 60

minutes per week of both MPA and VPA, which is

less than the recommendations for health benefits.

This could be due to the fact that students are

unaware of the PA recommendations set forth by

the AHA and ACSM. There could be other

common barriers hindering students from

completing the recommended amounts of MPA or

VPA or a combination of both per week. These

barriers include not having enough time, not having

a place to exercise, lack of motivation, not knowing

how to exercise, not having enough energy, and

feelings that PA or exercise is not safe and could

lead to injury (American College of Sports

Medicine, 2014).

In the present study, subjects self-reported (M ±

SE) 148.4 ± 22.8 and 153.9 ± 18.9 minutes per

week of MPA and VPA, respectively. According to

the BRFSS, 47.8% of Pennsylvanians and 50.8% of

Americans were participating in at least 150

minutes of aerobic PA per week (2013). The

majority of subjects involved in the present

investigation exceeded the prevalence of those

meeting the recommendations at the Pennsylvania

and United States national levels. However, the

Pennsylvania and United States national medians

were based off of 150 minutes of aerobic PA per

week. The students’ responses were based off of

150 minutes per week MPA or 75 minutes per week

of VPA, which is equivalent to 150 minutes per

week of MPA.

Tucker, Welk, & Beyler (2011) compared self-

reported PA to objectively measured PA with an

accelerometer among U.S. adults. The subjects

self-reported (M ± SE) 324.5 ± 18.6 and 73.6 ± 3.9

minutes per week of MPA and VPA, respectively.

Subjects’ objectively measured PA was reported as

45.1 ± 4.6 and 18.6 ± 6.6 minutes per week of MPA

and VPA, respectively. This resulted in 62.0% of

the subjects meeting the PA recommendations

according to self-reported PA, but only 9.6%

meeting recommendations according to

accelerometer data. These results suggest that

individuals self-reported PA participation was much

greater than their accelerometry-measured PA

(Tucker, Welk, & Beyler, 2011). This discrepancy

may also be in the present study where the

percentage of students who are meeting the

recommendations may be lower than the

percentages reported. Therefore, a future study

should focus on the comparison of self-reported PA

to accelerometer-measured PA to accurately assess

SFU students’ PA habits.

The amount of SFU students who were meeting

the aerobic PA recommendations for adults may be

exceeding the amount of individuals who are

meeting those recommendations at the national and

Pennsylvania state levels. However, there might

also be a discrepancy in the results since PA

participation was self-reported. An inherent flaw in

physical activity questionnaires is the imprecise

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 7

cognitive processing and memory errors that

contribute to recollection bias by individuals

(Baranowski, 1988). Even though the majority of

SFU students may be exceeding national and

Pennsylvania state PA levels, steps should be taken

to increase aerobic PA habits to levels known to be

beneficial for health and fitness. One possible

solution may be the Exercise is Medicine® on

Campus initiative that encourages students and

faculty to engage in PA in order to promote healthy

living habits and lifetime PA participation (Exercise

Is Medicine, 2015). This type of program at SFU

may encourage all members of the campus

community to be more physically active, thus

increasing the amount of individuals who meet the

current PA recommendations for adults.

50.847.8

54.6

49.252.2

45.4

05

1015202530354045505560

Nationwide Pennsylvania SFU Students

Med

ian

%

Yes

No

Figure 1. Comparison of median percentages of individuals

meeting or not meeting Aerobic PA recommendations at the

national, state, and university levels.

Works Cited American College of Sports Medicine (2014). ACSM's

Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription (9th ed.).

Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

American Heart Association. (2014). American heart

association recommendations for physical activity in

adults. Retrieved from http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/PhysicalActivity/StartWalking/American-Heart-Association-Guidelines-for-Physical-

Activity_UCM_307976_Article.jsp. Armstrong, T., & Bull, F. (2006). Development of the world

health organization global physical activity questionnaire

(GPAQ).Zeitschrift Für Gesundheitswissenschaften, 14(2),

66-70.

Baranowski T. (1988). Validity and reliability of self-report

of physical activity: an information processing perspective.

Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 59(4), 314-327.

Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System. (2013).

Participated in 150 minutes or more of aerobic physical

activity per week. Retrieved from http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss/display.asp?cat=PA&yr=2013&qkey=8271

&state=UB.

Exercise is medicine. (2015). Retrieved March 20, 2015,

from http://www.exerciseismedicine.org/

Tucker, J., et al. (2011). Physical activity in U.S. adults

compliance with the physical activity guidelines for

Americans. American Journal of Preventive Medicine,

40(4), 454-461.

Chris Foore (’15, B.S., Exercise Physiology) was

a member of the Saint Francis University Honor

Society and was recognized by the Who’s Who

Among Students in American Universities and

Colleges program. He was actively involved in the

Sigma Chi Fraternity and the Exercise Physiology

Organization. He also served as a Resident

Assistant for Residence Life. His goal is to pursue

a career in the medical field.

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 8

Opposing Obstacles and Overcoming Opposition:

The First Graduates of the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania

(1850-1880)

[Research conducted for HIST 501 (Independent Study in History)]

Christie J. Olek Lori Woods, Ph.D.

History Department History Department

School of Arts & Letters School of Arts & Letters

cjo100@francis.edu lwoods@francis.edu

This paper examines the ways that gender limited and eventually propelled women physicians’ entrance

into and success within the medical field during the nineteenth century. The records from the Woman’s

Medical College of Pennsylvania, the first institution in the world to grant the MD degree to women,

indicate that Victorian beliefs about women’s position in both the public and the private spheres caused

many people to resist the medical education of women, the inclusion of women as professionals, and the

emergence of women as professional physicians. However, despite the immense barriers that women

faced in their pursuit of medical degrees, many women physicians overcame the odds and managed to

become doctors. For some women, in fact, these limits within education, scholarship, practice, and the

domestic setting encouraged them to think broadly and find new solutions. Using the alumni files, the

annual announcements, and the students’ theses as primary sources, this paper examines early women

doctors whose stories not only show the opposition that they faced when entering the medical field in the

late nineteenth century but also show the solutions that they used to overcome opposition. This novel style

of problem solving energized the field and ultimately propelled the progression of modern medicine.

In the nineteenth century, women entered the

medical field as professional physicians for the first

time following the opening of the Woman’s

Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1851. This

medical school was the first in the world to offer

the M.D. degree to women.1 Women who received

the distinction of medical doctor during this period

worked tirelessly just to finish their daily medical

tasks. Dr. Marie Zakrewska, a member of the class

of 1860, wrote this schedule into her journal:

At 5:30 A.M., I started in an omnibus for

the wholesale market, purchasing

provisions for the week, and at 8:00, I was

back to breakfast…After breakfast, I made

my visit to the patients in the house with

two of the students…Then a confinement

1 First Annual Announcement of the Woman’s Medical

College of Pennsylvania, 1851.

case arrived and I attended to her…After

this, I descended into the kitchen

department, as the provisions had

arrived…and I settled the diet for all as far

as possible. I then took another omnibus

ride to the wholesale druggist, begging and

buying needed articles for the dispensary

and the hospital, arriving home at 1:00

P.M., for dinner. This consisted every day

of a good soup, the soup meat, potatoes,

one kind of well-prepared vegetable, with

fruit for dessert…After dinner, I usually

went out to see my private patients, because

receiving no compensation I depended

upon my earnings for personal needs. On

this day, however, I was detained by the

confinement case mentioned and could not

go out till 5:00 P.M., returning at 7:00

P.M., for tea. This always consisted of

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 9

bread and butter, tea and sauce or cheese or

fresh gingerbread. After making the rounds

of the patients in the house, it was 9:00.

Then the students assembled with me…I

cutting out towels or pillow cases or other

needed articles for the house or the patients,

while the students folded or even basted the

articles for the sewing machine as they

recited their various lessons for the day.

After their recital, I gave them verbal

instructions in midwifery. We finished the

work of the day by 11:30, as I never

allowed any one to be out of bed after

midnight unless detained by a patient.2

Early women doctors certainly struggled to

keep up with their demanding schedules, but

perhaps more importantly, they also struggled

professionally to be accepted by male physicians

and the general public. From the beginning, both

male and female physicians were forced to confront

the question of whether women could carry out the

duties of a physician in the same way that male

physicians did. Both men and women held a range

of views regarding the appropriate role for women

as physicians. No consensus existed as to whether

women should even become doctors. One

viewpoint held that women were unsuitable for the

medical profession and should instead assume

domestic healing roles.3 A contrasting viewpoint

2 Marie Zakrewska, “Diary of Marie Zakrewska” reprinted in

Ruth J. Abram, ed., “Send Us a Lady Physician” Women

Doctors in America 1835-1920 (Markham, ON: Penguin

Books Canada, 1985), 87-88. 3 Julia W. Carpenter, “A Thesis on Woman’s Physical

Strength” (thesis, Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania,

1870); Georgiana C. Glenn, “A Thesis on the Lying-in

Chamber” (thesis, Woman’s Medical College of

Pennsylvania, 1874); Angenette A. Hunt, “The True

Physician” (thesis, Woman’s Medical College of

Pennsylvania, 1851); Augusta R. Montgomery, “Disquisition

on the Medical Education of Woman” (thesis, Woman’s

Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1853); Prudence A. Saur,

“Physicians and their Duties” (thesis, Woman’s Medical

College of Pennsylvania, 1871); Elise Pfeifer Stone, “The

True Position of Woman” (thesis, Woman’s Medical College

of Pennsylvania, 1867); Jayne Payne, “A Disquisition on

Women as Physicians” (thesis, Woman’s Medical College of

Pennsylvania, 1861); Amanda C. Price, “The Necessity for

held that women should become physicians, but

practice separately from their male counterparts.4

Finally, a third viewpoint proposed that women

doctors should practice medicine in an equal

capacity to their male colleagues.5 The confusion

about what the appropriate role should be for

women physicians caused them to remain uncertain

about their own position within the profession.

