CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Research Findings
The psychological requirements of the conference interpreting profession,
especially whether an occupationally desirable personality exists, have been widely
debated without much consensus. The issue is as topical as it is controversial since the
stakeholders associated with the profession have been eager to answer the question in
an attempt to make informed decisions when selecting a career, recruiting candidates
for an interpreting position, evaluating students for training programs, making career
plans, or simply trying to understand the nature of the profession. However, related
studies and publications in the field have been infrequent and the viewpoints
divergent if not contradictory.
Against such background, this study seeks to investigate and quantify
conference interpreters’ psychological characteristics including anxiety level by using
self-report psychometric instruments such as Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and
State-Trait Anxiety Tests. Thirty conference interpreters in Taiwan participated in the
research and the findings can be summarized as follows.
1. Subjects reported preference for Introversion (66.7%), Sensing (73.3%), Thinking
(77.7%), and Judging (70%) on the four scales of MBTI. The most frequent types
among subjects were ISTJ (Introverted Sensing with Thinking, 43.3%) and ESTJ
(Extraverted Thinking with Sensing, 16.7%).
2. Subjects’ preference on the four scales and the most dominant types among them
bear considerable resemblance to that of Taiwanese university population and
Taiwanese workers in other occupational settings. This refutes Hypothesis one of
the research that : The most frequent three MBTI personality types among
participating interpreters are different from those of Taiwanese university
population and workers in other occupational settings.
3. The two most frequent types ISTJ (43.3%) and ESTJ (16.7%) account for 60% of
the subject population. This suggests that the field attracts practical, thorough, and
perseverant individuals who prefer analyzing facts and organizing information, and
have a very strong sense of duty which drives them to fulfill tasks at hand.
4. The difference between subjects’ and the general population’s Trait Anxiety scores
is statistically insignificant, which refutes hypothesis two that participating
interpreters’ average Trait Anxiety scores are statistically lower than the normative
data. This suggests that conference interpreters’ proneness to anxiety is not
significantly lower than the general population as many would like to believe
5. Subjects’ Trait Anxiety score was found to have statistically insignificant effect on
their State Anxiety score, which refutes Hypothesis four that participating
interpreters’ Trait Anxiety scores positively correlate with their State Anxiety scores.
This suggests that interpreters with a less anxiety-prone personality do not
necessarily experience less anxiety at work.
6. Subjects’ years of experience was found to negatively correlate with their State
Anxiety scores, which validates Hypothesis three that participating interpreters’ State
Anxiety scores negatively correlate with their years of experience. This indicates that
subjects’ anxiety at work decreases as their working experience increases. This
conforms to statements by several authors in the field that experienced interpreters
tend to be less anxious and nervous at work.
5.2 Implications
Conference interpreters participating in this research reported preferences for
Introversion (I), Sensing (S), Thinking (T), and Judging (J) over the four BMTI scales.
Such preferences were found to be similar to normative populations such as Taiwanese
university population and Taiwanese workers in other occupations. As mentioned
earlier, previous researches on personality types of Taiwanese university students
(Huang and Huang, 1992) and Taiwanese workers in different occupational settings
(Huang, 1992) using MBTI had led to the conclusion that Chinese population tend to
demonstrate more preference for I, S, T, and J. It can be concluded that, subjects’
personality preferences for I, S, T, and J are not so mush the mental qualities unique to
the profession of conference interpreting; they are the personality characteristics
inherent in a Chinese socialization process.
However, the higher percentage of ISTJ (42.3%) and ESTJ (15.4%) among
subjects suggests that the conference interpreting profession attracted a larger
proportion of ISTJs and ESTJs compared to the Taiwanese normative populations
mentioned above. The psychological profile of ISTJs and ESTJs is congruous to
statements about interpreters’ mental qualities by many authors in the field.
It’s worthy to note, however, the fact that ISTJ and ESTJ types are most
frequent among subjects says nothing about their competence as conference
interpreters. As many personality type theorists emphasized, there are almost no
studies yet to answer whether the frequent types in an occupation are more competent
than the rare types, or whether the more frequent types have higher job satisfaction.
There can be no prediction that any given types will fail in any given occupation.
