Academics and the Five Factor Model - Essay Example

Academics and the Five Factor ModelThe Five Factor Model was designed to narrow down the phenomenon of personality to five distinct dimensions or traits that are Extraversion, Openness, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness and Neuroticism. The idea was initially proposed by Costa and McCrae (1992) and these personality dimensions are used as viable predictors of one’s academic achievements as well. Each of the aforementioned dimensions highlighted by the model further entail a set of traits that also determine an individual’s capacity to excel in academics.

Although, researchers have not agreed on a consistent definition of each trait, but essentially all each factors refer to the same set of characteristics highlighted by the psychologists. Proponents of the Big Five Factors have vastly associated Conscientiousness with high academic achievements. Ackerman, Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnham (2011) used the Five Factor Model to further argue that while cognitive abilities shed light on the person’s existing capabilities, their personality sheds light on how one may manipulate those capabilities to excel on various fronts.

As conscientiousness is associated with higher degree of organization, people possessing high level of this trait are likely to have greater discipline and are more organized. On the other hand, researchers have further postulated that if an individual have high openness are more innovative and open to new ideas. (Kappe & Van Der Flier, 2010)Many psychologists have attested to the aforementioned claims, as their studies have found a positive correlation between academic performance and the amount of Openness in a student (O’Connor & Paunonen, 2007).

As a matter of fact, it is not just Openness, but a combination of traits are largely at work that ensure that a student can work to his full potential and excel in all subjects. So far, psychologists have discovered that agreeableness, openness and conscientiousness are the primary contributors to a good academic performance. It was further hypothesized that extraversion too had a huge role in the learning process but only on a peripheral level and low levels of neuroticism ensures that the student stays motivated and is encouraged to perform well.

(Trappman etl.al, 2007)The five factor model provides great insight into the personality of students, but the model is not devoid of limitations. The most obvious restrictions to the generalizability of this model stems from the fact that it narrows down a multifaceted concept like personality into five dimensions, which gives a reductionist view of the subject. As a matter of fact, Poropat (2009) discussed that good academic performance was not just the result of a combination of personality traits, but it further depended on family environment, current behaviour, drive and effort.

The model completely ignores the context of the student behaviour narrowing it down to just personality, which may not provide an accurate explanation for the behaviour. Moreover, it is difficult to the tell the contribution of the model in academic performance, since the only measure of scholastic success is through the Grade-Point Average, which is an aggregate total that may not describe individual strengths or weaknesses in various subjects. Another shortcoming of the model is the fact that it does not highlight the causal variable that explains the correlation between the aforementioned characteristics and academic performance or highlight as to how they can be spurred in an individual.

The Five Factor Model has helped understand the dynamics of personality growth and academic performance; it has also equipped the educators with the prior knowledge regarding their students that would help them tailor the school curriculum accordingly. The understanding of a student’s personality can further help discipline the student to gain more control over their behaviours and thought processes. However, the subject still requires plenty of research that would further develop the concept to enhance generalizability of the model.

ReferencesAckerman, P. L., Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Furnham, A. (2011). Trait complexes and academicachievement. Old and new ways of examining personality in educational contexts. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 27–40.Kappe, R., & van der Flier, H. (2010). Using multiple and specific criteria to assess the predictive validity of the Big Five personality factors on academic performance. Journal of Research in Personality, 44(1), 142-145O’Connor, M.C., & Paunonen, S.V. (2007).

Big Five personality predictors of post-secondary academic performance. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 971-990.Poropat, A.E. (2009). A Meta-Analysis of the Five-Factor Model of Personality and Academic Performance. Psychological Bulletin, 135(2), 322–338.Trappman, S., Hell, B., Hirn, J.W., & Schuler, H. (2007). Meta-Analysis of the Relationshipbetween the Big Five and Academic Success at University. Journal of Psychology, 215(2), 132-151.