Moreover, the controversy caused female doctors

from the Woman’s Medical College of

Pennsylvania to experience opposition in their

medical education, within scholarship, in their

practice, and within their personal lives.

The historiography on this topic begins in the

1980s and altogether highlights the reality of

women’s unstable position within the emerging

medical profession during the nineteenth century.

The views at that time reflect early thinking about

the relationship between the ideology of separate

spheres and women’s professional medical

practice. In fact, most of the literature addresses

how separate spheres impinged upon women’s

ability to practice medicine as a doctor. The earliest

writing on this topic holds that women were

confined to the domestic sphere where they were

expected to undertake a range of duties at home.

Contrarily, men worked outside the home within

the public sphere. Moreover, women struggled

against these social and cultural norms in order to

practice medicine as doctors. Each historian who

has published on this topic has used sources from

various female medical colleges as their main

source of evidence to discuss the relationship

between the gender-sphere theory and women’s

professional medical practice as physicians.

From the 1980s until today, historians have

reinterpreted the impact of this separate sphere

ideology on the professionalization of medicine.

Regina Morantz-Sanchez, in Sympathy and

Science, 1985, argues that women physicians in the

nineteenth century bridged the gap between the

private and public spheres by having membership

Women Physicians” (thesis, Woman’s Medical College of

Pennsylvania, 1871). 4 Ibid.

5 Ibid.

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 10

in both.6 In her view, women physicians served a

special role in the public medical sphere because of

their natural ability to nurture patients, to protect

patients’ modesty, and to act as moral counselors

for patients. On the other hand, women doctors

used their medical education to care for the health

of their families. While women physicians became

integrated into both spheres, they were nevertheless

still on the fringes of both. As the author maintains,

they practiced a hybrid form of medicine which

was quite distinct from that of male physicians

precisely because it integrated both domestic and

professional medical ideals.

In the 1990s, historians began a revisionist

approach to the gender-sphere theory. Ellen S.

More, in Restoring the Balance, 1999, argues that

women physicians were more firmly rooted in both

the domestic and the public medical sphere. More

claims that women physicians tried to maintain an

equal but separate role to male doctors within the

public medical sphere, while also working as wives

and mothers within the domestic sphere. In More’s

words, female doctors had to “balance” their roles

within the domestic and public spheres.7 Women

doctors did this by creating separate female

medical schools and female professional medical

societies that trained and supported them within the

public medical community.

By the early 2000s historians began to analyze

the rigidity of the gender-sphere boundaries. Steven

Peitzman, in A New and Untried Course (2000),

did this by looking closely at the beliefs of Quakers

regarding gender roles within society. Peitzman

argues that women physicians, particularly within

Quaker societies like that of Philadelphia, did not

remain confined to separate spheres. In fact, “[t]he

abolition movement provided for women an

opportunity to exert agency outside the sphere of

home or farm—even to speak in public.”8 The

6 Regina Morantz-Sanchez, Sympathy and Science: Women

Physicians in American Medicine (New York: Oxford

University Press, 1985), xiv. 7 Ellen Singer More, Restoring the Balance: Women

Physicians and the Profession of Medicine, 1850-1995

(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999), 13. 8 Steven J. Peitzman, A New and Untried Course: Women’s

Medical College and Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1850-

Quakers actually believed in affording women

equal rights to those of men, and this belief crossed

over into the medical field. The Woman’s Medical

College of Pennsylvania, an institution founded by

Quakers, served as a method for equalizing the

rights of women physicians as colleagues to male

physicians within society.

Mary Kelley, in “Beyond Boundaries” (2001)

presented other evidence which contradicts the idea

of the traditional gender-sphere theory. In her

research, Kelley examined nineteenth-century

fiction literature for clues about whether these

spheres actually existed in practice during this

period. Kelley believes that these gender

“boundaries” may not have restricted women to a

domestic sphere. For instance, “some [women

within the literature] claimed a transcendent

morality, making use of the feminine convention

that ascribed to women guardianship of their

family’s and by extension their nation’s virtue.”9 In

this way, women sometimes assumed a role that

pertained to both the family and the public.

Furthermore, her interpretation of the literary

evidence indicates that gender roles remained

contingent on the situation and were not always

designated to a certain sphere.

Recent scholarship regarding this topic

continues to reinforce the idea that gender roles

were not absolutely confined to separate spheres.

Deborah L. Rotman, in “Separate Spheres? Beyond

the Dichotomies of Domesticity” 2006, claims that

archeological evidence from the nineteenth century

supports this idea. In her opinion, “archaeological

and historical evidence from Deerfield,

Massachusetts, reveals that gendered uses of space

were fluid and specifically that women were active

agents in the village beyond the domestic sphere.”10

Rotman observes that within the house “parlors

1998 (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2000),

7. 9 Mary Kelley, “Beyond the Boundaries.” Journal of the

Early Republic 21, no. 1 (Spring, 2001): 73-78, accessed

October 23, 2014, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3125096. 10

Deborah L. Rotman, “Separate Spheres? Beyond the

Dichotomies of Domesticity.” Current Anthropology 47, no.4

(August, 2006): 666-674, accessed October 23, 2014, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/506286.

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 11

were used for entertaining (male, public), but

women’s social gatherings…might also be held

there (female, private as well as public).”11

Trends in the historiography demonstrate that

gender roles were fluid or in transition in the

nineteenth century. A close examination of the

alumnae files and the student theses from the

Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, reveals

that each of the interpretations discussed above

reflect the experiences of its graduates in given

periods. During the early years of the college, in

the 1850s, the separate-sphere theory exerted the

most influence on women physicians. Then, during

the 1860s, women physicians battled to be accepted

as members of both spheres. While women

continued to face opposition within their medical

careers, they managed to gain modest public

support. Finally, beginning in the 1870s onward,

women physicians became comparable colleagues

within the medical community, as the idea of

separate spheres slowly dissolved. Each of these

decades are significant because the 1850s, 1860s,

and 1870s each show different turning points for

women as they transitioned from domestic healers

to professional physicians.

In the 1850s, women physicians were

compelled to practice separately from their male

colleagues due to the social and cultural norms in

place during the nineteenth century. To be certain,

these norms often, although not always, restricted

their medical practice to the treatment of women

and children. The fact that women’s medical

practice was social and culturally defined in this

way meant that women doctors experienced

opposition in education, scholarship, practice, and

in the domestic setting. Dr. Angenette Hunt, a

graduate of the Woman’s Medical College of

Pennsylvania in 1851, described in her thesis the

restrictions that female physicians faced during the

1850s. Hunt states that women physicians were

often criticized by members of the public who

scrutinized their every action.12

Furthermore, the

“complaint of many [women] medical practitioners

11

Rothman, “Separate Spheres?,” 666. 12

Angenette A. Hunt, “The True Physician” (thesis,

Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1853).

[was] that the world [was] ungrateful for their

services.”13

Despite these significant obstacles, the

female doctor--“the true physician”— possessed

certain qualities which allowed her to continue

healing the sick even while under the scrutiny of

the ungrateful public with the hope that one day her

work would be appreciated.14

She ended her thesis

by claiming that “[i]t is certain that the health of the

world, depends on the women of the world and at

least some of the qualities needed in the medical

profession as gentleness, patience, quick

perceptions, and natural instinct which is often

surer than science, deep sympathy all these belong

to the female sex in an eminent degree.”15

Hunt

holds that women physicians during the 1850s

faced scrutiny when they attempted to enter the

public workforce as physicians precisely because in

doing so, women went against the prescriptive

gender roles from the eyes of the public.

Hunt was not the only graduate to address this

topic. Medical students grappled with this question

throughout the early years of the college. An

overall analysis of the alumnae theses reveals that

nineteen out of two-hundred fifty graduates

between 1850 and 1880 addressed the question of

whether women should become physicians (Figures

1 and 2). It is significant that nearly eight percent

of students mention this topic within their writing

as being one of concern within society. Based on

these documents, it is therefore possible to

reconstruct several of the arguments that female

medical students heard against women becoming

doctors. Some women recounted that male doctors

believed that women’s innate physical weakness

would greatly compromise patient care. A second

position held that women were mentally inferior to

men because they have smaller skulls, and as a

result, women lacked the ability to intellectually

comprehend the knowledge necessary to practice

medicine. Yet another similar argument asserts that

women are typically emotionally distracted largely

due to frequent menstruation. Thus, female

clinicians would be too distracted by their own

13

Ibid. 14

Ibid. 15

Ibid.

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 12

personal matters to attend to patients effectively. A

final opinion claims that women cannot practice

medicine and also care for a family. According to

this position, women who attempted to practice

medicine while also caring for their families would

tend to neglect both roles. This multifaceted debate

endured from 1850 to 1880 and helped to support

the idea that women doctors should be treated

differently from male physicians.

This public resistance to disruptions in the

gender-sphere theory meant that women physicians

experienced great opposition when they sought

medical education in the 1850s. In the early

nineteenth century, medical training remained

largely independently contracted. The student often

began his or her medical training through an

apprenticeship with a practicing physician, and

after reading selected medical texts, the student was

permitted to accompany the physician on his

rounds to visit with patients.16

At the conclusion of

the apprenticeship, some students sought further

medical training within formal medical schools,

and the student often relied on his practicing

physician’s professional network connections in

order to secure a seat in one of these formal

medical schools.17

16

Ruth J. Abram, ed., “Send Us a Lady Physician” Women

Doctors in America 1835-1920 (Markham, ON: Penguin

Books Canada, 1985). 77. 17

Ibid.

