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Running head: PERSONALITY AND LEARNING STYLES

Personality Dimensions: Extroversion, Conscientiousness in Relation to Learning Behaviors: Among Students Uddin, Farzana Hunter College, City University of New York

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Abstract Personality and learning styles have been studied for a long time, and many findings show that the two are related. In the recent study, it was hypothesized that personality dimensions such as extroversion, and conscientiousness can influence learning and studying behaviors such as social learning and help seeking, GPA and academic anxiety. A student Learning and Studying Behaviors survey were given out to 82 Hunter College students which measured academic achievement, organization and planning, social learning and help seeking, location choices and time management of studying, academic anxiety. The participants were also given the Big Five Personality test, which assessed their personality dimensions and ranked student's personality dimensions with percentages. Five personality dimensions were measured using this scale, neuroticism, extroversion, openness, conscientiousness and agreeableness. Results showed that significant positive correlation between extroversion and social learning/help seeking, and that the more extroverted a student is the more they are willing to seek help/ be a social learner. Results also found that there was a significant negative correlation between extroversion and score on academic anxiety. These two hypotheses were supported however, the relationship between conscientiousness and academic achievement (measured by GPA) has a positive correlation but is not significant and does not support our hypothesis. Research on personality and learning styles can further benefit students and improve learning styles to best fit one's personality.

Keywords: The Big Five, Learning Styles, Extroversion, Conscientiousness, Social Learning/Help Seeking, Academic Achievement, Academic Anxiety

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Personality Dimensions: Extroversion, Conscientiousness in Relation to Learning Behaviors: Among Students Personality can influence a student's learning styles in various ways. These personality traits and learning styles were measured through various tests such as the Big Five Personality Test and Student Studying and Learning Behaviors Survey. Research such as McCrae and Costa (1997) study has found that the five personality traits such as neuroticism, can be found in people regardless of cultural differences. Komarraju, Karau, Schmeck and Avdic (2011) study explored in depth of learning styles and found that the type of learning style can influence GPA. Furnham (2012) study one looks at personality with a deeper look at conscientiousness in relation to intelligence. In the recent study, it was hypothesized that the higher a student scores on extroversion the lower their academic anxiety and higher their social learning and help seeking scores. This is because the more outgoing a student is the more willing they are to seek help and be comfortable in their studies, hence the lower their academic anxiety. The third hypothesis is that the higher the student scores on conscientiousness the higher their academic achievement (measured by GPA) because they are more focused on their studying hence they receive better grades. To examine how personality behaviors among students and influence learning behaviors, five big personality traits were measured in students along with five learning styles. Truity (2017) examines the five dimensions of personalities which includes Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism. These five traits were narrowed down from 4000 different traits listed by psychologists like Gordon Allport. Previous research found that. The five learning styles that were measured were academic achievement which is measured by GPA, organization and planning, social learning and help seeking, location

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choices and time management, lastly, academic anxiety (see Appendix). Previous research found a relationship between conscientiousness and academic achievement (Furnham, 2012). While other studies found that extraversion is associated with GPA (Komarraju et al. 2011). These studies have found significant information which help supports the hypothesis stated from the most recent study. The McCrae and Costa (1997) study talks about personality structure and questions whether it is universal or differs from culture to culture. Personality structure is defined as a few basic traits that creates the personality as whole (McCrae & Costa, 1997). The five personalities type they focused on were, neuroticism, extroversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. The researchers mentioned that if personality was characterized by culture and religion then personalities would be different throughout the world, however if personality traits were based on fundamental human interactions, then personalities would be the same throughout the world and throughout cultures. There were seven samples in this study that were measured and compared. They were given a personality questionnaire named the NEO-PI-R. This questionnaire had a scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree (McCrae & Costa, 1997). The first sample/group was 500 men and 500 women from U.S census, over the age of 21. The second was German sample of 642 men and 646 women, age 15- 83. The third, was an Portuguese sample of 861 men and 1133 women age 17-84. The fourth was job applicant sample of 396 men and 539 women 17-18 years of age. The fifth was a Chinese version of the NEO-PIR was given to a sample of 161 men and 191 women undergraduate psychology students. The sixth was a Korean sample of 1234 man and 1087 women and seventh was a Japanese sample were 54 men and 146 women college students. To those who did not understand English, were given translators (McCrae & Costa, 1997).

