Personality traits as predictors of the academic achievement of gifted students

Abstract

This study explores the predictive effects of several personality traits on academic achievement of gifted students. It is hypothesized that, interacting with their cognitive abilities, the spectrum of personality traits (in)directly determines differences in the level of academic achievement. On a sample of 473 students from Serbia, gifted in music, visual arts, sports and mathematics, several inventories were applied: Big Five Inventory, Pre-conscious Activity Scale, MOP 2002, Inventory of Moral Competencies, and Inventory of Emotional Competencies. The validation of the scales was conducted and the contribution of personality traits to the criterion variable was tested by standard multiple regression. Results showed that personality traits explained about 7% of the variance of the gifted students' performance, and that different personality variables predicted the academic performance in different domains of giftedness. Although the determining effect of the examined variables was demonstrated, all causal conclusions referring to personality traits as predictors of academic achievement should be taken with caution. The obtained results provide new possibilities for research in the field of the non-intellectual sphere concerning the gifted students, and indicate new dimensions that should be taken into account during pedagogical work.