This personal reference system helped to get

male apprentices accepted into medical school but

not their female counterparts. Consequently,

women medical students were forced to obtain their

formal medical education from female medical

schools. Because of this barrier, women remained

confined to a separate sphere even though they

attended medical school. Such was the case for

Ann Preston (1813-1872), a graduate of the

Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in

1851. In Philadelphia, Preston studied medicine

under her uncle, Dr. Nathanial Mosely, a Quaker

physician.18

Following her internship, Preston

applied to several regular medical schools, but was

rejected by each of them.19

Because of this,

Preston’s preceptor (the practicing physician that

Preston studied under prior to medical school)

decided to found the Female Medical College of

Pennsylvania.20

Moseley founded the College with

18

Ibid. 17. 19

Ibid. 20

Guilielma Fell Alsop. History of the Woman’s Medical

College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1850-1950

(Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1950), 13.- The school was

6%

23%

11%46%

6%

8%

Figure 1: Theses by Topic

Injuries/Poisons/Chemistry

Procedures/Surgery/Treatments/Medications/Preventative

Women’s Diseases and Women’s Health

Specific BodySystems/Diseases/Death

Psychology/Legal Medicine/Children'sHealth

Women Physicians

16

57

29

114

15 19

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Figure 2: Theses by Topic

Injuries/Poisons/Chemistry

Procedures/Surgery/Treatments/Medications/PreventativeWomen’s Diseases and Women’s HealthSpecific BodySystems/Diseases/DeathPsychology/Legal Medicine/Children'sHealthWomen Physicians

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 13

the goal that its graduates would be educated

equally to “the graduates of any other Medical

Institution in this Country or in Europe.”21

Women

physicians struggled to gain a medical education in

the 1850s due to public resistance. Public resistance

to the idea of female doctors working outside of the

domestic sphere forced women to open female

medical schools among progressive communities

like the Quaker community in Philadelphia where

members of the community were more open to the

education of women within a public setting. One

could argue though that because women medical

students were forced to receive their medical

education from female medical institutions, they

remained confined to a separate gender sphere.

Public resistance to women’s entry into the

medical profession also meant that they would

experience opposition related to scholarship during

the 1850s. In the 1850s, no hospitals would hire

female doctors.22

In order to overcome the obstacle

of unemployment, many women doctors began

lecturing on public health topics to audiences of

other women. For example, Harriot Hunt, an

honorary graduate of the Woman’s Medical

College Class of 1853, often lectured for the

Ladies’ Physiological Society teaching women the

“laws of life.”23

Through these lectures, Hunt

taught audiences of wives and mothers hygiene

practices that they could use to prevent illness

within their families.24

In addition, Hunt also

covered topics like how to care for infants.25

However, Hunt’s lecture topics show that women

physicians, as medical scholars, were still restricted

by social and cultural norms. To be certain, they

taught women about health within the home and

thus, practiced medicine consistent with domestic

duties of women. In other words, women doctors

later renamed the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania

and the Medical College of Pennsylvania ultimately being

absorbed by Drexel University in 1980. 21

First Annual Announcement of the Woman’s Medical

College of Pennsylvania, 1851. 22

More, 96 23

Sanchez, 35. 24

Harriot Hunt, (Alumnae File, Woman’s Medical College of

Pennsylvania, 1853). 25

Ibid.

were forced to practice medicine in a way that

respected the social norms of defining a separation

between women’s work and men’s work. Public

resistance to the hiring of women physicians forced

women to remain confined to practicing medicine

within the domestic sphere.

In the 1850s, female doctors faced opposition

within the practice of medicine. Because hospitals

refused to hire female physicians, women doctors

were forced to seek a different type of employment.

Angenette Hunt, an 1851 graduate of the Woman’s

Medical College of Pennsylvania, was a regularly

trained physician who for one reason or another

took employment as an irregular hydrotherapy

physician.26

Homeopaths interested in this type of

therapy believed that water could be used to cure

diseases; therefore, hydrotherapy facilities tended

to operate, “something akin to today’s spa.”27

The

fact that Hunt chose to take employment as an

irregular physician after completing the lengthy

training to become a regular physician may have

come about after her sister’s illness was cured

using homeopathy.28

However, it is possible that

her choice also indicates that she experienced so

much opposition finding employment that she felt

compelled to work in homeopathy where women

practitioners were more accepted. These

employment barriers were designed to keep women

physicians confined to practicing in the domestic

sphere.

Perhaps the opposition that female clinicians

faced in practice during the 1850s resulted from the

influence of earlier medical ideas. Women medical

students recounted in their theses that many male

physicians were opposed to their entrance into

medicine under the same premises used by the

general public.29

The basis for this debate seems to

stem from the way that sex difference was

understood and interpreted by the medical

26

Sanchez, 153. 27

Ibid. 28

Angenette Hunt, (Alumnae File, Woman’s Medical College

of Pennsylvania, 1853). 29

Theses of Julia W. Carpenter, Georgiana C. Glenn,

Angenette A. Hunt, Augusta R. Montgomery, Prudence A.

Saur, Elise Pfeifer Stone, Jayne Payne, Amanda C. Price,

(Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1851-1874).

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 14

community in the nineteenth century. The

conception of sex difference during this period may

have emanated from eighteenth century beliefs. In

the eighteenth century, “Sexuality was no longer to

be seen as residing exclusively in the sex organs.”30

Instead, “Pierre Roussel, a French physician,”

claimed that “the essence of sex…is not confined to

a single organ but extends, through more or less

perceptible nuances, into every part.”31

Eighteenth

century anatomists further related this rationale to

social norms of the time. Therefore, scientific

notions about the anatomical differences between

the sexes formed the structure on which gender

roles were based.

The relationship between eighteenth century

medical knowledge and social ideas about women

as the weaker sex can be seen within European

medical writings of this period. “In 1726 Alexander

Monro, professor of anatomy in

Edinburgh…[wrote that]…the bones of Women are

frequently incomplete, and always of a Make in

some Parts of the Body different from those of the

robust Male.”32

Drawings of the male and female

were also portrayed as markedly different from one

another; moreover, the differences in the pectoral

portrayal of both female and male skeletal anatomy

tend to resemble the specific social roles given to

each gender.33

Anatomist Bernard Albinus drew the

male skeleton in 1734 that equated masculinity

with idealistic perfection.34

This mimics the social

thought that men were stronger and anatomically

build to labor and support a family by working

outside of the home. By the same token, “anatomist

Marie Thiroux d’Arconville”35

depicted the female

skeleton in 1759 with a large pelvis, a small frame,

and a narrow ribcage.36

While these traits may only

incidentally indicate the body of a model who wore

30

Londa L. Schiebinger, “More Than Skin Deep: The

Scientific Search for Sexual Difference.” In The Mind Has No

Sex?: Women in the Origins of Modern Science, (Cambridge,

MA: Harvard University Press, 1989), 189. 31

Ibid. 32

Ibid. 193. 33

Ibid. 189-213. 34

Ibid. 191-192. 35

Ibid. 195. 36

Ibid. 192-213.

corsets for many years,37

one could argue that these

traits were actually meant to underscore women as

the weaker sex with inadequate anatomy to that of

the man. The similarities between the ideas seen in

eighteenth century medical scholarship and the

ideas seen in the nineteenth century alumnae theses

indicate that male doctors may have resisted the

integration of women into the profession because

they were influenced by early medical ideas.

Women physicians also faced opposition within

their private lives during the 1850s. One of the

reasons that members of the public resisted the idea

of women physicians was that members of the

public believed that if women worked outside of

the home, they would not be able to care for their

families.38

For this reason, many early female

physicians seem to have remained single. Both

Harriot Hunt and Ann Preston remained single over

the course of their careers which suggests that they

might have felt pressure to choose between having

a family or a medical career.39

In fact, during the

1850s, only one-fifth to one-third of female doctors

married.40

Similarly, women who became

physicians seem to have lost their feminine identity

within society as some considered them to be “a

monstrosity” or an intellectual and moral

hermaphrodite.”41

The entrance of women

physicians into the public medical arena disrupted

the social and cultural norms that underpinned

separate spheres ideology as the public expected

women physicians to practice only within the

domestic sphere. In the 1850s, when women

physicians expanded their practice into the public

sphere, they faced opposition when attempting to

redefine their domestic relationships. Members of

the public were critical of those who attempted to

redefine their domestic relationships because they

hoped to limit women to practicing medicine

within the domestic sphere.

In her 1853 thesis, Dr. Agusta R. Montgomery

perfectly summed up the opposition that women

37

Ibid. 198. 38

Abram, 63-64. 39

Ibid. 71-78. 40

Ibid. 65. 41

Sanchez, 51.

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 15

physicians faced during the 1850s as a result of the

friction between the social and cultural norms of

the period and women’s practice of medicine.

Montgomery claimed that women doctors were

expected to practice medicine by drawing upon

their maternal instincts.42

They should nurture and

educate patients, and thus remain within their

domestic role. This idea is a product of the

scientific thinking of eighteenth century medical

ideas. Marie Thiroux d’Arconville drew her female

skeleton in 1759,43

and it exaggerated upon the fact

that women have a larger pelvis than men.44

Drawing the female skeleton in this way

emphasizes that women’s role was maternal and

not intellectual in nature.45

Furthermore, this

drawing “captured the imagination of medical

doctors for more than half a century.”46

Based on

this evidence, Dr. Montgomery may have been

influenced by this drawing and the social meaning

behind it. Montgomery’s idea that a doctor’s role is

maternal in nature reflects the social notion that

women and men should practice separate forms of

medicine. Instead of contesting ideas about gender

roles, Montgomery used the scientific explanation

of sex difference to her advantage in order to show

that women could in fact be better physicians than

men because of their maternal nature. In this way,

Montgomery answered the question of whether

women should become physicians in a way that

allowed her to both become a doctor and follow the

cultural and social norms of the time. Female

physicians faced opposition within education,

scholarship, practice, and in the domestic setting

because members of the public expected women

physicians to stay within the domestic sphere.

The 1860s saw growing acceptance of female

doctors within the public sphere – ironically,

because they offered patients a more nurturing type

of medicine. By this point, people began to believe

that women doctors could help ease female

42

Augusta R. Montgomery, “Disquisition on the Medical

Education of Women” (thesis, Woman’s Medical College of

Pennsylvania, 1853). 43

Schiebinger, 195. 44

Ibid. 192-213. 45

Ibid. 46

Ibid. 195.

patients’ discomfort about baring their flesh to a

male physician. Jayne Payne wrote in her 1861

thesis that women under “particularly (sic)

circumstances” were able to seek a more complete

education, but within “separate facilities” from

men.47

This new value placed on women physicians

meant that they were afforded more freedom to

practice medicine within the public sphere;

however, women doctors were expected to practice

separately from their male counterparts, and this

new prescriptive role caused women to experience

new challenges within education, scholarship,

practice, within the domestic setting.

