Non-cognitive Traits Research Articles

College Readiness, Student Expectations and Success: The Role of Non-Cognitive Skills

Attending college is a significant human capital investment but only about 56% of those who start college will have a completed degree 6 years later. This makes identifying which skills are associated with college success an important policy concern. We surveyed over 1,100 entering college freshmen, majoring in business and engineering at a public university in the US, and combined this information with administrative data to create a comprehensive data set that, in addition to the usual academic performance data, cognitive ability measures, and demographics, also included measures of non-cognitive skills, personality traits, and student expectations about college success. With this information we analyzed if students’ subjective expectations about their future success in college were related to non-cognitive skills and whether they are realistic, as compared to student’s performance trajectory at the end of their first year in college. Moreover, we compared student’s academic progress at the end of the first year with what would be objectively expected for them, given their background and preparation at entrance. We identify students performing below and above objective expectations and study noncognitive skills related to their objective performance. We find that non-cognitive skills are associated with academic subjective expectations of college success and objective performance in college, even after controlling for cognitive ability and time spent studying, but the relationship between specific non-cognitive skills, academic subjective expectations and academic objective performance varies across disciplines.

Do detour tasks provide accurate assays of inhibitory control?

Transparent Cylinder and Barrier tasks are used to purportedly assess inhibitory control in a variety of animals. However, we suspect that performances on these detour tasks are influenced by non-cognitive traits, which may result in inaccurate assays of inhibitory control. We therefore reared pheasants under standardized conditions and presented each bird with two sets of similar tasks commonly used to measure inhibitory control. We recorded the number of times subjects incorrectly attempted to access a reward through transparent barriers, and their latencies to solve each task. Such measures are commonly used to infer the differential expression of inhibitory control. We found little evidence that their performances were consistent across the two different Putative Inhibitory Control Tasks (PICTs). Improvements in performance across trials showed that pheasants learned the affordances of each specific task. Critically, prior experience of transparent tasks, either Barrier or Cylinder, also improved subsequent inhibitory control performance on a novel task, suggesting that they also learned the general properties of transparent obstacles. Individual measures of persistence, assayed in a third task, were positively related to their frequency of incorrect attempts to solve the transparent inhibitory control tasks. Neophobia, Sex and Body Condition had no influence on individual performance. Contrary to previous studies of primates, pheasants with poor performance on PICTs had a wider dietary breadth assayed using a free-choice task. Our results demonstrate that in systems or taxa where prior experience and differences in development cannot be accounted for, individual differences in performance on commonly used detour-dependent PICTS may reveal more about an individual's prior experience of transparent objects, or their motivation to acquire food, than providing a reliable measure of their inhibitory control.

Effect of faculty personality, rating styles, and learner traits on student assessment in medical education: A mixed-method study from the Aga Khan University, Karachi.

Medical colleges invest considerable effort in developing assessment programs to effectively evaluate students across attributes of knowledge, skills, and behavior. While assessment by direct observation is designed to be objective, "soft characteristics" such as personality, demeanor of student, and assessor may make assessment more subjective. The effect of such attributes in medical education remains unclear and needs exploration. The objective of this study was to explore non-cognitive traits of assessor and learner to understand their roles in student assessment. A mixed-method study was conducted during March to June 2015. All clinical faculty members at the Aga Khan University were invited to participate in this study. A questionnaire was designed and completed by the study participants. Two focus group discussions (FGDs) with faculty members explored teacher and learner traits influencing student assessment. A documentary analysis of the yearly student feedback report with a focus on the section on assessment was also utilized. Data triangulation was achieved by combining three sets of data. Fifty-four (28%) clinical faculty members completed the questionnaire and 11 participated in the FGDs. About 68% reported rating students leniently. More than 50% reported their personality as a factor influencing assessment and 76% reported student appearance influencing assessment. The documentary analysis identified faculty personality and rating styles as key issues affecting the validity of student assessment during ongoing observation. In the FGDs, traits such as eagerness, intuition in students, and body language were reported to influence faculty members during the assessment. Softer attributes of trainer and trainee increase the subjectivity of student assessment. Ongoing faculty training and rater feedback are required for a robust and objective assessment.

