School system favours pupils driven by worry and conscientiousness

It is well known that children perform differently at school, but how can two children with the same IQ, similar home backgrounds and the same teacher get completely different grades? In a new thesis from Lund University in Sweden, psychologist Pia Rosander has successfully predicted secondary school pupils’ final grades based on their personality traits.

In one of three studies, she was able to observe a strong link between personality and grades.

In personality psychology one talks of “the big five” – the five most common personality traits:

• openness
• conscientiousness
• extraversion
• agreeableness
• neuroticism

These qualities influence how a person behaves and are relatively stable qualities, which means that they do not change greatly over time or in different situations.

One of the traits is clearly associated with high grades: conscientiousness. Neuroticism, where pupils are driven by fear and worry, also led to high grades. Contrary to Pia Rosander’s hypothesis, openness, or intellectual curiosity, did not lead to high grades.

“We have a school system in Sweden that favours conscientious and fear-driven pupils”, says Pia Rosander. “It is not good for psychological well-being in the long term if fear is a driving force. It also prevents in-depth learning, which happens best among the open personality types who are driven by curiosity.”

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