Female physicians encountered new challenges

within education during the 1860s. In the 1860s,

although they were trained by male and female

physicians within the Woman’s Medical College of

Pennsylvania, the women-only institutional

environment had unfortunate consequences. The

very fact that they were educated within a separate

school caused some people to consider their

techniques to be inferior. For this reason, women

physicians faced opposition when teaching and

instructing new doctors. For example, when

Professor Marie Zakrewska, an 1860 graduate of

the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania,

attempted to secure thermometers, test tubes, and

microscopes for use in her class at the Female

Medical College of New York, she was “denied [by

her male superior] on the grounds that these were

“new-fangled European notions.”48

Zakrewska

might have been denied these items because

American doctors thought that they were

unimportant or ineffective medical instruments. Or,

perhaps the Female Medical College of New York

refused to purchase the most technologically

advanced equipment on the account that they were

too expensive. It is also possible however, that

Marie Zakrewska was denied because her male

superior thought that she knew less about medicine

since she was educated at a female medical school.

47

Jayne Payne, “A Disquisition on Women as Physicians”

(thesis, Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1861). 48

Abram interprets this phenomenon as a medical

competition between Europe and the United States (Abram,

91).

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 16

Ostensibly, by calling test tubes, microscopes, and

thermometers “new-fangled European notions,”49

Zakrewska’s male superior may have been aiming

to insult her because she was in fact a European

who learned about the Woman’s Medical College

of Pennsylvania from a German newspaper.50

In

any case, the fact that Professor Marie Zakrewska

was indeed denied these medical instruments shows

that women practitioners faced opposition when

teaching new doctors in that they could not acquire

the medical instruments that they wanted to use to

educate new doctors.

Similarly, Dr. Harriet Preston (class of 1868)

encountered opposition in her medical education as

a student at the Woman’s Medical College of

Pennsylvania during the 1860s. According to her

alumnae file, “While Miss Preston was in

attendance at the Women’s Medical College, the

students of that school were granted admission to

the clinical lectures at the Pennsylvania Hospital in

Philadelphia.”51

However, when they showed up

for the lecture, the male students “jeered and

hissed” at them to demonstrate their opposition to

the coeducation of male and female doctors.52

The

cases of Marie Zakrewska and Harriet Preston

demonstrate that women doctors found the public

medical arena more accessible in the 1960s. They

were able to teach in female medical schools and

attend coeducational lectures at medical schools for

men. Nevertheless, female doctors remained a

novel concept that many people viewed as a

transient social experiment. Therefore, women

experienced opposition as both medical students

and doctors of medicine.

The change in the prescriptive role for women

doctors caused them to experience new challenges

within medical scholarship. While presented with

new challenges, they still found greater public

acceptance. By the 1860s, women doctors struggled

to publish academic papers and thus to contribute

49

Ibid. 50

Marie Zakrewska, (Alumnae File, Woman’s Medical

College of Pennsylvania, 1860) 51

Harriet Preston, (Alumnae File, Woman’s Medical College

of Pennsylvania, 1868). 52

Ibid.

to the burgeoning medical scholarship. For

example, Mary E. Greene, an 1868 graduate of the

Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania,

struggled to have her medical expertise and

mastery recognized by the New York Medical

Society. When Greene applied for membership in

this professional association, “that body shouted

with indignation at the thought of admitting a

woman to this conclave.”53

After “many stormy

discussions,” Greene finally received membership

into the New York Medical Society.54

Buoyed by

this victory, Greene used her professional

membership as leverage for her career as a medical

scholar within the specialties of preventative

medicine and dietetics. Thus while Greene

experienced opposition within scholarship, she

found greater public acceptance as a female

physician and medical scholar in the 1860s. For

instance, she presented her research on several

occasions to the Medical Society of Michigan. In

addition, she spoke to women’s clubs in New

Orleans on food and sanitation and used her

research on these topics to establish “diet kitchens”

for typhoid patients in Fort Thomas, Kentucky

during the Cuban War and at Fort Meyer at the

breakage of Camp Alger with the help of the

American Red Cross.55

Later, Greene published her

research in her book, “Food Products of the World,

which passed through the fourth edition.”56

Finally,

her admittance into the New York Medical Society

provided her with the professional opportunities to

obtain memberships in several other professional

societies. Once she received membership into this

society, other societies were also willing to

recognize her as a member. Moreover, Greene

became a member of American Household

Economic Association, the American Medical

Association and the American Public Health

Association, and she served also as president of the

Board of Health in Tulsa, Oklahoma.57

Greene’s

53

Mary E. Greene, (Alumnae File, Woman’s Medical College

of Pennsylvania, 1868). 54

Ibid. 55

Ibid. 56

Ibid. 57

Ibid.

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 17

medical career during the 1860s shows that women

physicians experienced new challenges within

scholarship due the change in the prescriptive role

for women doctors; however, female doctors

during this period also experienced more public

acceptance of their role as women doctors.

Mary Putnam Jacobi, a graduate of the

Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in

1865, also experienced both societal acceptance of

and public opposition to her as a physician and

medical scholar. After her graduation from medical

school in Philadelphia, Jacobi moved to Paris with

the hope of studying medicine at the renowned

École de Médecine.58

She faced great opposition in

her quest to become a European-trained medical

scholar because women were not admitted to study

within this institution. But after she spent two years

studying in Paris, Jacobi was finally admitted as a

student. Moreover, she graduated with high honors

and won a bronze medal for her thesis.59

Her

training in Paris gave her the credibility to produce

scholarly research accepted by both male and

female doctors. With this platform, Jacobi used her

scholarly research to continue to fight the notion

that women could not and should not be doctors.

“Seemingly destined for a literary career as the

daughter of publisher George Palmer Putnam,”

Jacobi tackled the opposition that female doctors

faced within medical scholarship through the

publication of her scholarly articles.60

For

example, “Jacobi attracted national attention in

1876 when her essay, ‘The Question of Rest for

Women during Menstruation,’ won Harvard's

honored Boylston prize and appeared the following

year under the Putnam imprint.”61

In her research,

Jacobi conducted public health surveys in order to

58

Sanchez, 193. 59

Ibid. 60

Hellen Lefkowitz Horowitz, “Mary Putnam Jacobi and the

Politics of Medicine in Nineteenth-Century America

(review).” Bulletin of the History of Medicine 85, no. 2

(2011): 302-303, accessed November 30, 2014, http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/bulletin_of

_the_history_of_medicine/v085/85.2.horowitz.html. 61

Ibid.

evaluate women’s menstrual symptoms.62

Based on

the results of these surveys, Jacobi argued in her

article that menstruation does not impede a

woman’s physical, mental, or emotional ability to

treat patients.63

Although Jacobi initially

experienced difficulty in building a reputation as a

credible and female scholar during the 1860s, she

triumphed over these criticisms using her education

and her academic publications. Jacobi’s medical

career during the 1860s shows that women

physicians experienced new challenges within

scholarship due the change in the prescriptive role

for women doctors; however, female doctors

during this period also experienced more male-

medical and public support for their role as women.

In the 1860s, the change in the conventional

role for women doctors caused these women to

experience new challenges within the practice of

medicine. Female clinicians sought jobs in public

practice which meant that they challenged the

social norm that women or even women doctors

should stay within the home. As a result, they

experienced different obstacles. One example of

this opposition occurred in the career of Clara

Swain, an 1869 graduate of the Woman’s Medical

College of Pennsylvania. Clara Swain experienced

great difficulty finding employment following her

graduation from medical school. Although some

members of the general public were becoming

more accustomed to women doctors, many refused

to see them as patients. Therefore, women

physicians could not always earn enough money to

support themselves from a private practice.64

Furthermore, because some members of the general

public during this period were still uneasy about

seeing a woman doctor, female practitioners, like

Swain, often took on a second job to increase their

income. For example, Swain opened the Clara

Swain Hospital.65

Swain’s Hospital catered to

62

Mary Putnam Jacobi, The Question of Rest for Women

During Menstruation, (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons,

1877). 63

Ibid. 64

Clara Swain, (Alumnae File, Woman’s Medical College of

Pennsylvania, 1860). 65

Ibid.

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 18

women and children, including boys up to age

twelve.66

Swain also travelled to the Orient for

employment on several occasions.67

As a medical

missionary, Swain “served all who might come

seeking help, regardless of caste, creed, or

religion.”68

Swain’s career demonstrates that

women doctors during the 1860s experienced

opposition within the practice of medicine and

because of this, women doctors had to be creative

about how they sustained a living. Many women

physicians during the 1860s operated private

practices while also earning income by serving in

more domestic roles. While women doctors saw

growing acceptance in public, they experienced

opposition due to social and cultural norms.

In contrast to the opposition that Swain

experienced, Marie Zakrewska (class of 1860)

experienced opposition within the practice of

medicine for other reasons during the 1860s.

Although some members of the public became

more supportive of women doctors during this

period, other members of the public criticized

women physicians for practicing inferior medicine.

Zakrewska experienced this type of public anger

when one of her hospitalized patients died in

childbirth. She wrote in her journal that “[a]n

immense crowd collected, filling the block between

us and Broadway, hooting and yelling and trying to

push in the doors…”69

“Armed with pickaxes and

shovels, they demanded admission shouting that

the female physicians were killing women with

cold water.”70

This incident shows that women

physicians had more freedom in where they

practiced medicine during the 1860s; however, the

public still criticized them in their role as doctors,

especially when they could not save their patients.

Women physicians faced opposition within

their private lives during the 1860s due to the

change in the accepted role for women physicians.