Comparing and validating measures of non-cognitive traits: Performance task measures and self-reports from a nationally representative internet panel

Education researchers and labor economists are increasingly focusing on skills such as conscientiousness, grit and emotional stability. This is part of a larger research program that sees “non-cognitive skills” as drivers of educational attainment and labor market outcomes. However, data on these important non-cognitive traits is not always available and, when available, researchers have raised concerns on potential biases in self-reported measures. In this paper, we use data collected from the Understanding America Study, a nationally representative internet panel, to study the validity of measures of non-cognitive traits, including novel measures based on survey effort. We propose that surveys can be viewed as performance tasks and that respondents provide meaningful information about relevant non-cognitive traits based on the effort they put forward in completing them. In particular, we examine the extent to which respondents provide careless answers or intentionally skip questions. We compare self-reported measures of grit, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and other personality traits, with survey-effort measures. We study the relationship of survey effort measures to these self-reported measures, educational attainment, and labor-market outcomes. Our results show that measures of careless answering in surveys show promise for use as proxies of traits related to conscientiousness and neuroticism.

Non-cognitive antecedents of pay and pay expectations: gender-based differences in a masculine work setting

ABSTRACTResearch on gender differences in the effects of non-cognitive traits and behaviours on pay is rather scant and focuses largely on the big five personality traits. To address this gap, we consider the equivocal findings regarding the direct associations of intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, and networking with pay, arguing for gender differences in the degree to which actual pay and pay expectations are influenced by these non-cognitive factors. Hypotheses are tested using a sample of 250 individuals working in traditionally masculine jobs at a single high-technology firm. Participants completed two surveys, and income data were retrieved from the firm’s archives. Intrinsic motivation was positively related to actual pay and pay expectations among men and was negatively related to both pay measures among women. Self-efficacy was positively related to actual pay among women and was unrelated to actual pay among men. Networking was positively related to actual pay among men and was negatively related to actual pay among women. Finally, self-efficacy and networking were unrelated to pay expectations among both men and women. We draw from notions of gender stereotypes, backlash, and tokenism to discuss gender-based differences in how organizations appraise and reward non-cognitive traits and behaviours.

Gender of the immediate manager and women's wages: The importance of managerial position

One argument for increasing female representation in management is the expectation that female managers will be particularly beneficial for female employees through, e.g., role modeling, mentoring or providing other incentives to enhance female productivity. We explore this issue by analyzing the association between women's wages and the gender of their immediate managers using Swedish matched employee-employer data from 2010. Contrary to the expected positive association, we find that wages are overall 3% lower for female employees with a female instead of male manager. However, dividing the sample by managerial position and controlling for the sorting of employees with respect to, e.g., non-cognitive traits, work tasks, family commitment and establishment gender composition, the negative association is found only for female employees working for lower-level managers, not for women with a manager at the highest rank. One possible explanation could be a difference in decision-making power if lower-level female managers have more limited resources for their subordinates compared to lower-level male managers.

A Multilevel Factor Analysis of Third-Party Evaluations of Noncognitive Constructs Used in Admissions Decision Making

ABSTRACTThe assessment of noncognitive traits is challenging due to possible response biases, “subjectivity” and “faking.” Standardized third-party evaluations where an external evaluator rates an applicant on their strengths and weaknesses on various noncognitive traits are a promising alternative. However, accurate score-based inferences from third-party evaluations requires disentangling score variance due to raters versus applicants by utilizing a multilevel factor analysis (MFA). To date, MFA is highly underutilized in the measurement field. In this study, we apply the MFA to analyze third-party evaluations using data from the Personal Potential Index (PPI). The PPI is a third-party measure used to evaluate graduate school applicants noncognitive traits to help inform admissions decisions. We analyzed 12,693 ratings of 6,249 applicants divided into two randomly selected subgroups. We conducted multilevel exploratory factor analysis with one subgroup and tested the hypothesized structure with the other subgroup. This work illustrates the advantages and challenges of using MFA approach to support the meaningful and valid interpretation of scores from third-party evaluations.

Motivational antecedents of pay and pay expectations: Gender differences in a masculine context

Research on gender differences in the effects of non-cognitive traits on pay is rather scant, and focuses largely on the big five personality traits. To address this gap, we consider gender differe...

Personality and Family Context in Explaining Grit of Taiwanese High School Students

Background:Grit, one of the newly developed non-cognitive traits, encompasses the characteristics of perseverance and consistency of interest. Grit is associated with good academic performance, resilience, and well-being. To understand the nature of Grit in detail, this study probed the relationship between Grit and the widely-applied and well-established Big-Five personality. Family context plays a significant role in nurturing all aspects of personality traits. Accordingly, we examined two family-context variables, namely family influence and democratic parenting style, which may be predictive of Grit, particularly in an Asian context.Material and methods:A total of 1504 students from one private comprehensive high school participated. Multiple linear regression was conducted to determine how the various independent variables affect Grit characteristics.Results:The results indicate that grittier high school learners tend to display higher self-report academic performance and academic satisfaction. Multiple regression demonstrated that the four Big-Five personality traits: Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, Intellect/Imagination, are significantly predictive of Grit, with the exception of Extraversion. While family influence is predictive of Grit, democratic parenting style does not predict Grit.Conclusions:Based on the results, several possible explanations and suggestions are proposed.

