Big Five personality traits and academic performance: A meta-analysis

A reciprocal perspective on the differential associations between personality traits and multiple indicators of academic achievement

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to explore the reciprocal associations between personality traits (conscientiousness and openness to experience) and academic achievement in adolescents, using the Personality Achievement Saturation Hypothesis (PASH).

BACKGROUND

Personality traits, especially conscientiousness, and openness, have been identified as strong predictors of academic achievement. The PASH provides a framework for understanding these relationships but has mainly been studied from a unidirectional perspective. This study extends the PASH to examine reciprocal associations and how they vary with different achievement indicators.

METHODS

Using large-scale panel data (N = 6482) of secondary school students in Germany, we applied cross-lagged panel models and latent change score models to examine the differential reciprocal associations between personality traits (conscientiousness/openness) and academic achievement (school grades/achievement test scores) in language and math over two years from grades 7 to 9.

RESULTS

In line with the PASH, initial levels of conscientiousness were more strongly associated with school grades than with achievement test scores over two years. Simultaneously, prior school grades were more strongly associated with conscientiousness over two years. However, initial levels of openness did not show differential associations with either school grades or achievement test scores over two years. Similarly, prior school grades and achievement test scores were also not differentially associated with openness over two years.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings introduce an innovative lens through which we observe how the PASH can be leveraged to explain the differential reciprocal associations between conscientiousness and academic achievement. Further research is needed to examine if PASH could be similarly extended to disentangle the associations between openness and academic achievement.

Comparative Analysis of Academic, Behavioral, and Psychophysiological Variables in Male and Female Vocational Training Students

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not there are notable differences between male and female vocational training students in terms of academic, behavioral, and psychophysiological characteristics.

METHODS

A total of 411 vocational training students, 210 of whom were male and 201 of whom were female, participated in an online survey that assessed academic, behavioral, and psychophysiological patterns.

RESULTS

In terms of extraversion and openness to experience, our research revealed that no statistically significant differences were noticed. When it came to agreeableness, however, significant differences were seen, with female students getting higher marks than male students. Furthermore, we found that there were significant gender differences in terms of neuroticism and conscientiousness, with female students achieving higher scores than male students. When compared to their male counterparts, females displayed higher performance in terms of academic success. They also demonstrated superior values in terms of reported stress, anxiety, and cognitive inflexibility.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study provide a more in-depth understanding of the numerous factors that have an impact on students engaging in vocational training. This will serve as a foundation for the development of individualized instructional and support programs.

The Association Between Personality Traits and Health-Related Quality of Life and the Mediating Role of Smoking: Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

Background

There are positive and negative correlations in different directions between smoking, personality traits, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL), where smoking may mask the pathway between personality traits and HRQOL. Understanding the masking pathway of smoking between personality traits and HRQOL can elucidate the mechanisms of smoking's psychosocial effects and provide new ideas for developing tobacco control strategies.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between Big Five personality traits and HRQOL and whether smoking mediates the relationship between them.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study using data from 21,916 respondents from the 2022 Psychology and Behavior Investigation of Chinese Residents survey. Linear regression models were used to analyze the correlations between smoking, Big Five personality traits, and HRQOL while controlling for potential confounders. The mediating role of smoking on the association between Big Five Personality traits and HRQOL was analyzed using the Sobel-Goodman mediation test.

Results

Extraversion (β=.001; P=.04), agreeableness (β=.003; P<.001), and neuroticism (β=.003; P<.001) were positively correlated with HRQOL, whereas openness was negatively correlated with HRQOL (β=-.001; P=.003). Smoking was associated with a decrease in HRQOL and mediated the positive effect of HRQOL on extraversion (z=-2.482; P=.004), agreeableness (z=-2.264; P=.02), and neuroticism (z=-3.230; P=.001). Subgroup analyses further showed that smoking mediated the effect of neuroticism on HRQOL in the population with chronic illnesses (z=-2.724; P=.006), and in the population without chronic illnesses, smoking contributed to the effect of HRQOL on extraversion (z=-2.299; P=.02), agreeableness (z=-2.382; P=.02), and neuroticism (z=-2.213; P=.03).

Conclusions

This study provided evidence that there is a correlation between personality traits and HRQOL. It also found that smoking plays a role in mediating the connection between personality traits and HRQOL. The development of future tobacco control strategies should consider the unique traits of each individual's personality, highlighting the significance of extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

Self-directed learning in dental hygiene students: Impact of locus of control and personality traits

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to identify demographic variables, the level of self-directed learning (SDL), locus of control (LOC), and personality traits in dental hygiene (DH) students and to identify predictive variables for SDL.

METHODS

Cross-sectional survey research was conducted with a convenience sample of DH students (n = 229) in the United States using a web-based survey. The validated instruments used were the Self-Directed Learning Instrument (SDLI) to determine level of SDL, the Academic Locus of Control (ALC) scale for college students to evaluate LOC, and the Big Five Inventory-2-Extra Short Form (BFI-2-XS) to identify personality traits. Descriptive, correlation, and regression analyses were performed.