In the context of this research, the prevalence of ISTJs and ESTJs does not tell
non-ISTJs and non-ESTJs to stay out the profession; nor does it tell examiners which
personality type of candidates to select. Rather, such fact-based information sheds
light on the personality types most attracted to the conference interpreting profession
in Taiwan. Information of the kind can be helpful in alerting people to occupations
less chosen by their types, so that further research can be conducted to investigate
reasons for their interest, and make sure the reality of the occupation is still
appealing.
In terms of conference interpreters’ anxiety at work, the research findings
demonstrated that neither subjects’ Trait Anxiety nor MBTI personality type
exercises statistically significant effect on their anxiety level at work. It is subjects’
working experience that helps them reduce anxiety and maintain calm when
interpreting in a conference. Contrary to the emphasis on an occupationally desirable
personality sometimes found in the literature, this finding underlines the importance
of interpreters’ acquired aptitude rather than natural abilities such as gender, natural
stress tolerance, or personality types.
For veteran or novice interpreters who are seeking ways to manage job stress at
work, the research findings demonstrate the benefit of accumulating working
experience. As current interpreters seek ways to maintain composure and work
performance under tremendous work stress, the findings offer an empirical approach
for interpreters to reduce anxiety at work by highlighting the importance of working
experience. For curriculum designers, the findings increase the awareness of the
elevated anxiety level that novice interpreters tend to experience at work. The
findings serve as an empirically useful reference for them to consider including
psychological or career counseling in practicum to best prepare student interpreters
for future challenges. For recruiters of interpreting students, the findings suggest an
evaluation approach from a long-term perspective. In other words, instead of
emphasizing candidates’ innate anxiety proneness or an occupationally desirable
personality, it is more reasonable to evaluate whether, within the timeframe of the
learning course, the candidate in question will build up a reasonable stress tolerance
level below which he or she will not drop. To sum up, the research finding regarding
subjects’ anxiety enables us to move away from the over-emphasis on current or
aspiring interpreters’ natural personality characteristics to focus on the importance of
acquired aptitude through working experiences an interpreters’ professional career
unfolds.
5.3 Suggestions for Future Research
The research investigated interpreters’ Trait Anxiety level, MBTI personality
type, working experience and their effect on interpreters’ anxiety at work. These
variables are only a few of the many moderating factors that help to lower conference
interpreters’ anxiety level at work; the effect of factors such as interpreters’ motivation
and competency on their occupational anxiety or work performance calls for further
investigation.
Second, the fact that ISTJ and ESTJ types are more frequent among subjects
does not necessarily suggest they have better competence or job satisfaction. Whether
the frequent types perform and enjoy working better than the infrequent types
deserves further investigation.
Third, the research had demonstrated that subjects’ anxiety at work decreases
as their experience increases. But there is currently no evidence that interpreters who
are less anxious or nervous at work would necessarily have better work performance
or enjoy working better. The effect of State anxiety on interpreters’ work performance
and job satisfaction remains to be empirically investigated.
Fourth, the research finding, similar to that of the extensive researches on
Taiwanese university students and workers in different occupations, does not clearly
distinguish the personality types of participating interpreters from those of the general
population (Huang, 1991; Huang and Huang, 1992). In view of the many
psychometric instruments available in Taiwan as listed in Table 2.5, it would be
worthwhile to investigate whether any of the tools can be used to reveal the
psychological characteristics that distinguish interpreters from those who chose other
occupations.
To sum up, the findings of this research serve as empirical reference based on
which further research approaches can be conjured and implemented. Despite the
several research limitations mentioned above, tentative broader conclusions can be
drawn, which can be tested in future researches. The findings of this research set off
further interests in conference interpreting–related researches from a psychological
perspective: Are the frequent personality types among subjects more competent and
satisfied interpreters than the rare types? Do less occupationally anxious interpreters
perform and enjoy working better than the anxious ones? Do the less occupationally
anxious interpreters enjoy better health than the anxious ones in the long run? How do
other factors such as interpreters’ motivation and competency affect their anxiety at
work? How does an interpreter’s anxiety at work change with different conference
topics and increase of experience throughout his professional career? How does an
interpreters’ anxiety level fluctuate throughout a day at work? It calls for further
research to examine the effect of conference interpreters’ personality, anxiety at work,
experience, motivation, competency on their work performance, job satisfaction and
health condition to answer the questions. A long-term empirical study is required to
empirically investigate the intricate interaction between the aforementioned factors.