In the 1860s, some members of the public,

especially fathers and husbands, remained

66

Ibid. 67

Ibid. 68

Ibid. 69

Abram, 86. 70

Ibid.

concerned that women becoming doctors would

upset the structure of the family. If women had the

autonomy to choose to have careers outside of the

home, they would also have the freedom to choose

not to marry.71

Indeed, female doctors who did

marry would not spend adequate time tending to

the family.72

Mary Putnam Jacobi claimed that,

“[t]he question of marriage…which complicates

everything else in the life of women, cannot fail to

complicate their professional life. It does so,

whether the marriage exist or does not exist, that is,

as much for unmarried as for married women.”73

This statement demonstrates the opposing views

about women physicians and marriage. If a woman

doctor remained single, she was viewed as not

following the role prescribed for her by Victorian

society. But by the same token, if a female

physician married, then she was viewed as

someone who was neglecting her duties as a wife

and mother. The varying viewpoints meant that

both married and single women doctors were

scrutinized for their position in the 1860s.

Women faced opposition within their private

lives during the 1860s as a result of the changing

prescriptive role for women physicians during this

period. They were gradually more accepted within

the public setting; however, they were also seen as

having a separate role from that of their male

counterparts. Elise Pfeifer Stone sums up this new

prescriptive role in her 1867 thesis. Stone claims

“that woman is man’s equal if not his superior,

mentally, morally, and physically;” however,

women are treated differently from men within

society because she has different talents.74

Women’s unique strength in ministering to

patients’ emotions in crisis situations makes her the

more suitable physician in certain situations.75

Therefore, women physicians had a place in

medicine separate from that of their male

counterparts. While women could practice

71

Sanchez, 94-98. 72

More, 23-25. 73

Ibid. 74

Elise Pfeifer Stone, “The True Position of Woman” (thesis,

Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1867). 75

Ibid.

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 19

medicine separately from men, neither group

considered the other to be colleagues.

By the 1870s, the customary role of women

physicians changed once again as women began to

integrate into the medical arena as colleagues of

male doctors. The general public was more

accustomed to the idea that a practitioner could be

either male or female since many women doctors

owned their own practices by this period.76

As a

result of greater public acceptance, women doctors

became more confident in their abilities as medical

providers. In addition, this confidence caused

women to strive to participate as equal members

within the medical arena. Women physicians

believed that they practiced medicine equally to

their male counterparts; therefore, these women

believed that they should work closely with male

physicians and be considered colleagues of male

doctors. Julia W. Carpenter (class of 1870) claimed

in her thesis that women and men should be treated

as equals because women and men have similar

strength and are able to do the same work.77

She

supported her argument by stating that women

“peasants in France and Germany plough fields”

while “Indian women accompany men on long

marches.”78

Carpenter also points out that women

and men are equal anatomically and

physiologically because they have the same bones

and muscles.79

Another student, Amanda C. Price

(class of 1871), agreed with Carpenter that women

physicians and male doctors should be treated as

equals. In her 1871 thesis, Price argued that women

have been tending to the sick far longer than men

and this shows their strength and ability to be equal

practitioners to men.80

Price stated that “When the

male physician comes to tend to a sick person in

the middle of the night, he often finds a woman

76

Alumnae Files, Woman’s Medical College of

Pennsylvania, 1851-1880. 77

Julia W. Carpenter, “A Thesis on Woman’s Physical

Strength” (thesis, Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania,

1870). 78

Ibid. 79

Ibid. 80

Amanda C. Price, “The Necessity for Women Physicians”

(thesis, Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1871).

there caring for the sick person.”81

Moreover,

women were not only able to do the work of the

physician but they also had been already doing it

since the beginning of time.82

Both Carpenter and

Price demonstrate that the conventional role for

women physicians shifted from one that is separate

and distinct from that of domain male physicians to

one that accepts gradual equality with these male

counterparts. As the prescriptive role for women

doctors changed, so did the types of opposition that

the women experienced.

Female doctors faced a different kind of

opposition in education in the 1870s as a result of

growing public acceptance for women doctors.

First, because the Woman’s Medical College of

Pennsylvania existed to train women separately

from men, this put the college at a disadvantage

when it came to attracting new women medical

students.83

By the 1870s, women had the

opportunity to enter coeducational medical

schools.84

As a result, enrollment decreased at the

Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. A

further consequence caused by this change in

education was that the women who wanted to

receive a gendered medical education faced new

kinds of opposition. The Woman’s Medical

College of Pennsylvania struggled to remain open

due to the decrease in enrollment, and the decrease

in tuition profit meant that the school struggled to

purchase the necessary educational materials.

Second, women doctors faced opposition in the

public medical sphere as a result of receiving

gendered medical education. For example, a patient

sued Dr. Sarah Hibbard (class of 1870) for medical

malpractice claiming that her education was

inferior to that of male physicians. The plaintiff in

this case called on Dr. Sarah Hibbard to set his

broken arm following an agricultural accident, and

81

Ibid. 82

Ibid. 83

Peitzman, 3. 84

Bernard Becker Medical Library Digital Collection,

Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. "The

Path to Medical Coeducation in the United States." Accessed

December 1, 2014. http://beckerexhibits.wustl.edu/mowihsp/health/medcoedus.htm.

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 20

Hibbard performed the surgery successfully.85

It

was only after the plaintiff spoke to his friend about

the incident that he sued Dr. Hibbard for $10 in

damages.86

He claimed that the arm had to be reset

because Hibbard had set it crooked.87

Dr. Hibbard

indicated to a newspaper after the case that she

suspected that the case was brought against her

because she was a woman.88

In her opinion, she

was viewed as an easy target because of her

gender.89

The male judge in the case, however,

dismissed the case, and Dr. Hibbard did not have to

pay for damages.90

This case shows that some

members of the public still believed that women

practiced inferior medicine. On the other hand, it

also shows progress in that some members of the

public were growing more accustomed to women

doctors. In fact, some public authorities, like the

judge, were willing to vouch for women doctors

who they deemed to be competent practitioners.

Furthermore, Hibbard claims that at least one male

physician considered her medical expertise to be

equal to that of his own. Hibbard’s alumna file

states that Hibbard was once addressed by an “aged

& eminent physician of Pennsylvania…who said he

was glad to see the day that woman had risen to her

place as physician.”91

This evidence demonstrates

that while women doctors experienced different

kinds of challenges within education during the

1870s as a result of a change in the accepted role

for physicians, this change also shows that women

doctors were treated more like their male

colleagues than they had been before. In this case,

the court regarded a woman’s medical degree as a

record of her ability to practice competent

medicine. Legally, women doctors and men doctors

were both viewed a competent clinicians.

The change in the prescriptive role for women

doctors meant that female physicians encountered

new challenges within scholarship during the

85

Sarah A. Hibbard, (Alumnae File, Woman’s Medical

College of Pennsylvania, 1870). 86

Ibid. 87

Ibid. 88

Ibid. 89

Ibid. 90

Ibid. 91

Ibid.

1870s, especially while they sought to be

recognized as colleagues of their male counterparts.

For instance, Mary Dixon Jones (class of 1875), a

Canadian who sought American medical training,

performed the first successful hysterectomy in

addition to removing a seven pound tumor during

the same surgery.92

In addition, Jones made two

important discoveries in the field of cancer

research. First, Jones used microscopic research to

conclude that the “inflammatory reaction around a

cancer [growth] is not a pre-stage” but instead the

inflammation demonstrates that the growth is

“already malignant.”93

Second, Jones concluded

that lymph vessels convey cancerous materials

throughout the body.94

When Jones attempted to

publish her findings, she experienced opposition

because she was a woman. Publication companies

were more cautious in agreeing to publish her work

because of her gender, and as a result the

publication process took longer.95

In fact, her work

was evaluated for two years before anyone agreed

to publish it.96

However, Jones did eventually

publish her work, and in doing so, she showed that

although women experienced opposition in

scholarship during the 1870s, the fact that she

managed to contribute as a published medical

scholar, however delayed, emphasizes that women

doctors, in many ways, were treated similarly to

their male counterparts during this period.

Likewise, Mary Alice Bennett (class of 1876)

experienced similar opposition regarding scholarly

publication. Bennett worked as the Medical

Superintendent of the Department for Women in

Norristown, a hospital for the insane.97

While

working there, Bennett conducted research on the

benefits and risks of using straightjackets on

patients.98

Bennett argued in her paper that these

devices were actually harmful to patients and

92

Mary Dixon Jones, (Alumnae File, Woman’s Medical

College of Pennsylvania, 1875). 93

Ibid. 94

Ibid. 95

Ibid. 96

Ibid. 97

Mary Alice Bennett, (Alumnae File, Woman’s Medical

College of Pennsylvania, 1876). 98

Ibid.

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 21

should not be used.99

Instead of using these

restraints, Bennett claimed that the implementation

of occupational therapy, a work program,

entertainment, and school for patients improved the

patient’s quality of life and lessened their need for

straightjackets.100

However, like Mary Dixon

Jones, Bennett experienced several delays when

she attempted to publish her findings. Publication

companies tended to be cautious when publishing

her papers because she was a woman doctor and

not a male physician.101

Several publications

delayed or flat-out refused to publish her work

because they were afraid that doing so would lessen

their credibility in the medical field.102

The

publication companies were concerned that

publishing a woman’s research might tarnish the

name of the journal and ultimately decrease their

profits.103

After several years, Bennett managed

find a journal that agreed to publish her papers, and

as a result, she became the scholarly authority on

insanity and served as chief physician for nearly

twenty years.104

The case of Mary Alice Bennett

further demonstrates that women experienced

opposition within scholarship during the 1870s

while they sought to assert themselves as

colleagues of their male counterparts.

