Big Five personality traits and academic performance: A meta-analysis.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Meta-analysis of observational studies (level 1 by non-clinical design analogy)
PubMed 34265097 · doi:10.1111/jopy.12663
What was done
A meta-analysis synthesizing 267 independent samples from 228 unique studies (total N = 413,074) to assess associations between the Big Five personality traits and academic performance, evaluate the incremental validity of personality traits beyond cognitive ability, and test educational level as a moderator.
What was found
Cognitive ability and Big Five traits combined explained 27.8% of the variance in academic performance. Cognitive ability was the primary predictor (64% relative importance). Conscientiousness was a robust predictor, accounting for 28% of the explained variance even after controlling for cognitive ability. Education level was a significant moderator: openness, extraversion, and agreeableness showed significantly larger effect sizes at elementary/middle school levels than at higher education levels, with openness being an important determinant in early schooling.
Why it matters
This review establishes that personality traits—especially conscientiousness—provide substantial incremental predictive validity for academic achievement beyond cognitive ability alone, with trait relevance varying across educational stages.
Limits
The abstract does not report bivariate effect sizes, confidence intervals, or heterogeneity metrics. The underlying literature is primarily observational/correlational, preventing definitive causal inference, and detailed participant demographics or performance metric variations are not specified.
Cited by
- supports High IQ combined with high conscientiousness on the Big Five personality traits are the primary individual predictors of student success in traditional education.