RESULTS

The completion rate was 68.9% (n = 159). The average SDLI score of the sample was 82.59, indicating a high overall level of SDL. The average ALC score was 10.34, indicating an overall internal LOC. Internal LOC (B = -0.319, SE = 0.082, β = -0.330, p < 0.001) and an open-minded personality trait (B = 1.156, SE = 0.363, β = 0.233, p = 0.002) emerged as significant predictors of learning motivation (B = -0.138, SE = 0.057, β = -0.214, p < 0.017) and self-monitoring (B = 0.553, SE = 0.253, β = 0.167, p = 0.030) SDLI constructs.

CONCLUSION

SDL among DH students can be cultivated by enhancing their learning motivation and self-monitoring skills. This may be achieved by helping learners increase their internal locus of control and open-mindedness. Future studies should explore exercises to help promote these traits.

Longitudinal relations between teacher support and academic achievement among Chinese children: Disentangling between‑ and within-student associations

This study investigated the longitudinal associations between teacher support (i.e., emotional and instrumental support) and academic (i.e., math) achievement at the between-student and within-student levels using random intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPMs). Data were collected from 694 elementary school students in China (44.9% girls; Mage = 10.53 years, SD = 0.70) over four waves across 2 school years. Results from the RI-CLPMs supported that higher academic achievement was significantly associated with higher teacher emotional and instrumental support at the between-student level. At the within-student level, the RI-CLPMs only supported the predictive effect of academic achievement on teacher instrumental support, but not emotional support. Further analysis utilizing cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs) demonstrated significant reciprocal effects between teacher emotional support and academic achievement, as well as instrumental support and academic achievement. No significant sex differences were observed in RI-CLPMs or CLPMs. The findings illustrate the importance of distinguishing the between-student and within-student associations in longitudinal relations concerning teacher support and academic achievement.

Resting-state functional network connectivity underlying conscientiousness in school-aged children

Conscientiousness is a personality trait that matures from early childhood to late adolescence, yet little is known about its underlying brain mechanisms during this period. To investigate this, our study examined the resting-state functional network connectivity (rsFNC) of 69 school-aged children (mean age = 10.12 years, range = 9-12) using a whole-brain region-of-interest (ROI) based analysis, based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The results indicated a positive association between conscientiousness and the rsFNC between the fronto-parietal network (FPN) and two brain networks: the somatosensory motor-hand network (SMHN) and the auditory network (AN). However, conscientiousness was negatively associated with the rsFNC between FPN and two other networks: the salience network (SN); the default mode network (DMN). Moreover, our results suggest that the FPN may play a hub role in the neural performance of children's conscientiousness. Intrinsic brain networks, particularly those involved in higher-order cognitive functions, impact children's conscientiousness. Therefore, FPN plays an important role in the development of children's personality, providing insight into the neural mechanisms underlying children's personality.

Multiple sclerosis and personality traits: associations with depression and anxiety

BACKGROUND

Depression and anxiety are commonly observed in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). There is a growing body of literature supporting the hypothesis that personality traits can influence the mood disorders. This study aimed to investigate the personality traits and their relationships with depression and anxiety among pwMS.

METHODS

234 pwMS were involved in this cross-sectional study. Personality traits, depression, and anxiety were assessed using the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), respectively. Pearson's correlation coefficient and generalized linear model were employed to evaluate the relationships between demographic and clinical characteristics, NEO-FFI, and HADS subscales.

RESULTS

In pwMS, longer disease duration was significantly associated with lower level of conscientiousness (β = - 0.23, p = 0.008) and agreeableness (β = - 0.2, p = 0.01). Moreover, higher expanded disability status scale (EDSS) of pwMS had a significant relationship with higher level of neuroticism (β = 0.89, p = 0.01). Increased level of neuroticism was significantly correlated with lower level of extraversion (r = - 0.28, p < 0.001), openness (r = - 0.37, p < 0.001), agreeableness (r = - 0.31, p < 0.001), and conscientiousness (r = - 0.45, p < 0.001). PwMS with higher level of conscientiousness showed more extraversion (r = 0.23, p < 0.001), openness (r = 0.61, p < 0.001), and agreeableness (r = 0.41, p < 0.001). Elevated level of neuroticism was significantly associated with higher level of anxiety (β = 0.47, p < 0.001) and depression (β = 0.11, p < 0.001) among pwMS.

CONCLUSION

The co-occurrence of depression and anxiety is probably associated with neuroticism among pwMS. Additionally, the impact of personality traits extends to influencing key disease aspects such as physical disability and disease duration in MS.

Who feels like they belong? Personality and belonging in college

Having a secure sense of belonging at school supports students' academic achievement and well-being. However, little research has examined how students' personalities relate to their feelings of school belonging. We address this gap in the literature by leveraging data from a large sample of first-year college students (N = 4,753) from a diverse set of North American colleges and universities (N = 12). We found that both extraversion and agreeableness were positively associated with belonging, while neuroticism was negatively associated with belonging. In an exploratory analysis, we examined differences between large and small schools. Students who were more extraverted, less neurotic, and less open were more likely to attend large schools. Additionally, the association between extraversion and belonging was stronger for students at large schools. These findings advance our understanding of who comes to feel like they belong at college and how school context may influence these relationships. We emphasize the need for continued research on the relationship between personality and belonging. Additionally, we highlight the implications of these results for higher education institutions.