Introducing a Novel Applicant Ranking Tool to Predict Future Resident Performance: A Pilot Study.

The purposes of this study are to (1) introduce our novel Applicant Ranking Tool that aligns with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competencies and (2) share our preliminary results comparing applicant rank to current performance. After a thorough literature review and multiple roundtable discussions, an Applicant Ranking Tool was created. Feasibility, satisfaction, and critiques were discussed via open feedback session. Inter-rater reliability was assessed using weighted kappa statistic (κ) and Kendall coefficient of concordance (W). Fisher's exact tests evaluated the ability of the tool to stratify performance into the top or bottom half of their class. Internal medicine and anesthesiology residents served as the pilot cohorts. The tool was considered user-friendly for both data input and analysis. Inter-rater reliability was strongest with intradisciplinary evaluation (W = 0.8-0.975). Resident performance was successfully stratified into those functioning in the upper vs. lower half of their class within the Clinical Anesthesia-3 grouping (p = 0.008). This novel Applicant Ranking Tool lends support for the use of both cognitive and noncognitive traits in predicting resident performance. While the ability of this instrument to accurately predict future resident performance will take years to answer, this pilot study suggests the instrument is worthy of ongoing investigation.

Do personality traits assessed on medical school admission predict exit performance? A UK-wide longitudinal cohort study

Traditional methods of assessing personality traits in medical school selection have been heavily criticised. To address this at the point of selection, “non-cognitive” tests were included in the UK Clinical Aptitude Test, the most widely-used aptitude test in UK medical education (UKCAT: http://www.ukcat.ac.uk/). We examined the predictive validity of these non-cognitive traits with performance during and on exit from medical school. We sampled all students graduating in 2013 from the 30 UKCAT consortium medical schools. Analysis included: candidate demographics, UKCAT non-cognitive scores, medical school performance data—the Educational Performance Measure (EPM) and national exit situational judgement test (SJT) outcomes. We examined the relationships between these variables and SJT and EPM scores. Multilevel modelling was used to assess the relationships adjusting for confounders. The 3343 students who had taken the UKCAT non-cognitive tests and had both EPM and SJT data were entered into the analysis. There were four types of non-cognitive test: (1) libertariancommunitarian, (2) NACE—narcissism, aloofness, confidence and empathy, (3) MEARS—self-esteem, optimism, control, self-discipline, emotional-nondefensiveness (END) and faking, (4) an abridged version of 1 and 2 combined. Multilevel regression showed that, after correcting for demographic factors, END predicted SJT and EPM decile. Aloofness and empathy in NACE were predictive of SJT score. This is the first large-scale study examining the relationship between performance on non-cognitive selection tests and medical school exit assessments. The predictive validity of these tests was limited, and the relationships revealed do not fit neatly with theoretical expectations. This study does not support their use in selection.

Gender Gap in Upward Mobility: What Is the Role of Non-Cognitive Traits?

Do non-cognitive traits contribute to the gender gap in supervisory status and promotion? We use a large linked employer-employee dataset collected from six former socialist countries to assess the link between non-cognitive traits and upward mobility. Controlling for workplace heterogeneity, we find that gender differences in locus of control, the preference for challenge versus affiliation, and adherence to work ethic together can explain about 7–18% of the gender gap in supervisory status and promotions Overall, non-cognitive traits provide an important, though incomplete, explanation for the gender gap in upward mobility.

“There’s Still That Window That’s Open”

This narrative analysis case study challenges the education reform movement’s fascination with “grit,” the notion that a non-cognitive trait like persistence is at the core of disparate educational outcomes and the answer to our inequitable education system. Through analysis of the narratives and meaning-making processes of Elijah, a 20-year-old African American seeking his High School Equivalency diploma, this case study explores linkages among dominant discourses on meritocracy, opportunity, personal responsibility, and group blame. Specifically, exposition of the figured worlds present in Elijah’s narratives points to the attempted obfuscation of social inequities present in the current educational reform movement and our broader society. This obfuscation present in the grit discourse and pedagogy aims to diminish the critical bifocality that is needed to understand and improve educational opportunity and outcomes.

