A Model of Academic, Personality, and Emotion-Related Predictors of University Academic Performance.

Maria-Jose Sanchez-Ruiz,Jamil El Khoury

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02435

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationships between personality (i.e., trait Emotional Intelligence – trait EI – and the Big Five) and academic performance (AP). Academic motivation, procrastination, and major satisfaction were also studied. The sample consisted of 201 Lebanese undergraduates. The model represented a good fit. There was a negative direct effect of procrastination on AP and positive direct effects of major satisfaction and absorption on AP. Trait EI showed a negative direct effect on procrastination and a positive direct effect on major satisfaction, which, in turn, significantly predicted AP. Also, conscientiousness indirectly predicted AP, via procrastination, major satisfaction, and absorption. Findings point at individual differences contributing to AP and can be helpful to students, educators, and counselors in higher education.

Highlights

The factors contributing to one individual’s achievement over another’s in educational settings is an issue of extensive debate and continues to draw vast investigative interests (e.g., Tavani and Losh, 2003)
A study conducted by Deniz et al (2009) reported that adaptability and coping with stress, which are subscales of EI, and overall EI were negatively associated with procrastination. These findings suggest that trait EI can facilitate self-management in demanding educational environments, which protects against procrastination and might promote academic performance (AP)
We explore the associations among these variables and present a model of direct and indirect effects on AP using structural equation modeling

Summary

Introduction

The factors contributing to one individual’s achievement over another’s in educational settings is an issue of extensive debate and continues to draw vast investigative interests (e.g., Tavani and Losh, 2003). Evidence is mixed on the extent to which cognitive ability predicts academic achievement versus personality factors (Bratko et al, 2006; Boerchi et al, 2018). With the large body of research currently available on the role of personality traits in influencing AP (e.g., Petrides et al, 2004; Laidra et al, 2007; Perera and DiGiacomo, 2013; Boerchi et al, 2018), the conception that cognitive and task-specific abilities are the only, if not the most, significant factors in predicting achievement has become questionable. Perera and DiGiacomo (2013) reported the validity of trait EI in predicting AP, and Parker et al (2016) added more evidence on the link between the two variables. Trait EI is a constellation of emotional perceptions and inherent qualities at the low-lying levels of personality structures, and it is measured by Likert-scale questionnaires (Petrides et al, 2007)

Objectives

Results

Conclusion