Academic Self-Concept Wins the Race: The Prediction of Achievements in Three Major School Subjects by Five Subject-Specific Self-Related Variables

The importance of self-related constructs in predicting academic achievement has been increasingly emphasized in recent decades. Typically, bivariate associations of self-related variables with achievements have been reported. Research quantifying the combined predictive power of more than two self-variables has been scarce. Moreover, except for the academic self-concept, these variables have almost always been measured across domains, i.e., without considering the specifics of individual school subjects. The current study aimed to statistically predict academic achievement (operationalized via school grades) in three major subjects (Chinese (native language), mathematics, and English (foreign language)) by using subject-tied scales, namely academic self-concept, conscientiousness, need for cognition, perseverance of effort, and consistency of interest. The sample comprised 791 Chinese adolescents. Each scale was related separately to each of the three school subjects. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were run. The control variable, biological sex, accounted for 2% of Chinese grades and 8% of English grades, but not of mathematics grades. Adding subject-specific self-concept scales increased the explained variance to 7% (Chinese), 16% (mathematics), and 32% (English). Further additions to the other four self-related scales did not increase the variances that were accounted for. The discussion underlines the relevance of subject-specific academic self-concepts as predictors for subject-tied academic achievements.

Calibrating Items Using an Unfolding Model of Item Response Theory: The Case of the Trait Personality Questionnaire 5 (TPQue5)

Unfolding item response theory (IRT) models are important alternatives to dominance IRT models in describing the response processes on self-report tests. Their usage is common in personality measures, since they indicate potential differentiations in test score interpretation. This paper aims to gain a better insight into the structure of trait personality, by investigating whether the dominance or alternatively the unfolding IRT model are better descriptors of the response processes on a personality measure constructed under the dominance response theorem. For the assessment of the dominant model, the Graded Response Model (GRM) is used; while for the unfolding model, the Generalized Graded Unfolding Model (GGUM) was examined. All analyses are conducted with the freely available R. A sample of 1340 Greek adults, employed in private and public organizations, fulfilled the Trait Personality Questionnaire 5 short-form (TPQue5). Findings contradict previous research on trait personality. In accordance to the construction method employed, the TPQue5 items are best understood by monotonically increasing item response functions (IRFs). Individuals responding to the TPQue5 increase their probability of endorsing its items as their trait level increases; this stands for all personality dimensions, although Openness to Experience exhibited mixed type of item response patterns. Further research directions, implications and limitations are also discussed.

Dynamic phase-locking states and personality in sub-acute mild traumatic brain injury: An exploratory study

Research has shown that maladaptive personality characteristics, such as Neuroticism, are associated with poor outcome after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The current exploratory study investigated the neural underpinnings of this process using dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) analyses of resting-state (rs) fMRI, and diffusion MRI (dMRI). Twenty-seven mTBI patients and 21 healthy controls (HC) were included. After measuring the Big Five personality dimensions, principal component analysis (PCA) was used to obtain a superordinate factor representing emotional instability, consisting of high Neuroticism, moderate Openness, and low Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Persistent symptoms were measured using the head injury symptom checklist at six months post-injury; symptom severity (i.e., sum of all items) was used for further analyses. For patients, brain MRI was performed in the sub-acute phase (~1 month) post-injury. Following parcellation of rs-fMRI using independent component analysis, leading eigenvector dynamic analysis (LEiDA) was performed to compute dynamic phase-locking brain states. Main patterns of brain diffusion were computed using tract-based spatial statistics followed by PCA. No differences in phase-locking state measures were found between patients and HC. Regarding dMRI, a trend significant decrease in fractional anisotropy was found in patients relative to HC, particularly in the fornix, genu of the corpus callosum, anterior and posterior corona radiata. Visiting one specific phase-locking state was associated with lower symptom severity after mTBI. This state was characterized by two clearly delineated communities (each community consisting of areas with synchronized phases): one representing an executive/saliency system, with a strong contribution of the insulae and basal ganglia; the other representing the canonical default mode network. In patients who scored high on emotional instability, this relationship was even more pronounced. Dynamic phase-locking states were not related to findings on dMRI. Altogether, our results provide preliminary evidence for the coupling between personality and dFNC in the development of long-term symptoms after mTBI.

Childhood personality and academic performance: A sibling fixed-effects study

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the associations between personality traits at age 8 and academic performance between ages 10 and 14, controlling for family confounds.

BACKGROUND

Many studies have shown links between children's personality traits and their school performance. However, we lack evidence on whether these associations remain after genetic and environmental confounders are accounted for.

METHOD

Sibling data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) were used (n = 9701). First, we estimated the overall associations between Big Five personality traits and academic performance, including literacy, numeracy, and foreign language. Second, we added sibling fixed effects to remove unmeasured confounders shared by siblings as well as rating bias.

RESULTS

Openness to Experience (between-person β = 0.22 [95% CI: 0.21-0.24]) and Conscientiousness (between-person β = 0.18 [95% CI 0.16-0.20]) were most strongly related to educational performance. Agreeableness (between-person β = 0.06 [95% CI -0.08-0.04]) and Extraversion (between-person β = 0.02 [95% CI 0.00-0.04]) showed small associations with educational performance. Neuroticism had a moderate negative association (between-person β = -0.14 [95% CI -0.15-0.11]). All associations between personality and performance were robust to confounding: the within-family estimates from sibling fixed-effects models overlapped with the between-person effects. Finally, childhood personality was equally predictive of educational performance across ages and genders.

