SRJIS/BIMONTHLY/ DR. D.

HASSAN (4382-4388)

PERSONALITY TRAITS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG COLLEGE

STUDENTS

D. Hassan, Ph. D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Acharya Nagarjuna University,
Ongole Campus, Ongole.

Abstract
This study aims to determine the significant difference between high and low achievers on 16
personality traits factors. Among a sample of 200 adolescents (100 high achiever and 100 low
achiever) studying in B.A part-I were selected by stratified random technique from different colleges
located in Ongole. 16 personality factor questionnaires were administered to measure the dimensions
of personality traits of both the groups. Data was analyzed by using means, standard deviations and t
test. Result revealed that high achievers had unique personality profile than low achievers.

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INTRODUCTION
Academic achievement has always been considered to be a very important factor in
the educational life of an individual, because good academic record over years predicts future
success of a person. Education is unique investment and academic achievement is a vital
aspect of it. In this world of industrialization and globalization, education has become highly
commercial and academic excellence has gained through tough competitions (Woolfolk,
2001). Academic achievement of students has been a great concern to educationist since time
immemorial. Now a day, this trend has been intensively felt by the academicians, parents and
students (Anzi, 2005). The educational status of an individual is highly depicted through the
academic achievement. In our society academic achievement is considered as a key criterion
to judge one's total potentialities and capacities. Hence academic achievement occupies a
very important place in education as well as in the learning process. Academic achievement
is defined by Crow and Crow (1969) as the extent to which a learner is profiting from
instruction in a given area of learning i.e. achievement is reflected by the extent to which skill
and knowledge has been imparted to him.
Education plays a vital role in building a society. Modern society cannot achieve its
aims of economic growth, technical development and cultural advancement without fully

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 SRJIS/BIMONTHLY/ DR. D. HASSAN (4382-4388)

harnessing the talents of its citizens. The word academic here, stands for those aspects of
school that involve the study of books. The achievement of students in the course syllabi, and
books studied by them and expressed in the forms of grade, percentage or on any other point
of scale can broadly be termed as academic achievement. The importance of prediction of
academic achievement has increased during recent years because of various reasons. One of
the reasons is the mushroom growth in student population which has created manifold
problems. The second is that child education has not been found to be commensurable with
the efforts and huge expenditure made in this field. The third is concerned with the wastage
of great human potentiates because it is often found that student perform much below then
capacities. Academic achievement individual learns to utilize his energies with the given
innate potentials and a particular pattern of socializing pressure. Considering the fact that
both innate potentials and environmental factors play equally important roles in academic
achievement, it is imperative to look into the interplay of both these factors. In this study, it
was decided to use examination marks as criterion measure of academic achievement.
Personality is the ability to get along in adult situation; it is the persons type of action,
reaction, opinion and mood, a set of physical and social traits (Mullanattom, 1993).
Personality plays very important role in academic achievement. Some researchers
have classified the students as high-achiever and low-achiever according to their
performance. In the present investigation students who have scored 65% and above marks in
the academic achievement have been taken to be high achiever and students who have scored
45% and less than that have been taken to be low achiever. Investigating the relationship of
academic achievement with various personality characteristics indicates that through the
findings with respect to most of the personality factors are conflicting, some factors, at least,
seem to be important in this connection. Several personality characteristics also have been
investigated using different lets. Though the findings of the studies are not very consistent,
they provide further evidence regarding the importance of personality factors in academic
achievement. Students differ in their personal values; they receive and process information
differently; their personality trait is different and hence, so also is their understanding. It is
often argued that a blend of personality characteristics is necessary for people to be
successful in their career. Educators, researchers, and psychologists have been constantly
searching for parsimonious set of variables that predicts patterns of students behaviors and
their relationship to academic achievement.

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 SRJIS/BIMONTHLY/ DR. D. HASSAN (4382-4388)

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A vast number of studies have sought to determine the predictability of academic
performance by personality traits. Personality has been recognized as a determining factor on
how people learn (Lawrence, 1997; Myer et al, 1998). College students tend to prefer
learning environments consistent with their own personality type preference. Many scholars
have accepted five-factor model of personality as a replicable and unifying taxonomy of
personality (Digman, 1990; Goldberg, 1992; Witt et al, 2002) and have found personality
traits to be significantly related to successful job and school performance, both logically and
statistically (Hogan & Hogan, 1989; Day & Silverman, 1989).
Traits like stinginess, curiosity, assertiveness or laziness are virtually perfect
examples of personality and traits of psychological properties are sociability, loyalty, humor,
musical ability and respects for his parents(Robins, & Trzesniewski, 2005). Need for
achievement and manifest anxiety can also be considered as trait (Wolters, 2004).
Intelligence, interest and aptitude are regarded as traits (Rindermann & Neubauer, 2001). In
terms of academic success, personality would appear to play a greater role than intelligence
(Cattell, 1978; Eysenck, 1992). Mouw and Khanna (1993) showed the impossibility of
predicting successful performance based on personality variables. At a higher level of
education, Noftle & Robins (2007) studied the relationship between personality and academic
aptitude and achievement. Blechner and Carter, 1956; Osborne and Sanders, 1949;
Shoemaker and Rothrer, 1948; Sopchak, 1958; Thompson, 1947, 1948a, 1948b, 1951) made
an attempt to relate personality characteristics as measured by projective tests, with academic
achievement. Conscientiousness and openness were the most important personality correlates
of academic achievement across different informants (self, teacher, and parent) also in a
study conducted by Barbaranelli, Caprara, Rabasca, and Pastorelli (2003).
HYPOTHESES:
There will be significant difference between high and low achiever college student on
various personality profiles.
SAMPLE:
A sample of 200 adolescents studying in B.A part I of different colleges of Ongole
town were selected on stratified random basis for the present study. The stratification was
based on high achievers, who obtained marks above 65% and low achievers who obtained
marks below 50% in their 12th class examination. One hundred students were high achievers
and one hundred low achievers.

