More than just intelligence: The role personality plays in student success
Department
Psychological Science
Major
Psychology
Research Advisor
Martin, James H.
Advisor's Department
Psychological Science
Funding Source
UMR Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experiences (OURE Program)
Abstract
Predicting how well a student will succeed is important to universities. Traditionally, during the admissions process the student’s past cognitive performance is examined, but there are many other factors that may predict how well a student will perform. In this research, student success was studied in relation to personality, a noncognitive factor. The Hogan Personality Inventory was administered to the 2004 freshmen class. The results showed that Prudence (Conscientiousness) was positively related to student performance and Sociability (Extraversion) was negatively related to student performance. This study was continued with the current freshmen class, and the students’ progress will be monitored their tenure at the university. There are a few limitations of this study, such as the emphasis of UMR is engineering, thus limiting the sample. Also there may be intermittent factors, such as adjustment to college, that play a role in success. These factors may be examined in future studies.
Biography
Emily Gill is a senior at the University of Missouri--Rolla majoring in Psychology. She is actively involved in Phi Sigma Rho and Psi Chi. Emily plans on pursuing a career in counseling psychology.
Research Category
Humanities/Social Sciences
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Document Type
Poster
Award
Humanities/Social Sciences poster session, Second place
Presentation Date
12 Apr 2006, 1:00 pm
More than just intelligence: The role personality plays in student success
Predicting how well a student will succeed is important to universities. Traditionally, during the admissions process the student’s past cognitive performance is examined, but there are many other factors that may predict how well a student will perform. In this research, student success was studied in relation to personality, a noncognitive factor. The Hogan Personality Inventory was administered to the 2004 freshmen class. The results showed that Prudence (Conscientiousness) was positively related to student performance and Sociability (Extraversion) was negatively related to student performance. This study was continued with the current freshmen class, and the students’ progress will be monitored their tenure at the university. There are a few limitations of this study, such as the emphasis of UMR is engineering, thus limiting the sample. Also there may be intermittent factors, such as adjustment to college, that play a role in success. These factors may be examined in future studies.
