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STUDY ALERT: Conscientiousness Is the Most Powerful Noncognitive Predictor of School Achievement in Adolescents

March 16, 2016 in Study Alerts

Conscientiousness Is the Most Powerful Noncognitive Predictor of School Achievement in Adolescents

Barbara Dumfart and Aljoscha C. Neubauer

Abstract

Much research has demonstrated that intelligence and conscientiousness have a high impact on individual school achievement. To figure out if other noncognitive traits have incremental validity over intelligence and conscientiousness, we conducted a study on 498 eighth- grade students from general secondary schools in Austria. Hierarchical regressions for three criteria (GPA, science, and languages) were performed, including intelligence, the Big Five, self-discipline, grit, self-efficacy, intrinsic-extrinsic motivation, and test anxiety. Intelligence and conscientiousness alone accounted for approximately 40% in the variance of school achievement. For languages and GPA, no other personality and motivational predictors could explain additional variance; in science subjects, only self-discipline added incremental variance. We conclude that – in addition to intelligence as powerful cognitive predictor – conscientiousness is the crucial noncognitive predictor for school achievement and should be focused on when supporting students in improving their performance.

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