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 SRJIS/BIMONTHLY/ DR. D. HASSAN (4382-4388)

INSTRUMENT:
1. Academic Achievement: - In the present investigation academic achievement constitutes
the aggregate marks obtained by the subjects in their 12th class examination.
2. 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF):-In an effort to understand differing
personalities in human being Raymond Bernard Cattell maintained a belief that a common
taxonomy could be developed to explain such differences. This inventory has been developed
on the basis of factor analysis. This inventory measures the personality on the basis of 16
independent factors. Three types of traits are included Temperament trait, Ability trait and
Dynamic trait. It has 187 items. Every question has 3 options. All the 16 factors give different
information about the person. Data is analyzed on the basis of Norm chart. The sixteen
personality factor questionnaire has been developed by Cattell (1946), adopted in Hindi by S.
D. Kapoor (1970).This is one objectively scorable test devised by basic research in
psychology to give the complete coverage of personality in brief time.
The primary source by the 16 PF test. Traits covered
Factor Low Sten Score Description (1- High Sten Score Description
3) (8-10)

A Cool (Sizothymia) Warm (Affectothymia)

B Concrete thinking (Low Abstract thinking (High
scholastic mental capacity) scholastic mental capacity)
C Affected by feelings (Low ego Emotional stable (Higher ego
strength) strength)
E Submissive (Submissiveness) Dominant (Dominance)
F Sober (Desurgency) Enthusiastic (Surgency)
G Expedient (Weaker superego Conscientious (stronger
strength) superego strength)
H Shy (Threctia) Bold (Parmia)
I Tough Minded (Harra) Tender Minded (Premcia)
L Trusting (Alexia) Suspicious (Protension)
M Practical (Praxernia) Imaginative (Autia)
N Forthright (Artlessness) Shrewd (Shrewdness)
O Self-assured (Untroubled Apprehensive (Guilt proneness)
adequacy)
Q1 Conservative (Conservatism) Experimenting (Radicalism)
Q2 Group oriented (Group Self-sufficient (Self
adherence) sufficiency)
Q3 Undisciplined self-conflict low Following self image (High
integration self-concept control)
Q4 Released (Low ergic tension) Tense (High ergic tension)
PROCEDURE:
16 Personality Factor Questionnaire test was administered to the students with proper
instruction. Data was collected and scoring was done with the help of scoring keys. The data
obtained was tabulated and analyzed with the help of mean, S.D and t-ratio.

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 SRJIS/BIMONTHLY/ DR. D. HASSAN (4382-4388)

16 Groups N Mean S.D. t Level of

PF Significance

A High 100 5.98 1.98 9.25 0.01

Achiever 100 4.13 1.27
Low
Achiever
B High 100 3.04 1.69 3.41 0.01
Achiever 100 2.46 1.51
Low
Achiever
C High 100 3.68 1.89 7.04 0.01
Achiever 100 2.13 1.58
Low
Achiever
E High 100 5.79 1.49 4 0.01
Achiever 100 5.11 1.19
Low
Achiever
F High 100 3.02 1.35 4.35 0.01
Achiever 100 3.89 1.89
Low
Achiever
G High 100 5.85 1.79 3.45 0.01
Achiever 100 5.09 1.51
Low
Achiever
H High 100 5.62 1.71 2.10 0.01
Achiever 100 5.12 1.69
Low
Achiever
I High 100 6.06 1.59 1.67 Not
Achiever 100 4.79 1.31 significant
Low
Achiever
L High 100 6.84 1.58 1.25 Not
Achiever 100 7.09 1.60 significant
Low
Achiever
M High 100 5.97 1.97 4.45 0.01
Achiever 100 4.90 1.77
Low
Achiever
N High 100 4.76 2.03 5.38 0.01
Achiever 100 6.16 1.78
Low
Achiever
O High 100 6.49 1.87 2 0.05
Achiever 100 6.05 1.72
Low
Achiever

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 SRJIS/BIMONTHLY/ DR. D. HASSAN (4382-4388)

Q1 High 100 6.91 1.75 2.04 0.05

Achiever 100 6.42 1.81
Low
Achiever
Q2 High 100 5.92 1.56 1.05 Not
Achiever 100 5.71 1.61 significant
Low
Achiever
Q3 High 100 5.83 1.91 3.63 0.01
Achiever 100 5.03 1.65
Low
Achiever
Q4 High 100 5.42 1.51 5.47 0.01
Achiever 100 4.49 1.03
Low
Achiever
CONCLUSION:
High achiever group was found to be reserved, detached, more intelligent,
emotionally more mature, dominant in nature, stronger super ego strength, bold, careless,
depressed, liberal in nature, higher self-concept and they were found to be tense and restless.
Whereas low achiever group was sober, prudent, having doubtful personality and
experienced.
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