Women doctors encountered new challenges

within the practice of medicine as a result of the

changing prescriptive role for female physicians

during the 1870s. Clara Marshall’s (class of 1875)

career demonstrates an example of the opposition

that women physicians faced within the practice of

medicine during the 1870s. The Woman’s Medical

College of Pennsylvania hired Marshall as a

professor just one year after her graduation from

medical school.105

However, during the hiring

process, several male doctors on the faculty

questioned her appointment because in 1876,

consultation with a woman physician caused a

99

Ibid. 100

Ibid. 101

Ibid. 102

Ibid. 103

Ibid. 104

Ibid. 105

Clara Marshall, (Alumnae File, Woman’s Medical College

of Pennsylvania, 1875).

member of the Philadelphia county medical society

to forfeit his membership.106

Such a debate existed

among male doctors during this period that one’s

credibility as a medical doctor could be tarnished

for supporting a woman doctor. Despite this rule,

Marshall was hired and through her efforts this rule

was changed.107

As a result, she was credited with

“breaking down the prejudice against women in

medical institutions.”108

Marshall’s achievements

show that although women faced opposition within

the practice of medicine in the 1870s, women

doctors managed to strive for equal opportunities to

male physicians.

Finally, female physicians encountered new

challenges within their private lives during the

1870s as they sought to become members of an

integrated medical community. First, women

physicians still struggled to find gainful

employment in hospitals or private practice which

caused many women to take unconventional jobs.

For example, Phebe Oliver-Briggs (class of 1870)

took a position with the Society of Friends, a

dangerous position because she was treating

members of the Otoe and Missouri tribes.109

The

nature of this job challenged Oliver-Briggs to

overcome cultural difference regarding medical

treatment for Native Americans.110

However, even

though Oliver-Briggs experienced opposition due

to the nature of her job, her career shows that

women doctors in the 1870s were treated similarly

to their male counterparts. For instance, Oliver-

Briggs served as the breadwinner for her family at

the request of her husband who chose not to have a

fulltime career.111

This example shows that some

husbands by the 1870s were comfortable with their

wives working in the public while they stayed

home. They no longer seemed to be concerned that

women working as physicians would cause them to

neglect their families. The career experience of

Oliver-Briggs demonstrates that women doctors

106

Ibid. 107

Ibid. 108

Ibid. 109

Phebe Oliver-Briggs, (Alumnae File, Woman’s Medical

College of Pennsylvania, 1870). 110

Ibid. 111

Ibid.

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 22

faced opposition within their private lives in the

1870s; however, many women physicians were

treated similarly to their male counterparts during

this period.

Prudence A. Saur (class of 1871) and

Georgiana C. Glenn (class of 1874) concisely

summed up in their theses the change that occurred

in the prescriptive role for women doctors during

the 1870s. Women did integrate into the general

medical arena. Saur stated that the public viewed

the difference between men and women doctors by

this point as simply a matter of preference among

members of the public.112

Some women [were]

ashamed by “having one of the opposite sex see to

attend them.” But, Saur emphasized that both male

and female physicians practiced the same type of

medicine with the only difference being gender.113

Glenn agreed claiming that although both men and

women are capable of doing the same work, some

women often feel more comfortable about baring

their flesh to a female physician with whom they

can “speak freely” with about private matters.114

Both of these theses demonstrate that the accepted

role for women physicians during the 1870s

changed. By the 1870s, women physicians and men

physicians were considered to be colleagues who

practiced the same kind of medicine even though

individual members of the public still might have

preferred one gender over the other. As a result in

this change, female physicians experienced new

challenges within education, scholarship, practice,

and within their private lives; however, although

they experienced opposition, women doctors

resisted and negotiated these new barriers and

indeed often surmounted them.

Early women doctors, in addition to working

tirelessly through their hectic medical schedules,

experienced instability within society as

professionals because members of both the medical

public and the general public remained uncertain

about what the role of women physicians should

112

Prudence A. Saur, “Physicians and Their Duties” (thesis,

Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1871). 113

Ibid. 114

Georgiana C. Glenn, “A Thesis on the Lying-in Chamber”

(thesis, Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1874).

be. The experiences of the graduates of the

Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania

demonstrate that the prescriptive role for women

physicians changed from the 1850s to the 1870s as

women transitioned from domestic healer to

professional physician. In the 1850s, separate

sphere ideology exerted the most influence on

women embarking upon a medical career. During

the 1860s, women physicians battled to be accepted

as members of both spheres. While women

continued to face opposition within their medical

careers, they managed to gain modest public

support. Finally, beginning in the 1870s, women

physicians were often treated similarly if not equal

to their male counterparts, and there is evidence

that the idea of separate spheres was slowly being

dissolved. Nevertheless, because the prescriptive

role for women doctors evolved over time, female

doctors experienced new types of opposition within

their medical education, in their endeavors to

publish, within their professional practice, and in

their roles as wives and mothers.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Dr. Lori Woods for her

encouragement and support through every stage of

this project, from personally introducing me to

archival research to patiently reading my

successive drafts. I am also grateful to Dr. Denise

Damico who read many of my early drafts and

kindly offered her expertise as an American

historian throughout this project. Their willingness

to teach me their craft continues to inspire me as a

student and as a historian. Finally, I would like to

thank archivist, Matt Herbison and the team at The

Legacy Center for their assistance in helping me

complete the archival research for this project.

Christie Olek (’15, B.A., History) graduated cum

laude with Departmental Honors. She is currently

attending the paralegal program at Saint Francis

University and hopes to attend graduate school in

the future to study the social history of medieval

medicine.

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 23

Extroversion/Introversion Trait’s Effect on Perception of how Personality

Contributes to Success

[Research conducted for PSYC 202 (Research Methods and Statistics II)]

Morgan L. Dutrow Katee A. Gresko

Psychology Department Psychology Department

School of Arts & Letters School of Arts & Letters

mld101@francis.edu kxg105@francis.edu

Marnie L. Moist, Ph.D.

Psychology Department

School of Arts & Letters

mmoist@francis.edu

The personality types of extroversion and introversion were related to how students perceived these traits

had aided in their academic success. College students at Saint Francis University were asked to fill out the

HumanMetrics (1998) Jung Typology Test to determine whether they were an introvert or extrovert. They

were then asked to report which trait the test had assigned them and were given time to write about how

they felt this trait had negatively contributed and positively contributed to their academic success.

Introverts and extroverts were found to generate approximately the same proportion of positive responses

about how they felt their personality had contributed to their academic success. The most frequently given

positive response generated by introverts was that they were better able to focus, while extroverts tended

to say that their ability to form study groups had aided their academic success.

This study aimed to address how positively

extroverts and introverts perceive the contributions

that their personality has made to their academic

success. This problem is of interest because, as far

as our research suggests, no one has done any work

examining how people perceive their personality

has aided them in their academic achievements.

With this knowledge we could identify whether or

not one’s perception of how their personality

contributes to academic success is a self-fulfilling

prophecy. This would be of special interest to

educators, who could stress to extroverts that they

should not let negative perceptions of their

personality affect how they perform in school. The

general goal of this study is to expand upon the

current knowledge of the affect that personality can

have on academic success.

Building upon the ideas of the psychiatrist Carl

Jung, each person’s personality can be broken

down into various trait dimensions. These

dimensions are introversion and extroversion,

intuitive and sensing, thinking and feeling, and

judging and perceiving (Bisping & Patron, 2008).

With each dimension a person almost always

shows a tendency to display one trait more than the

other. For example, a person is not usually equally

as extroverted as they are introverted; they are

normally labeled as either an introvert or an

extrovert. Introverts prefer to get their energy from

dealing with the ideas, pictures, memories, and

reactions inside their head. They are in their own

inner world. They prefer to do things alone or with

a couple of people with whom they feel

comfortable. They take time out of their day to

reflect upon things. They often find themselves

liking the idea of something more than the actual

thing. Extroverts get their energy from being

actively involved in events. They tend to be excited

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 24

when they are around others. They prefer action

and making things happen. They tend to gain a

better understanding of a problem from talking

about it (The Myers & Briggs Foundation, 2014).

Introversion and extroversion are simply one

dimension of the four that make up personality

(Bisping & Patron, 2008). We assume it is correct

to break personality into four dimensions, that there

are exactly four dimensions, that the traits chosen

to make up these dimensions are valid, and that

people actually display one trait more than another

most commonly. However, we also assume that the

extroversion/introversion trait will most clearly

connect to people’s own self-perception of

academic of academic success because there are a

number of studies that clearly indicate that

introversion and extroversion are connected to

actual success, and we made the assumption that

actual success must be connected to perceived to

success. For the purpose of this study, success was

be measured via GPA.

The general purpose of the study done by

Wolfradt, Felfe, and Koster (2002) was to examine

the relationship between self-perceived

intelligence, which is measured by the Emotional

Intelligence Scale, and other personality measures,

including the Five Factor model. In the study the

conditions of introversion and extroversion were

compared. Measured was the score achieved on the

emotional intelligence scale. “All emotional

intelligence scale dimensions showed positive

relationships to extroversion, conscientiousness,

life satisfaction, intuitive and rational thinking, and

to the creative personality traits,”(Wolfradt et al.,

2002, p. 301). Extroversion seems to be an

indicator of high emotional intelligence, which is,

to some degree, needed to succeed academically.

“The purpose of this research is to examine the

moderating effect of personally knowing an

accountant, or of being a student with accounting

as a declared major, on the perception of the need

for practicing accountants to possess these

attributes,” (Sale, Cheek & Hatfield, 1998, p. 188).

First compared were being an accounting student

and a non-accounting student, while the conditions

for the second variable were knowing a

professional accountant and not knowing a

professional accountant. How well the students

perceived the necessity for a professional

accountant to possess the three types of general

skills desired by accounting firms, which are

communication, team participation, and creative

problem solving skills was measured. The main

result of the survey indicated that those students

who knew an accountant had a better knowledge of

all three skills required of professional accountants

than students who did not (Sale et al., 1998).

Knowing an accountant improves the likelihood

that a student will know what attributes employers

look for in an accountant. This study demonstrated

that having knowledge of personality traits

contributed to success.