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Results showed that the Korean and Portuguese samples show that the five factors can be easily recognized in both samples and they were like the original data. Similar results were found for the other samples (McCrae & Costa, 1997). Different versions of the NEO-PI-R in different languages somehow had similar results (McCrae & Costa, 1997). This shows that personality trait structures may have common grounds regardless of different cultures, languages and religions. The results suggest that the five-factor model may be universal and cultural differences does not affect basic human traits (McCrae & Costa, 1997). Problems of this study can be that the samples picked are from countries in which majority of the people are literate and or educated (McCrae & Costa, 1997) this can interfere with the results because educated individuals might be a confound. Also, the results do indicate that the five factors that were being measured are present in different culture, however it does not prove that these factors are the same and have the same function (McCrae & Costa, 1997). Overall, this study gave insight on personality traits and how it differs, and how it is very similar in different cultures. It does confirm any ideas on whether student's personality dimensions might differ depending on the type of culture they were raised with. Komarraju, Karau, Schmeck and Avdic (2011) took a greater look into personality and learning styles. They introduced previous studies/findings on this topic, along with explaining the Big five model, which includes conscientiousness, neuroticism, agreeableness, extroversion, and intellect. Kamarraju et al. (2011) conducted a study that focused on whether personalities are correlated with learning styles and if it is related to how well a student does academically. The learning styles that this article talks about are synthesis-analysis which is when students organize information into categories, elaborative processing is using new knowledge to already known information and own experiences. Methodical study is the mainstream learning style in which all

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assignments are done on time and carefully. Lastly act retention is when students memorize information to receive a good great on exam rather than understanding the material (Komarraju et al. 2011). To conduct this study, the researchers used 308 undergraduate college students. 147 were male while 161 were female students. They completed two questionnaires, the five-factor inventory and learning processes (NEO-FFI + ILP) (Komarraju et al., 2011). These students were randomly selected from 4 different classes, and many different majors. The NEO-FFI focused on personality traits, while the ILP focused on learning styles (Komarraju et al. 2011). These two questionnaires assessed the participants traits/ characteristics along with their learning habits and compared the data. Results showed that there were many different correlations between factors/variables. There was a positive correlation with GPA and learning styles. This shows that learning styles overall may influence GPA or GPA might influence a certain learning style. I found this study quite helpful in expanding my knowledge on learning style and personality traits along with the correlation between the two. This study finds a relationship between openness and GPA which hints that one's learning style may influence how well they do academically (Komarraju et al., 2011). This study can further develop/lead to a breakthrough on how learning styles can influence/better your academic achievements. This study can positively influence students. Furnham (2012) focuses on the relationship between personality and learning and intelligence. There were two studies done, however the first study is the one that is relevant to this paper. In the first study, there were 178 participants who were psychology students in a British university. These participants took multiple questionnaires, one of which measured the Big five personality traits, Neuroticism, Extroversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Results showed that conscientiousness influenced academic achievement

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(Furnham, 2012). The results and focus of this study was on conscientiousness and how it is closely associated with work performance and motivation (Furnham, 2012). Method Participants The participants were Hunter college students (N=81). There were (n=52) females and (n=26) males. The participants ranged from ages 18-26 years old. Materials A student Learning and Studying Behaviors survey were given out to Hunter College students. There were various questions on the survey, such as demographic questions, questions measuring academic achievement, organization and planning, social learning and help seeking, location choices and time management of studying, academic anxiety. Refer to Appendix for full survey. Students were also given the Big Five Personality Scale, which was taken online, it assessed their personality dimensions and ranked student's personality dimensions with percentages. Five personality dimensions were measured using this scale, neuroticism, extroversion, openness, conscientiousness and agreeableness (Truity, 2017). Procedure A survey on learning style was first designed and produced by the entire class. All participants were then given the Student Learning and Studying Behaviors survey along with the Big Five Personality scale. There was a total of 82 participants who were given the learning behaviors survey. To avoid carryover affects, the two tests were given in ABAB format. The participants completed the survey in person or through the internet. All surveys/tests were taken

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individually either on laptop, or on paper. The results of each participant were posted on an excel sheet and interpreted through SPSS statistic software. Results Pearson correlation tests were used to compare the personality dimension with learning behavior. A Pearson correlation used to explain the relationship between extroversion and score on social learning and help seeking show that there was a significant positive correlation between extroversion and social learning/help seeking (r= .414**, n=81, p=.001). The relationship between extroversion and score on academic anxiety was also, significant and has a negative correlation (r= -.362**, n=81, p=.001). The relationship between conscientiousness and academic achievement (measured by GPA) is has a positive correlation but is not significant enough. Discussion The results found that there was a positive correlation between extroversion and social learning and help seeking. This means that the higher the participant scores in extroversion the higher their social learning and help seeking scores. In other words, extroverted students are more likely to seek help when needed, this also means that they are social learners. Unlike students that study alone, extroverted students are more likely to study with others. Since the p value is significant, this shows that this hypothesis can be supported. Results also show that there is a negative correlation between extroversion and score on academic anxiety, which means that the higher the extroversion the lower academic anxiety a participant has. A student with high a high extroversion score is less likely to feel anxious because they are confident in their studies. There is also a significance between extroversion and academic anxiety, so, this hypothesis can be supported. Lastly, results show that conscientiousness and academic achievement has a

