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Personality‐achievement associations in adolescence—examining associations across grade levels and learning environments
Author(s) -
Tetzner Julia,
Becker Michael,
Brandt Naemi D.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/jopy.12495
Subject(s) - conscientiousness , agreeableness , psychology , big five personality traits , openness to experience , extraversion and introversion , personality , academic achievement , developmental psychology , neuroticism , test (biology) , social psychology , paleontology , biology
Objective This study examined associations between the five‐factor personality traits and indicators of academic achievement (grades and test scores). A particular aim was to investigate whether personality‐achievement associations differ between primary and secondary educational contexts and whether these differences vary between differential learning environments, that is academic versus nonacademic secondary schools. Method We used two representative random samples from Germany: N = 3,658 6th graders in their last year of primary school and N = 2,129 9th graders attending different secondary school tracks ( n = 566 academic track students; n = 1,563 nonacademic track students). Results First, our results confirmed positive associations between Conscientiousness, Openness, Extraversion, and Agreeableness and academic achievement as well as negative associations between academic achievement and Neuroticism. Second, associations with Conscientiousness were more pronounced for school grades than for test scores. Third, associations were higher for 6th than for 9th graders in the overall sample for all personality traits with the exception of Openness. Fourth, personality‐achievement associations differed between academic and nonacademic track students. Conclusion In sum, our results suggest the need for an educational stage‐specific perspective and contextually sensitive approach when examining personality‐achievement associations.