New research suggests that when it comes to succeeding academically, personality outsmarts intelligence.
Arthur Poropat from Griffith's School of Applied Psychology has carried out the largest reviews of personality and academic accomplishment, according to PsyPost. The reviews were based on "Conscientiousness, Openness, Agreeableness, Emotional Stability, and Extraversion" and Poropat found that Conscientiousness and Openness are the biggest influencers of scholastic success.
"With respect to learning, personality is more useful than intelligence for guiding both students and teachers," Poropat said, according to PsyPost. "In practical terms, the amount of effort students are prepared to put in, and where that effort is focused, is at least as important as whether the students are smart."
"And a student with the most helpful personality will score a full grade higher than an average student in this regard," he added.
Intelligence tests are deceiving to those who thought they did well in school because they are "smart," the study suggests.
"Intelligence tests have always been closely linked with education and grades and therefore relied upon to predict who would do well," Poropat said, according to PsyPost. "The impact of personality on study is genuinely surprising for educational researchers, and for anyone who thinks they did well at school because they are 'smart.'"
Personality is the key to success, according to Poropat.
"Personality does change, and some educators have trained aspects of students' Conscientiousness and Openness, leading to greater learning capacity," he said. "By contrast, there is little evidence that intelligence can be 'taught,' despite the popularity of brain-training apps."