CONCLUSIONS

Although family background is influential for academic achievement, it does not confound associations with personality. Childhood personality traits reflect unbiased and consistent individual differences in educational potential.

Exploring the mediating effect of personality traits in the relationship between entrepreneurial intentions and academic performance among students

This study explores the mediating effect of personality traits in the relationship between entrepreneurial intentions and student academic performance. The sample comprised 175 students from a top-ranked Tamil Nadu, India university. Data was collected using a survey questionnaire as the research instrument. A descriptive research design was employed to understand the variables under investigation comprehensively. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and SPSS v25 was utilized as the statistical analysis tool. This study used the Theory of Planned Behaviour as a theoretical framework to explore the mediating effect of personality traits in the relationship between entrepreneurial intentions and academic performance among university students. The study's findings revealed essential insights into the relationship between entrepreneurial intentions, personality traits, and academic performance. The results showed that personality traits significantly mediate the relationship between entrepreneurial intentions and academic performance. This finding suggests that a student's personality traits influence the impact of entrepreneurial intentions on academic performance. Furthermore, the study found that while entrepreneurial intentions did not have a significant direct effect on academic performance, they did have a substantial indirect effect through personality traits. This indicates that personality traits act as a crucial mechanism through which entrepreneurial intentions can influence academic performance among students.

Genetic and neural bases of the neuroticism general factor

We applied structural equation modeling to conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of the general factor measured by a neuroticism questionnaire administered to ∼380,000 participants in the UK Biobank. We categorized significant genetic variants as acting either through the neuroticism general factor, through other factors measured by the questionnaire, or through paths independent of any factor. Regardless of this categorization, however, significant variants tended to show concordant associations with all items. Bioinformatic analysis showed that the variants associated with the neuroticism general factor disproportionately lie near or within genes expressed in the brain. Enriched gene sets pointed to an underlying biological basis associated with brain development, synaptic function, and behaviors in mice indicative of fear and anxiety. Psychologists have long asked whether psychometric common factors are merely a convenient summary of correlated variables or reflect coherent causal entities with a partial biological basis, and our results provide some support for the latter interpretation. Further research is needed to determine the extent to which causes resembling common factors operate alongside other mechanisms to generate the correlational structure of personality.

Psychometric properties of the Big Three Perfectionism Scale-Short Form (BTPS-SF) among Iranian University students

INTRODUCTION

Perfectionism is a common personality trait, particularly among university students. As awareness of this trait increases, research seeks to update tools for measuring it. The psychometric properties of the three-dimensional perfectionism scale-short form (BTPS-SF) have not been studied in the Iranian population. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the psychometric properties of this 16-item scale among Iranian university students.

METHODS

The statistical population for this research included all students in Tehran. From this population, 528 students were selected, and data analysis was performed using SPSS 26 and AMOS 24 software.

RESULTS

The findings showed that the BTPS-SF has acceptable validity and reliability. Furthermore, a positive and significant correlation was found between perfectionism and interpersonal sensitivity, whereas a negative and significant correlation was found between perfectionism and self-compassion.

CONCLUSION

Given the desirable psychometric properties of the Persian version of the BTPS-SF, its use can be recommended to psychology experts in research and clinical evaluation situations.

Impact of personality on cadet academic and military performance within mediating role of self-efficacy

Background

The current operational military environment is changing, complex, unpredictable, and ambiguous. Due to such situations, soldiers are constantly forced to think about their values, norms, and roles that should be part of their profession. Consequently, they must first be educated and trained on how to behave in a particular operational military environment. Pursuing an officer's education at military academies is very difficult not only physically but also psychologically. Cadets are required to be prepared to lead in extreme environments upon graduation. Despite the fact that military tasks are technically complex, the individual operational activities of soldiers are gaining more and more strategic meaning. Therefore, the importance of selecting the process and military education programs of soldiers is increasingly stressed. Cognitive abilities and skills individually predict performance in academic and professional settings, but it is less clear how personality can influence performance. Therefore, this study focused on the explanation of the individual factors that affect the achievements of the cadets. Specifically, the objective of this study was to examine direct and mediated relationships between personality traits and the military and academic performance of cadets.

Methods

This study followed a quantitative method analysis. The research models were assessed using the structural equation modeling technique. Bootstrap was applied to evaluate a 95% level confidence interval on estimates with 5,000 bootstrap samples, and to evaluate direct and indirect effects. The analysis was based on a sample of 120 cadets from the Lithuanian Military Academy. The effects on military and academic performance were evaluated using the Self-Efficacy scale, the Big Five personality trait scale, academic performance was evaluated through academic grades and military performance was evaluated using instructor ratings.

Results

To support our hypotheses, it was found that self-efficacy has a mediating effect on the performance of cadets. Additionally, the traits of conscientiousness, openness to experience and extraversion were related to both military and academic performance. Furthermore, self-efficacy appeared as a partial mediator of the relationship between personality traits and cadet performance.

Conclusion

The findings of this study help clarify the relationship between the personality traits of the cadets and the military and academic performance. In addition, these results may be useful for the further development of military education and training, for the development of testing, and selection of military personnel.