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positive correlation, however it is not significant enough to support the hypothesis. This means that the higher a participant scores on conscientiousness the higher their academic achievement. Although this study found that the results are not significant enough between conscientiousness and academic achievement, other studies have found that there is a significance. Furnham (2012) found that conscientiousness predicts academic achievement which is measured through GPA. Unlike our results, previous studies show that there is a significance between conscientiousness and academic achievement. The reason behind why the results showed up as not significant between conscientiousness and academic achievement can be due to miscalculation or that participants might have lied on the surveys. One limitation of this study is that since the method used are through surveys, participants might lie sometimes, either it is because they just want to get over with the survey so that they randomly chose answers or that they just do not feel that the information is completely anonymous. They might lie or might give into researcher bias in which they answer in a way they feel the researcher would want them to answer with. Another limitation is that the age range is not diverse, the age of participants only ranges from 18 years old to 26 years old, so it does not represent the whole population of Hunter College since there are students of all ages that come here ranging from 16 (those who graduated high school early) to 50 years old or higher. Therefore, this data cannot possibly be generalized to the population. Another limitation is that that some participants were given paper surveys while others were given surveys online, this might affect the way a participant answers the questions. They might feel that online is more anonymous because their handwriting will not show, while on paper they might feel that it is not completely anonymous. Another limitation is that since the researcher is present the participants might not feel that their answers are anonymous and might lie on them.

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To avoid these limitations of this study, researchers should pick a diverse number of students from different age groups to represent the population of Hunter College. To make sure the results can be generalized, people should be chosen at random and from different age groups. To avoid lying in surveys, researchers can give out one format of the survey either only through paper or only through online. To avoid researcher bias, the researcher can mail or email the participants the surveys and ask them to email their answers, that way the participants would feel that the survey is completely anonymous. Strengths of the study include that it was completely free, so anyone could participate, and many participants can be used without the expense. Since a within subjects' design was used, it saved a lot of time and did not require that many participants. Future research ideas that can further the knowledge on personality and learning style is that exploring in depth into personality of different people from different ethnicities and backgrounds can further give better understanding on personality, where it comes from and how exactly it influences learning styles. In conclusion, personality and learning styles are significantly related to one another. It is an interesting topic to study, and future research may even be able to recognize and help children with learning disabilities or personality disorders. In a diverse area like Hunter College, knowing about the different personality traits and learning behaviors can give better insight to students to improve their studying habits and grades. It can also give professors insight on how to better improve their lesson plans to grab the interest of their students. These surveys can be used in their classes to in order to see what teaching method would best fit the class. Not only do these studies benefit students but it can also benefit professors, and future research can bring about major advancements in these types of surveys and studies.

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References Furnham, A. (n.d.). Learning Style, Personality Traits and Intelligence as Predictors of College Academic Performance (Vol. 10, Ser. 3). Individual Differences Association. Retrieved March 29, 2018. Komarraju, M., Karau, S. J., Schmeck, R. R., & Avdic, A. (2011). The Big Five personality traits, learning styles, and academic achievement. Personality and Individual Differences, 51(4), 472-477. Truity (n.d.). The Big Five Personality Test. Retrieved March 12, 2018, from: https://www.truity.com/view/tests/big-five-personality Mccrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T., Jr. (1997). Personality trait structure as a human universal. American Psychologist, 52(5), 509-516.

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Table 1 Correlation and significance between Conscientiousness and Academic Achievement

Academic Achievement

Conscientiousness

r

N

Sig. (2-tailed)

.215

81

.054

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Table 2 Correlation and significance between Extraversion and Social Learning and Help Seeking Behaviors Social Learning and Help Seeking Behaviors

Extroversion

r

N

Sig. (2-tailed)

.414**

81

.000

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Table 3 Correlation and significance between Extraversion and score on Academic Anxiety Score on Academic Anxiety

Extroversion

r

N

Sig. (2-tailed)

-.362**

78

.001

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Figure. 1. Scatterplot showing Conscientiousness and GPA.

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Appendix Student Studying and Learning Behaviors

Please respond to the following questions on student learning and studying behaviors.

1. What year are you in school, based on the ...