Study of the Relationship between Personality Traits and

Study of the Relationship between Personality Traits and Academic Performance of Health Science Students Dr Suresh Chari, Ms Devashree Nikose, Dr Madhur Gupta, , Dr Shubhada Gade NKP Salve Institute of Medical Science & Research Center & LMH, Nagpur Why ? The need for the project Some faculties tend to form academic opinion based on personality type of students Purpose of the study Discrepancy in the data regarding personality and academic success. Part I: To investigate the relationship between various personality traits and academic performance of undergraduate health science students. What was done 400 students: MBBS (150 ), BDS (100 ), BPT (50) and Nursing (100) who have passed I year exam Personality types: Big Five Inventory (BFI) 44 item test Questionnaire. ØOpenness: (imaginativeness, intellectual curiosity) ØConscientiousness: (organized, dependable, shows self discipline and will to achieve) ØExtraversion: (energy, activity, assertive and sociability) ØAgreeableness: (compassionate, cooperative, likable and friendliness) ØNeuroticism or Emotional stability: (adjustment versus anxiety) Item response scale: 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Academic performance: I year marks categorized into high, moderate & low performers What was found No change in mean score of Other studies Openness, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness or Neurotism amongst any achievers. Extraversion showed small correlation in moderate achievers. q Conscientious and agreeable students performed better academically q Similar correlation with openness & conscientiousness. q. Students high on neurotism were academically poor performers. q. Extraversion as a predictor of high performer q. More similar the personality of teacher and pupils More likely teachers are to grade them highly!! Conclusion Overall no significant correlation was found between personality type and academic performance. Take Home Message. Personality type does not have any significant affect on the academic performance Teacher must understand that: Each student has a unique personality Each personality is build over the years and is due to several factors. Each student is facing different challenges It is not that a extrovert will do better or introvert will fair poorly! Personality should not influence opinion about academic performance. They should not get biased and relate personality for dealing with students Part II: How much does a teacher get influenced by personality?