Social and Emotional Skills Predict Postsecondary Enrollment and Retention

INTRODUCTION

Social and emotional (SE) skills are known to be linked to important life outcomes, many of which fall into the academic domain. For example, meta-analytic data show that the skill of Sustaining Effort is nearly or just as important for academic performance as intelligence. In a recent study with long-term tracking of high school students, those who came from schools with a strong emphasis on SE skill development were more likely to enroll in college within two years of high school graduation. Longitudinal studies like this one are rare, however.

METHOD

The focus of the present study is on the SE skills of 6662 students assessed during high school and their relationship with high school academic performance, standardized college admissions test performance, and ultimately postsecondary enrollment and retention.

RESULTS

We examined mean-level differences in household income, high school GPA, ACT Composite scores, and SE skills by college enrollment and retention status and found several significant differences, often favoring the enrolled or retained group. Moreover, we found support for the incremental validity of SE skills as they predicted enrollment and retention above household income, high school GPA, and ACT scores.

DISCUSSION

Understanding SE skills' effects on later academic outcomes is important to help inform early SE skill intervention and development efforts in secondary and postsecondary settings. Additional implications and future directions are discussed.

Personality traits that associated with generalized anxiety disorder among PhD students

There is an association between personality traits and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). In order to differentiate the association between various personality traits and GAD, a survey was conducted among PhD students in northern China (mainland). Three conclusions could be drawn with the help of regression analysis. At first, there is a positive association between Honesty-Humility (HH)/Emotionality (E)/Conscientiousness (C)/Openness to experience (O) and GAD, whereas there is a negative association between Agreeableness (A)/eXtraversion (X) and GAD. Secondly, age, gender, major, monthly income, HH, E, X, A, C and O could explain a 21.80 % variance in GAD. Thirdly, E and C are two robust factors that associated with GAD among PhD students.

Multivariate genetic analysis of personality and cognitive traits reveals abundant pleiotropy

Personality and cognitive function are heritable mental traits whose genetic foundations may be distributed across interconnected brain functions. Previous studies have typically treated these complex mental traits as distinct constructs. We applied the 'pleiotropy-informed' multivariate omnibus statistical test to genome-wide association studies of 35 measures of neuroticism and cognitive function from the UK Biobank (n = 336,993). We identified 431 significantly associated genetic loci with evidence of abundant shared genetic associations, across personality and cognitive function domains. Functional characterization implicated genes with significant tissue-specific expression in all tested brain tissues and brain-specific gene sets. We conditioned independent genome-wide association studies of the Big 5 personality traits and cognitive function on our multivariate findings, boosting genetic discovery in other personality traits and improving polygenic prediction. These findings advance our understanding of the polygenic architecture of these complex mental traits, indicating a prominence of pleiotropic genetic effects across higher order domains of mental function such as personality and cognitive function.

Five-factor personality traits as predictors of intercultural sensitivity among Turkish preservice teachers

The aim of this study is to examine the relationships between the five-factor personality traits and intercultural sensitivity among Turkish preservice teachers. The participants of this study were 1218 college students enrolled at a university located in the central Black Sea Region of Türkiye. The participants were selected using a convenience sampling method. The preservice teachers responded to a survey comprising the Personal Information Form, Intercultural Sensitivity Scale, and Quick Big Five Personality Scale. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation analysis, multiple linear regression analysis, and relative importance analysis. The results of this study showed that preservice teachers with stronger personality traits of agreeableness, extraversion, emotional stability, and openness to new experiences tend to have higher levels of intercultural sensitivity. Moreover, results of relative importance analyses revealed that agreeableness is the most important predictor of intercultural sensitivity among preservice teachers whereas emotional stability was found to be the least important predictor. The findings of this study can help to determine personality traits related to intercultural sensitivity among preservice teachers.

Case report: binaural beats music assessment experiment

We recruited subjects with the focus on people who were stressed and needed a break to experience relaxation. The study used inaudible binaural beats (BB) to measure the ability of BB to induce a relaxed state. We found through measuring brain wave activity that in fact BB seem to objectively induce a state of relaxation. We were able to see this across several scores, F3/F4 Alpha Assessment and CZ Theta Beta, calculated from EEG readings, that indicated an increase in positive outlook and a relaxing brain, respectively, and scalp topography maps. Most subjects also showed an improvement in Menlascan measurements of microcirculation or cardiovascular score, although the Menlascan scores and Big Five character assessment results were less conclusive. BB seem to have profound effects on the physiology of subjects and since the beats were not audible, these effects could not be attributed to the placebo effect. These results are encouraging in terms of developing musical products incorporating BB to affect human neural rhythms and corollary states of consciousness and warrant further research with more subjects and different frequencies of BB and different music tracks.

Disentangling the Association Between the Big Five Personality Traits and Student Achievement: Meta-Analytic Evidence on the Role of Domain Specificity and Achievement Measures

Students’ academic achievement is a central predictor of a long list of important educational outcomes, such as access to higher education and socioeconomic success. Prior studies have extensively focused on identifying variables that are related to academic achievement and an important variable in this context appears to be students’ personality. Notably, although findings from more recent studies suggested that the association between student achievement and personality varies by the subject domain (language vs. STEM) and the type of achievement measure (grades vs. test scores), systematic meta-analytical evidence is still lacking. To address this gap in the educational research literature, we conducted a meta-analysis based on 78 studies, with 1491 effect sizes representing data from 500,218 students and 110 samples from elementary to high school. We used a random-effects model with robust variance estimation to calculate mean effect sizes and standard deviations. We found moderating effects of measure or domain for all five personality traits, with differences in the direction of the effects. Our results highlight the importance of the domain and measure when examining how personality traits relate to academic achievement in school. The combination of subject domain and achievement was also found to be relevant for some of the traits. These findings emphasize that subject domains and types of achievement measures should be explicitly considered when investigating the personality saturation of student achievement. We discuss implications for future research, highlighting that there is no “best” or “more objective” achievement measure but, instead, that achievement measures should be chosen based on the research question of interest.

