Personality Traits and Academic Achievements of Undergraduate Students: The Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence

Abstract

This research investigated the mediating role of emotional intelligence between personality traits and academic achievements among undergraduate students in Pakistan. A sample was comprised of 150 undergraduate college students (boys = 74, girls = 76) having age range 18-24 as boys (M = 21.09, SD = 1.41) and girls (M = 20.18, SD = .71). The data was collected from Queen Mary College, Lahore, and Govt. G.C. University Lahore by using a convenient sampling technique. Big Five Inventory (John & Srivastava, 1999), Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (Petrides & Furnham, 2003), and student's Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) were used as measures. Mediated hierarchical regression revealed that after controlling the effects of emotional intelligence (the Mediator) the personality traits (extroversion, agreeableness, and openness) not significantly predict academic achievements which indicate full mediation. Implications of the findings were discussed for family/home; educational settings, policy makers’ counselors, and clinical psychologists’ guidance in the context of Pakistani culture.