Longer Exposure to Obesity, Slimmer Chance of College? Body Weight Trajectories, Non-Cognitive Skills, and College Completion

The NLSY97 data were used to explore the patterns of developmental trajectories of body weight in adolescence and how they affected the likelihood of college completion in young adulthood among 2,275 youths aged 13 and 14 in Wave 1. A strong weight trajectory gradient was found for rates of college completion. The study further explored the role of non-cognitive traits in the association between weight trajectories and college attainment. Non-cognitive traits were found to partially mediate the impact of certain weight trajectories on the likelihood of college completion. Some moderating effects of conscientiousness were also found. The findings from the gender and weight trajectory interaction terms showed that a stronger negative impact of weight trajectory on college completion is only observed for women in the late-teen-onset overweight group. This study highlights the importance of using a longitudinal weight measure and the role of non-cognitive traits in adolescent obesity research.

Non-cognitive Traits and Early Labor Market Outcomes

Non-cognitive Traits and Early Labor Market Outcomes

The determinants of cognitive and non-cognitive educational outcomes: empirical evidence in Spain using a Bayesian approach

ABSTRACTThis article aims to extend the literature about the role played by socio-economic and family background in educational outcomes by comparing the determinants of two different dimensions of educational output: academic achievement and non-cognitive traits. To do this, we explore the information provided by a self-report survey developed specifically for the purpose of this research. This will provide us with an innovative measure of non-cognitive performance based on particular personal traits, such as responsibility, effort, motivation and critical capacity, as well as a common measure of cognitive proficiency. We use a Bayesian approach to estimate the potential influence of multiple individual and family variables on both dimensions of educational output. From our results, we find that, despite some similarities, there are several important divergences with regard to some socio-economic variables that have been traditionally considered to be the most influential determinants of academic achievement which do not appear to have a significant impact on non-cognitive outcomes.

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

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.

Gender gap in upward mobility: what is the role of non-cognitive traits?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to find whether non-cognitive traits contribute to the gender gap in supervisory status and promotion.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a large employer-employee matched data set collected from six former socialist countries to assess the link between non-cognitive traits and upward mobility.FindingsControlling for workplace heterogeneity, the authors find that gender differences in locus of control, the preference for challenge vs affiliation, and adherence to work ethic together can explain about 7-18 percent of the gender gap in supervisory status and promotion.Originality/valueOverall, non-cognitive traits provide an important, though modest, explanation for the gender gap in upward mobility.

Understanding teacher affect, knowledge, and instruction over time: an agenda for research on productive disposition for teaching mathematics

Teacher affect heavily influences instruction and learning (Cross 2009; Pajares 1992; Philipp 2007; Robertson-Kraft and Duckworth 2014). Teacher affect, which includes partially cognitive traits such as attitudes and beliefs as well as noncognitive traits such as emotion, motivation, and grit, is often defined in opposition to purely cognitive traits such as IQ or mathematical knowledge. As a consequence, teacher affect has often been studied in isolation from teacher cognition (Philipp 2007; Thompson 1992).By contrast, some researchers collapse cognitive and partially cognitive categories, grouping mathematics teacher knowledge and beliefs together as beliefs (e.g., Leatham 2006) or as knowledge (e.g., Beswick et al. 2012). Mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT), one of the most widely used frameworks for teacher knowledge, is defined to comprise ‘‘skills, habits, sensibilities as well as knowledge’’ (Ball et al. 2008; p. 403). Although this definition of MKT seems to include components of teacher affect, measures of MKT do not include affect-specific items (e.g., Hill et al. 2004). As these examples suggest, teacher affect is recognized as a critical area for research, but researchers have wrestled with how to conceptualize and measure constructs that are sensitive to the content and context of instruction (e.g., Herbel-Eisenmann et al. 2006; Newton 2009) and that can even seem inconsistent with teachers’ own instructional practice (cf., Francis 2015). Moreover, researchers have struggled to clarify how teacher affect changes during teacher education or in the context of established instructional practice (Philipp 2007). Managing these complex interactions has led to definitions of teacher affect constructs that are distant from teaching itself.

Teaching Through Television: Experimental Evidence on Entrepreneurship Education in Tanzania

Can television be used to teach and foster entrepreneurship among youth in developing countries? We report from a randomized control field experiment of an edutainment show on entrepreneurship broadcasted over almost three months on national television in Tanzania. The field experiment involved more than two thousand secondary school students, where the treatment group was incentivized to watch the edutainment show. We find short-term evidence of the edutainment show inspiring the viewers to become more interested in entrepreneurship and business and shaping non-cognitive traits such as risk- and time preferences, and long-term evidence of more business startups; in general, the treatment effects are more pronounced for the female viewers. However, we also find evidence that the encouragement of entrepreneurship discouraged investment in schooling; administrative data show a negative treatment effect on school performance and long-term survey data show that fewer treated students continue schooling.