A study conducted by Judge, Higgins,

Thoresen, and Barrick (1999) looked at the

relationship between traits from the Five Factor

model of personal and how they related to career

success. The influence of neuroticism,

extroversion, and conscientiousness on career

success was examined. Career success was further

divided into intrinsic and extrinsic success.

Extrinsic success, which is measured outside of the

individual in the world, was measured by recording

the participant’s income. Intrinsic success, which

was the participant’s satisfaction with their job, was

measured via a survey. Neuroticism was found to

be negatively linked to extrinsic career success,

while extroversion and conscientiousness were

found to be positively related to extrinsic success

(Judge et al., 1999). This means that being neurotic

will hinder people in their career success, while

being extroverted and conscientious will aid people

in their work success.

The main purpose of study conducted by

Hadley (2003) was to address Bandura’s theory of

self-efficacy as a construct rather than a trait of

personality in order to determine if generalized

self-efficacy is capable of predicting job

performance. Introversion and extroversion were

also measured and compared to generalized self-

efficacy to test if trait theory and social learning

theory could be correlated with job performance.

The influence of introversion versus extroversion

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 25

on job performance, which was evaluated via a

model the researchers created. “Performance

change was correlated with generalized self-

efficacy and extroversion/ introversion, and the

results were non-significant,” (Hadley, 2003, p.

40). The results of the study showed that there was

no relationship between being introverted or

extroverted and one’s job performance. This means

that introverts and extroverts may perform equally

well at their jobs.

We have noted that the previous two studies

contained contrasting results. It was our belief that

Judge et al.’s (1999) study better explained the role

of introversion and extroversion as the researchers

used both real world measures and internal

measures of success, while Hadley’s (2003) study

relied entirely upon a self-created model.

Jung’s theory and the MBTI suggest that

personality types are quantitatively and

qualitatively different (Pittenger, 2005). This

supports our assumption that introverts and

extroverts are distinct groups of people. Consistent

findings question the construct validity of the

MBTI; and, many researchers have generated

findings inconsistent with the MBTI theory

(Pittenger, 2005), yet we assume that the MBTI is a

valid instrument to determine personality traits.

Bisping and Patron (2008) defined the theoretical

terms of introversion and extroversion in the same

manner as we did. In a study done by Nourayi and

Cherry, there was no relationship found between

personality type and work performance (Bisping &

Patron, 2008; Hadley, 2003). However, studies

done by Judge et al. (1999) did find a significant

difference in work success, with extroverts being

more successful than introverts. Our proposed

hypothesis will add unique information to what

scientists already know about introverts and

extroverts. Many studies have looked at the actual

success that introverts and extroverts have in

academia and the workplace, but no studies that we

have found have looked at how people perceive the

influence of introversion or extroversion on their

own performance. With our study we will be able

to see if extroverts or introverts feel more

positively about how their personality has

influenced their academic success in college. Our

study assumes that there will be some difference

between the personality types of introversion and

extroversion. We have noticed through personal

observation that friends who are introverted tend to

stay in and study more than extroverted friends,

and this studying often results in better grades.

Higher grades are likely to cause people to have a

better perception of how their personality has

contributed to their success.

During the study, the participants took the

HumanMetrics (1998) Jung Typology Test in order

to find out whether they are an introvert or an

extrovert. Based on this designation, the

participants will have two five minute intervals to

list how they feel being an introvert or extrovert

has aided and hindered their academic success.

These results will then be analyzed to determine

whether introverts or extroverts feel that their

personality has contributed more to their academic

success.

We expected to find that the difference in the

percentage of positive responses about academic

success generated in five minutes was greater for

introverts than for extroverts. We expected to find

this because, according to Farah and Atoum (2002),

“introverts achieve, learn, and succeed more readily

and recall better from long-term memory than do

extroverts,” (p. 149). If introverts are able to do all

of this better than extroverts they will, in all

likelihood, have more positive feelings towards

how their personality has aided in their academic

success than will extroverts.

Methods

Participants. There were a total of 21

participants. Of these participants 9 were female

and 12 were male. The participants fell into several

different racial groups. There were 18 white, 1

African American, and 2 participants that fell into

the category of other. All of the participants were

college students from a small, rural Catholic school

in central Pennsylvania. The study utilized a

convenient sample that was comprised of students

enrolled in Saint Francis University, some of which

were registered for Dr. Moist’s introductory

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 26

psychology class and offered extra credit as an

incentive to participate. All students who

responded and met the criteria for being included

were allowed to participate in the study. The

students were 12 freshmen, 3 sophomores, 5

juniors, and 1 seniors. These students had several

special characteristics in order to participate in the

study. They had to be at least 18 to 23 years of age,

could not have a learning disability or a mental

health diagnosis that would impact their academic

success, and had to be a full-time undergraduate

student. Graduate student were excluded from

participation. The option to select graduate was on

the demographic survey, but only to ensure that

their results could be caught and removed from the

study.

Materials. The classroom at Saint Francis

University that was selected had a whiteboard and

an Expo marker so that we could write down the

web address of the online survey that we asked the

participants to complete (HumanMetrics, 1998).

The self-made demographic survey contained 9

questions, with 4 questions intended to gather basic

demographic information and 5 questions intended

as relevant additional information (see Appendix

1). Computers were necessary in order for the

students to fill out the online survey. The two types

of computers that were most commonly used were

the Lenovo ThinkPad T440 and the Lenovo

ThinkPad T430s. The online survey, which was

used to determine if the participants were introverts

or extroverts, was the HumanMetrics (1998) Jung

Typology Test. No reliability or validity values for

the test were able to be found on the site.

There was also be a response packet. This

packet included a sheet explaining the qualities of

introverts and extroverts. The information for this

sheet was obtained from The Myers & Briggs

Foundation (2014) (see Appendix 2). The sheet was

intended to clarify what introverts and extroverts

are for the participants and to aid them in

generating responses for the response sheet. The

first and third pages of the response packet were

self-made and created with the purpose of

collecting the dependent variable information. The

participants needed to bring a pencil in order to fill

them out, but extras were offered if needed. We

also needed a stopwatch which was used to make

sure that the participants took only the specified

amount of time to fill out the response sheet. The

stopwatch that was used was a Timex Ironman

Sleek 50 Lap watch. The final material needed for

the test was a folder for the participants to place

their response sheets in.

Design and Procedure. The independent

variable was personality type. The conditions in our

study were introvert and extrovert. The

HumanMetrics (1998) Jung Typology test auto-

scored the participants responses and gave a

percentage of trait strength for introversion or

extroversion. In order to be placed in the introvert

condition the participant must score 15% trait

strength or higher in introversion on the

HumanMetrics (1998) Jung Typology Test. To be

placed in the extrovert condition the participant

must score 15% or higher in trait strength in

extroversion on the HumanMetrics (1998) Jung

Typology Test. Participants who ranged from 0-

14% in either trait were thrown out of the study.

The dependent variable in the study was the

percentage of positive responses out of total

responses the participants made about their

personality type across two 5 minute intervals.

The research methods used in this study were

both a survey and an experiment. The participants

filled out a survey in order for the

introvert/extrovert personality trait to be recorded

after the online personality test was taken. The

experiment was between-subjects and a quasi-

experiment. We counterbalanced the order of two

questions pertaining to positive and negative

perceptions of how personality had contributed to

academic success. The participants needed to fill

out the response sheet after the online personality

test so that they would know which personality

trait, introversion or extroversion, to reflect upon.

The participants received a campus-wide e-

mail, see Appendix 3, inviting them to participate

in the study. They then responded to this e-mail and

received the consent form, which they were able to

look over and then sign. The participants were then

given a time and classroom to show up to with their

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 27

consent form, their laptop, and a pencil. The

participant was one of a group of five. Before the

participants entered the room, they handed over

their consent form, were given a participant

number, and asked to remain quiet for the duration

of the study and to take it seriously. In regards to

the rest of the experiment summary, for verbatim

instructions, please refer to Appendix 4.

The participants were then seated far enough

apart that they could not see another participant’s

computer screen. The participants were then given

all the handouts they would need for the

experiment, which included the demographic

survey before the response packet. The participants

were then given instructions about the tasks they

would need to complete and the approximate

amount of time it would take to complete them.

The participants then typed in the URL for the

HumanMetrics (1998) Jung Typology Test and

took the test. They then sat quietly until everyone

had completed the survey. Once the survey was

done the participants were instructed to fill out the

first page of the response packet and to then read

the section describing the personality trait that the

test had determined them as having. They were

then instructed that they would be given 5 minutes

per question to answer the last two questions with a

30 second break in between the two questions. The

participants then did this. Finally, the participants

placed their response packets in a folder at the front

of the room and were free to leave.

Scoring. The HumanMetrics (1998) Jung

Typology Test was auto-scored online and gave

percentages of trait strength for all four of the

MBTI traits. Because the test was scored online, we

were unable to randomize the test item order across

the participants.

Two individuals scored the subjective

responses to the last two questions on the response

sheet. These individuals counted up the number of

positive and negative responses and then calculated

the proportion of positive responses over total

responses. The Pearson Product Moment

correlation was run to determine the amount of

agreement between the two scorers. The results of

this test were r (19) =0.881, p=0.000. This results

demonstrated that there was a strong, positive

correlation between the two scorers, making the

results significant. A summary of all the all the

positive and negative responses in descending order

from most to least frequent can be seen in

Appendix 5.

Results

All effects significant at p≤0.5 were reported.

The average was based on subject means. The

independent samples t-test was run on the

proportion of positive responses generated to

compare introverts and extroverts. Introverts

(M=0.59, SD=0.09) did not generate a significantly

higher proportion of positive responses than

extroverts (M=0.51, SD=0.23), t (19) = -1.13,

p = 0.274. The sample sizes we needed to detect a

large, medium, or small sample size were 393, 64,

and 26, respectively. Since we tested n=21 people

we did not have enough power to find a large,

medium, or small effect size. The effect of

introversion or extroversion on the type of positive

response generated can been seen in Table 1, which

is located in Appendix 5. The general trend of

Tables was that introverts’ top positive responses

generated were different than extroverts’.