Relation between students' personality traits and their preferred teaching methods: Students at the university of Ghana and the Huzhou Normal University

The study aimed to investigate the personality traits of students and their preferred teaching methods at the University of Ghana and Huzhou Normal University. The study specifically aimed at identifying personality traits that apply to psychology students, the kinds of teaching methods students preferred, and ascertaining the relationship between personality traits and preferred teaching methods. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to conduct the research. The sample size of two hundred and five (205) students from UG and Huzhou University was used. In this study, the researchers collected the data with the help of structured questionnaires. Research Question 1 and Question 2 will be analyzed using frequencies and percentages. Null hypothesis (There is no relationship between personality traits and teaching methods), Hypothesis 1 (There is a relationship between personality traits and teaching methods) will be analyzed using the Chi-Square. Data that will be collected will be analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (*SPSS). The study found that the conscientiousness personality trait among students at both University of Ghana and Huzhou University is the dominant personality trait. The preferred teaching method of students at both University of Ghana and Huzhou University is the cooperative learning method other than teaching methods. There is a relationship between personality traits and teaching methods: There is no relationship between students (participants') personality traits and teaching methods at both University of Ghana and Huzhou University. It was concluded that most participants possessed conscientiousness personality traits, followed by the agreeableness personality trait and extraversion in UG. For Huzhou University, the conscientiousness personality trait was included by most students, followed by extraversion and agreeableness. It was recommended that the Ministry of Education (MoE) in Ghana and China create, plan and revise their various contents for University Education so that it is geared towards students preferred teaching methods (cooperative method of teaching).

Narrowing down dimensions of e-learning readiness in continuing vocational education — perspectives from the adult learner

Although e-learning has become an important feature to promote learning experience, still little is known about the readiness of adult learners for e-learning in continuing vocational education. By exploring perceived challenges and benefits, it was our aim to identify dimensions that define e-learning readiness. Therefore, we conducted a study design with qualitative and quantitative components. It consisted of both, semi-structured interviews, as well as an online survey regarding biography, personality, learning behavior, and general attitudes toward e-learning. The continuing vocational education course that we were investigating comes from the field of project management. The learner group was heterogeneous regarding their biographical and occupational background. Our results suggest several dimensions of e-learning readiness which are namely: motivation, learning strategies/regulation, attitudes toward learning, and personality-associated aspects as well as digital literacy. These findings are in line with previous research to only some extent, but reveal the necessity to redefine single dimensions of e-learning readiness to develop an inventory that is generalizable for different adult learner groups. Based on these assumptions a new measure for e-learning readiness needs to be proposed in future research as a next step.

Conscientiousness and Cognitive Ability as Predictors of Academic Achievement: Evidence of Synergistic Effects From Integrative Data Analysis

Cognitive ability is the most powerful predictor of academic achievement. However, increasing attention is being paid to the role of personality traits in students’ academic achievement. Results indicate incremental effects beyond cognitive ability, especially for conscientiousness. Investigating the interplay of conscientiousness and cognitive ability can increase understanding of students’ academic achievement and learning. This study examined whether there are interaction effects of a synergistic or compensatory nature. We applied the approach of integrative data analysis, using four highly powered data sets with a total of 18,637 upper secondary school students in Germany to investigate this research question across four different achievement measures and three educational domains (i.e., school subjects). We used an integrative approach and pooled the results across the four samples to obtain an average estimate of the hypothesized interaction effects. Findings support a small synergistic interaction, indicating that conscientiousness moderates the association between cognitive ability and achievement. This means conscientiousness can enhance the positive effects of cognitive ability. In conclusion, results highlight the role of the type of academic measure used and the domain investigated in understanding how personality and achievement are related, providing evidence of the interplay between effort-related traits such as conscientiousness and cognitive ability.

Internet voting: the role of personality traits and trust across three parliamentary elections in Estonia

Some countries offer options to vote in elections remotely via the internet. However, not all voters take up this opportunity. This study investigates the role of the Five-Factor Model personality traits in the choice to use internet voting, and the potential mediating effects of trust in internet voting, controlling for sociodemographic variables. Survey data collected after national elections in Estonia in 2011 (N = 482), 2015 (N = 535), and 2019 (N = 546) were analyzed. Agreeableness was positively correlated with trust in internet voting in all samples. Additionally, Agreeableness was related to internet voting via trust, but not in all samples. Internet voting was predicted by higher trust in internet voting, better PC literacy, and speaking Estonian at home, across all samples. These results indicate that easy access to, and trust in, internet voting may play a bigger role in the decision to use internet voting than personality traits.

