Year: 2010
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Big Five measures of personality have long been used to assess the relationship between personality and academic performance. The Academic Maturity Scale (AMS), a 101-item instrument designed to identify the skills, strategies, and motivations that are shared among successful students, has been shown to be correlated with academic performance (Addison, Althoff, & Pezold, 2009). In the present study, I assessed the relationship between personality characteristics and academic maturity, specifically which personality characteristics are the best predictors of academic maturity. I administered the Big Five Inventory (BFI; John, Donahue, & Kentle, 1991) and AMS to 163 students from introductory and upper division psychology courses. I used multiple regression analyses to assess the relationships between scores on the domain and facet scales of the BFI and scores on the subscales of the AMS in order to identify the personality characteristics that best predict academic maturity. Consistent with predictions, the results of the multiple regression analyses showed that scores on the Conscientiousness domain and Conscientiousness/Self-Discipline facet were the best predictors of AMS total scores. Scores on the Conscientiousness domain and Conscientiousness/Self-Discipline facet were also found to be significant predictors of scores on all four AMS subscales. The study's implications and limitations are discussed.
Author: Ryan W. Althoff
Institution: Eastern Illinois University
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1589396334