Discussion The results failed to support the hypothesis.

This means that introverts and extroverts generated

the same proportion of positive results. Personality

type does not necessarily predict how positively or

negatively people will perceive their academic

success. Because both introverts and extroverts

have been in academia for so long, they have been

forced to adapt to the school environment, which

over time may have caused them to form a more

positive outlook on their personality. The

experiment was performed in a group setting,

which is the preferred setting for extroverts. This

fact may have caused extroverts to generate more

positive responses because they were in a setting

they were comfortable with. Conversely, introverts

were in an environment that they do not thrive in, a

group. This could have caused them to generate

fewer positive responses because they were not

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 28

tested one on one, which probably would have been

their preferred setting.

The experiment contained a few flaws. Some of

the participants appeared to be more efficient

workers. As a result they were able to finish the

survey 3-5 minutes before the rest of the

participants. During this time it was likely that they

became bored and it was noted that a few used their

cell phones and computers for purposes unrelated

to the study. This took their focus off of the main

ideas of the study and could have caused them to

generate less results on the response page. We

forgot to tell the participants what their assigned

number was. This caused a lot of confusion and

some disruptions, mainly in the form of questions,

when they began filling out Appendix 2, which

required them to write their participant number.

Our findings seem to be consistent with the

results of a study done by Wolfradt et al. (2002).

They found that extroversion appeared to be highly

correlated with increased levels emotional

intelligence. People high in emotional intelligence

would most likely find working in groups to be

rather easy, potentially preferable to working alone,

as they would be better able to navigate the

emotional conflicts that arise whenever people

work together in a group setting. One of the top

responses extroverts in our experiment gave as a

way that their personality had aided in their

academic success was that they felt more

comfortable forming and working in groups.

Introverts did not cite ease of forming or working

in groups once. These findings seem to confirm the

conclusion drawn by Wolfradt et al. (2002) that

extroversion is highly correlated with higher levels

of emotional intelligence.

The study done by Sale et al. (1998) found that

having knowledge about one’s personality traits

contributed to one’s success. The data we collected

seemed to partially support this. In the response

sheets filled out by introverts they reported

knowing that they did not study well whenever they

studied in environments with a lot of distractions.

Common distractions listed were excessive noise

and the presence of others. To compensate for this

deficit introverts wrote they tended to study in quiet

environments without others present in order to

better learn the material they were studying.

Having learned certain information about their

personality introverts adapted in order to allow

themselves to be more successful. This would seem

to support the conclusion made by Sale et al.

(1998) that knowledge about one’s personality can

aid them on the path to success.

The results found in our study seem to

contradict the results found in a study that was

conducted by Judge et al. (1999). In the study

performed by Judge et al. (1999) they found that

extroversion seemed to coincide with increased

extrinsic success at work; however, our results

seemed to indicate that extroverts were no more

likely to perceive their personality’s as having

contributed to their success than introverts were.

Perhaps extroverts are able to achieve more

extrinsic success than are introverts, but according

to our results this increased extrinsic success does

not coincide with increased feelings of success on

the part of extroverts, and feeling as though one is

successful is possibly as important a part of

successful as external factors are. Therefore, the

results found in this study seemed to partially

contradict those previously found by Judge et al.

(1999).

Our results seem to coincide fairly well with

those found by Hadley (2003). In the study done by

Hadley (2003) he found that introverts and

extroverts generally performed equally well at their

jobs. If two groups perform their jobs well and at

about the same level of success, then it would not

be unduly surprising to find that they have equally

positive feelings about how their personality has

contributed to that job success. Since we were

unable to find a difference in how positively

introverts and extroverts viewed how their

personality had aided in their academic success, our

results do not seem to contradict the ones found by

Hadley (2003). In fact, the results found on our

study appear to coincide rather well with those

previously established in the study done by Hadley

(2003).

Our main hypothesis that there would be a

difference in the proportion of positive responses

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 29

generated by extroverts and introverts as to how

their personality had contributed to their academic

success was not supported. We were, however, able

to find a difference in the types of positive

responses generated by introverts and extroverts.

For instance, extroverts tend to view group work as

having contributed to their academic success, while

introverts tend to view it as having detracted from

their academic success. The differences inherent in

extroverted and introverted personality types

appear to cause introverts and extroverts to view

different factors as positive and negative.

Knowledge of what things tend to aid introverts

and extroverts in their academic success might

allow introverts or extroverts who are not as

perceptive to incorporate these things into their

study habits, allowing them to be more successful

academically.

One avenue for future research could be to

examine all sixteen MBTI personality types in

order to determine which specific type views the

contribution their personality has made to their

academic success most positively. Another option

would be to look at the relationship between a

student’s personality type and their actual GPA.

Works Cited Bisping, T.O., & Patron, H. (2008). Personality Type as a

Determinant of Student Success in Introductory General

Business Courses. Academy of Educational Leadership

Journal, 12(1), 35-50. Retrieved October 27, 2014 from

PROQUEST database.

Farah, A, & Atoum, A. (2002). Personality Traits as Self-

Evaluated and as Judged by Others. Social Behavior and

Personality, 30(2), 149-156. Retrieved October 27, 2014

from PROQUEST database.

Hadley, J.G. (2003). A Test of Bandura’s Theory:

Generalized Self-Efficacy and the Personality Traits of

Introversion and Extroversion as Measures of Job

Performance. (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (305239611)

HumanMetrics Inc. (1998). Jung Typology Test. Retrieved

November 10, 2014 from http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-

win/jtypes2.asp Judge, T.A., Higgins, C.A., Thoresen, C.J., & Barrick, M.R.

(1999). The Big Five Personality Traits, General Mental

Ability, and Career Success across the Life Span.

Personnel Psychology, 52(3), 621-652. Retrieved October

27, 2014 from PROQUEST database.

The Myers & Briggs Foundation (2014). The Myers and

Briggs Foundation – Extraversion or Introversion.

Retrieved October 27, 2014 from http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/extraversion-or-introversion.htm

Pittenger, D.J. (2005). Cautionary Comments Regarding the

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Consulting Psychology

Journal: Practice and Research, 57(3), 210-221. Retrieved

October 27, 2014 from PSYCHINFO database.

Sale, M.L.,, Cheek, R.G., & Hatfield, R. (1998). Accounting

Student Perceptions of Characteristics Necessary for

Success: A Comparison with those Cited by Professionals.

Allied Academies International Conference. Academy of

Accounting and Financial Studies Proceedings, 3(2), 188-

195. Retrieved from October 27, 2014 from PROQUEST

database.

Wolfradt, U. Felfe, J. & Koster, T. (2002). Self-Perceived

Emotional Intelligence and Creative Personality.

Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 21(4), 293-309.

Retrieved October 27, 2014 from PROQUEST database.

Morgan Dutrow ('15) is a Psychology major with

a minor in Chemistry. She is a member of Psi Chi

and Phi Eta Sigma. She plans on attending graduate

school next fall.

Katee Gresko (’16) is a Psychology major with a

minor in Nutrition & Wellness and in Social Work.

She is a member of the Saint Francis University

Cross Country, Indoor Track, and Outdoor Track

teams.

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 30

Contents of SPECTRUM Volumes 4 – 5

(Student authors’ names underlined)

Volume 4 Issue 1

Conor S. Norris; Edward Timmons: Medical Device Excise Tax: An Economic Review

Julie L. Cashdollar; Lori Woods: Keeping One’s Head or Heart? Exploring Popular Reaction to

Henry VIII’s Seccession from Rome

Lauren S. Wingard; Heather R. Kindel; Stephen M. LoRusso: Urinary Incontinence: The Silent

Embarrassment of Female Athletes

Issue 2

Abstracts of the Third Annual Saint Francis University Research Day

Issue 3

Brittany A. Kovacs; Pedro L. Muíño: Molecular Modeling of Folding in Lactam-Modified

α-Conotoxins

Jennifer E. Wilde; Marnie L. Moist: The Role of Optimism in Attaining the Ideal Romantic

Partner

Jamie L. Wichrowski; Balazs Hargittai: Success of Women Physical Therapy Graduates from

Saint Francis University

Issue 4

Irene M. Boyle; Stephen M. LoRusso: Organized Body, Organized Mind: The Association

between Yoga and Cognitive Abilities

Kimberly A. Gronski; Grant A. Julin: What is Google Doing to Us

Danielle R. MacMurtrie: The Blending of Passions: Integrating Art into a World of Science

SPECTRUM 6 (1) 31

Volume 5 Issue 1

Dennis J. Ryan; Arthur Remillard: From Purity to Pollution: The Transformation of Baseball in

the Steroid Era

Michelle Lipski; Lauren E. McConnell; Lauren E. Grabowski; Kristen N. Ritchey; Michele R.S.

Hargittai; Balazs Hargittai: Synthesis and Characterization of Azo Dyes

Stephen D. Kowalski; Stephen M. LoRusso: A Study of the Risk Factors of Degenerative Joint

Disease of the Knee leading to Total Joint Arthroplasty and their Influence on

Therapeutic Outcomes

Issue 2

Abstracts of the Fourth Annual Saint Francis University Research Day

Issue 3

Eric J. Anello; Arthur Remillard: Why We Run: An Experience of Time

Margaret K. Connelly; Rachel M. Robinson; Jocelin R. Teachout; Mary K. Woloschuk; Lane J.

Loya: Insect Foraging by Winter Birds: Do Supplemental Food Sources Increase

Predation Success

Cecelia A. MacDonald; Robin L. Cadwallader: The Progression of Sexual Awakening in

Literature

Issue 4

Gabrielle Townsend; Donna M. Menis: Photojournalism: To View or Not to View

Monika E. Goss; Balazs Hargittai: Phthalates from Toys and How it Affects Children

Timothy A. Keith; Edward Timmons: Inflation and Income Inequality after the Financial Crisis

Samantha L. Dilling; Robin L. Cadwallader: Making the Invisible Visible

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