A Big Five-Based Multimethod Social and Emotional Skills Assessment: The Mosaic™ by ACT® Social Emotional Learning Assessment

A focus on implementing social and emotional (SE) learning into curricula continues to gain popularity in K-12 educational contexts at the policy and practitioner levels. As it continues to be elevated in educational discourse, it becomes increasingly clear that it is important to have reliable, validated measures of students’ SE skills. Here we argue that framework and design are additional important considerations for the development and selection of SE skill assessments. We report the reliability and validity evidence for The Mosaic™ by ACT^® Social Emotional Learning Assessment, an assessment designed to measure SE skills in middle and high school students that makes use of a research-based framework (the Big Five) and a multi-method approach (three item types including Likert, forced choice, and situational judgment tests). Here, we provide the results from data collected from more than 33,000 students who completed the assessment and for whom we have data on various outcome measures. We examined the validity evidence for the individual item types and the aggregate scores based on those three. Our findings support the contribution of multi-method assessment and an aggregate score. We discuss the ways the field can benefit from this or similarly designed assessments and discuss how the assessment results can be used by practitioners to promote programs aimed at stimulating students’ personal growth.

The impact of consumer positive personality on the purchase behavior of smart products

While the consumption of smart products is continuously increasing, it is essential to explore the trigger mechanism of consumer behavior in respect of smart product purchase. In this scenario, we aim to investigate the impact of consumers’ positive personality on the purchase behavior. We constructed a structural equation model based on the partial least square method and tested our hypotheses on the basis of data analysis. The data were collected by conducting a survey of 326 Chinese consumers. We found two affecting paths from consumers’ positive personality to smart product purchase. First, consumer knowledge promoted by positive personality raises purchase intention and, in turn, stimulates purchase behavior. Second, consumers’ positive personality improves perceived income, which determines actual purchase behavior. This study deepens our understanding of the trigger mechanism of smart product purchase behavior and enriches the consumer behavior theory.

The influence of mindfulness-based interventions on the academic performance of students measured by their GPA. A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: Mindfulness-based interventions are increasingly used in health, economic and educational systems. There are numerous studies demonstrating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in the educational sectors (primary, secondary, and tertiary). This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the current state of research on the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions on the academic performance of students as measured by their grade point average (GPA). Methods: Literature search was conducted in Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, PsycARTICLES, PubMed, and Google Scholar through March 2022. The inclusion criteria were: (1) the use of GPA as a measure of students' academic performance, (2) a sample that was subjected to a mindfulness-based intervention without medical indication, (3) the student status of the subjects. Meta-analysis was conducted using a random effects model with the generic inverse variance method. Results: The search included a total of 759 studies, of which six randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria. In these trials, significant group differences for GPA were found with effect sizes ranging from d = 0.16-1.62 yielding a significant overall effect of d = 0.42 (95% CI: 0.15-0.69) and a low magnitude of heterogeneity of I 2 = 37%. Discussion: In conclusion, the first results of this emerging research field seem promising. However, the exact mechanisms of action are still unclear.

Emotional Intelligence and Personality Traits Based on Academic Performance

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of personality traits on academic performance. Furthermore, this study also aims at exploring the effects of virtual experience (mediator) and emotional intelligence (moderator) between personality traits and academic performance of the students. The findings imply that personality traits are the strong predictors of better academic performance. However, several personality traits do not have a positive impact on the academic performance. The study further suggests that students who have emotional abilities and virtual experience are more likely to perform well in their academics. The population of this research consists of students in various colleges and universities in developing regions. Thus, the sample consists of bachelor's and master's students. Existing scales are adopted with minor changes to make it more suitable and understandable within the study context. A total of 319 questionnaires were distributed. Among these 365 questionnaires, 234 questionnaires were received and further used for the purpose of data analysis. This shows an encouraging response from the targeted sample. Education and productivity of the students are influenced by their personality as well as their emotional intelligence abilities. The findings imply that being extrovert is a strong predictor of student achievement and should be prioritized in intervention strategies. This personality feature is responsible for performance in addition to virtual learning experience. Despite its low overall relative value, agreeableness is a significant driver of student achievement. Along with ability and aptitude assessments, personality evaluations might be utilized as a secondary screening tool to identify adolescents at risk of underperformance and academic performance failure. Therefore, learning emotional skills would be beneficial to cope the modern challenges of the competitive educational environment. Virtual experience and being emotionally sound can help students to learn quickly and to be more adaptive into the new world of digitalization. The conclusions of the current study have significant consequences for educators and policymakers. They must accept that boosting emotional intelligence levels through teaching or training is a significant objective of contemporary education. The emotional intelligence abilities of the students related to culture may be shown in a variety of ways, from expectations toward students to interpersonal interactions with students, and from teaching techniques to evaluation methods.

How Personality and Communication Patterns Affect Online ad-hoc Teams Under Pressure

Critical, time-bounded, and high-stress tasks, like incident response, have often been solved by teams that are cohesive, adaptable, and prepared. Although a fair share of the literature has explored the effect of personality on various other types of teams and tasks, little is known about how it contributes to teamwork when teams of strangers have to cooperate ad-hoc, fast, and efficiently. This study explores the dynamics between 120 crowd participants paired into 60 virtual dyads and their collaboration outcome during the execution of a high-pressure, time-bound task. Results show that the personality trait of Openness to experience may impact team performance with teams with higher minimum levels of Openness more likely to defuse the bomb on time. An analysis of communication patterns suggests that winners made more use of action and response statements. The team role was linked to the individual's preference of certain communication patterns and related to their perception of the collaboration quality. Highly agreeable individuals seemed to cope better with losing, and individuals in teams heterogeneous in Conscientiousness seemed to feel better about collaboration quality. Our results also suggest there may be some impact of gender on performance. As this study was exploratory in nature, follow-on studies are needed to confirm these results. We discuss how these findings can help the development of AI systems to aid the formation and support of crowdsourced remote emergency teams.

Fluid Intelligence and Competence Development in Secondary Schooling: No Evidence for a Moderating Role of Conscientiousness

Fluid intelligence and conscientiousness are important predictors of students’ academic performance and competence gains. Although their individual contributions have been widely acknowledged, less is known about their potential interplay. Do students profit disproportionately from being both smart and conscientious? We addressed this question using longitudinal data from two large student samples of the German National Educational Panel Study. In the first sample, we analyzed reading and mathematics competencies of 3778 fourth graders (Mage = 9.29, 51% female) and gains therein until grade 7. In the second sample, we analyzed the same competencies in 4942 seventh graders (Mage = 12.49, 49% female) and gains therein until grade 9. The results of (moderated) latent change score models supported fluid intelligence as the most consistent predictor of competence levels and gains, whereas conscientiousness predicted initial competence levels in mathematics and reading as well as gains in mathematics (but not reading) only in the older sample. There was no evidence for interaction effects between fluid intelligence and conscientiousness. We found only one statistically significant synergistic interaction in the older sample for gains in reading competence, which disappeared when including covariates. Although our findings point to largely independent effects of fluid intelligence and conscientiousness on competence gains, we delineate avenues for future research to illuminate their potential interplay.

Beyond Competencies: Associations between Personality and School Grades Are Largely Independent of Subject-Specific and General Cognitive Competencies

The Big Five personality traits are established predictors of school grades. However, the mechanisms underlying these associations are not yet well understood. Effects of personality on grades might arise because behavioral tendencies facilitate learning and increase subject-specific competencies. Alternatively, personality effects on grades might be independent of cognitive competencies and reflect otherwise valued behaviors or teachers’ grading practices. In the current study, we drew on large-scale data of 7th and 9th graders in Germany to explore the extent to which personality predicted grades even after accounting for competencies. Controlling for competencies and other key covariates, we cross-sectionally and longitudinally examined personality–grade associations across different school subjects, grade levels, and school types. Results indicate that the predictive power of personality is largely independent of subject-specific and general cognitive competencies. The largest effects emerged for conscientiousness. For openness, associations with grades partly overlapped with competencies, suggesting that openness may operate by fostering competencies. Overall, our results suggest that the associations between personality and grades unfold mostly independently of course mastery. This finding underlines the socioemotional value of personality in the classroom and encourages a more fine-grained view of the interplay between personality, competencies, classroom behavior, and grades.

University Teacher Students’ Learning in Times of COVID-19

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020, school and university learning were abruptly switched to distance learning, coming along with psychological strains and various learning lags on the part of the students. These problems come to a head when focusing on university teacher students, since an expectable competence lag on their part, similarly arising from pandemic-caused distance learning in university teacher training, could affect their future teaching in schools, possibly then disadvantaging school students a second time. To determine changes of teacher students’ self-concept of professional knowledge, we used data of a repeated cross-sectional survey carried out in a period from 2018 to 2021, including several comparable cohorts of overall N = 395 teacher students. This design allowed for splitting the participants in two groups relating to times before and after switching to distance learning. Our results show that the switch to distance learning goes hand in hand with lower scores on almost every dimension of teacher students’ self-concept of professional knowledge, although, in parallel, their scores on variables such as openness to experiences, agreeableness, and conscientiousness increased significantly, indicating a certain degree of compliance with the new situation. Beyond that, we report on an evaluative survey among N = 84 teacher students carried out in July 2020, offering further insights into their situation during the first semester of distance learning. Its results primarily show which specific aspects of distance learning the students consider in need of improvement. On the other hand, it becomes clear that they experienced handicaps in various areas, accompanied by a significant decrease of their core self-evaluations when comparing them to a reference sample. Practical implications and recommendations that can be derived from these results are discussed.

The Cognitive-Affective-Motivation Model of Learning (CAMML): Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

The Cognitive-Affective-Motivation Model of Learning (CAMML) is a proposed framework for integrating contemporary motivation, affective (Big 5 personality) and cognitive (CHC theory) constructs in the practice of school psychologists (SPs). The central tenet of this article is that SPs need to integrate motivation alongside affective and cognitive constructs vis-à-vis an updated trilogy-of-the-mind (cognitive, conative, affective) model of intellectual functioning. CAMML builds on Richard Snow’s seminal research on academic aptitudes—which are not synonymous with cognitive abilities. Learning aptitude complexes are academic domain-specific cognitive abilities and personal investment mechanisms (motivation and self-regulation) that collectively produce a student’s readiness to learn in a specific domain. CAMML incorporates the “crossing the Rubicon” commitment pathway model of motivated self-regulated learning. It is recommended SPs take a fresh look at motivation theory, constructs, and research, embedded in the CAMML aptitude framework, by going back-to-the-future guided by the wisdom of giants from the field of cognition, intelligence, and educational psychology.