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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 237 (2017) 1304 – 1309

7th International Conference on Intercultural Education “Education, Health and ICT for a
Transcultural World”, EDUHEM 2016, 15-17 June 2016, Almeria, Spain

The role of personality traits and intelligence in academic

achievement of Russian high school students
Sergey Malykh*
Psychological Institute of Russian Academy of Education, 9, 4, Mokhovaya str., Moscow 125009, Russia

Abstract

The current study analyzed the role of ‘Big Five’ personality traits and non-verbal intelligence in the individual differences in
academic achievement of high school students. The study involved 300 Russian high school students, including 148 girls and 152
boys (aged from 14.50 to 17.75 years). We analyzed the structure of the relationships between intelligence, personality traits and
academic success using structural equation modeling. It was shown that Extraversion was negatively related to non-verbal
intelligence whereas Openness to experience was positively related to it. In turn, non-verbal intelligence was associated with
academic achievement. Conscientiousness was the only ‘Big Five’ trait which contributed to individual differences in academic
achievement independent of the level of non-verbal intelligence.
© 2017
© 2016TheTheAuthors.
Authors.Published
Publishedby by Elsevier
Elsevier Ltd.Ltd.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EDUHEM 2016.
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EDUHEM 2016.
Keywords:Big Five personality traits; intelligence; academic achievement; high school age.

1. Introduction

Individual differences in academic success during the school period are reliable predictors of the quality of life in
adulthood (Power et al, 2013). That is why the problem of predicting academic success does not lose its relevance for
more than a century, and during that time different psychological constructs have been considered as predictors of
success in learning (Malykh, Tikhomirova, 2015; Tikhomirova et al., 2015; Petrides et al., 2005).

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +7-903-740-44-16.

E-mail address: malykhsb@mail.ru

1877-0428 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EDUHEM 2016.
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2017.02.214
 Sergey Malykh / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 237 (2017) 1304 – 1309 1305

One of the most important factors of individual differences in academic achievement is non-verbal intelligence
(e.g., Kuncel et al., 2001). Strong positive relationship between non-verbal intelligence as measured with the Raven's
Progressive Matrices and academic success based on school grades and standardized test tasks has been repeatedly
reproduced in several studies and meta-analyses (Verbitskaya et al., 2015; Taub et al., 2008). In particular, the meta-
analyses show that correlation rates between non-verbal intelligence and academic achievement range from 0.40 to
0.63 (Deary et al., 2007; Luo et al., 2006). Correlation varies in accordance with the method that was used to measure
intelligence: it tends to be higher for the latent 'g' factor that sometimes correlates with performance (up to 0.81) (Deary
et al., 2007). It was shown that at different school ages the strength of the relationship between intelligence and
academic achievement varies from more pronounced at primary school age to less pronounced among high school
students. For example, in Estonia intelligence plays the most important role in academic performance during the first
school year (r = 0.54, p < 0.01), while for high school the correlation is lower (r = 0.32, p < 0.01) (Laidra et al., 2007).
A number of studies have shown that academic achievement is largely associated with personality traits contributing
to successful academic performance (Laidra et al., 2008; Briley et al., 2014). At the same time, the direction and
strength of these associations are not as clear as for non-verbal intelligence due to variability in the age of students,
socio-economic status, and tests used for measurement. Some studies have found that among the ‘Big Five’ personality
traits academic achievement is mostly associated with Conscientiousness (Barbaranelli et al., 2003), while others
reported Openness to experience (Laidra et al., 2007).
According to studies, at least three of the ‘Big Five’ personality traits – Openness to experience, Neuroticism, and
Extraversion – are related to non-verbal intelligence (see review Malykh, Tikhomirova, 2015). Moreover, Openness
to experience and Conscientiousness are often considered as correlates of cognitive abilities (Chamorro-Premuzic,
Furnham, 2004). These studies imply the existence of more complicated indirect relationships between the Big Five
personality traits, non-verbal intelligence and academic achievement.
Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the interrelationships between the Big Five personality traits, non-verbal
intelligence and academic achievement in Russian high school students.

2. Methods

2.1 Participants

The study involved 300 Russian high school students of Grades 9, 10, 11 aged from 14.50 to 17.75 years, including
148 girls and 152 boys. The students were enrolled from a public secondary school in Moscow region. Written consent
forms were obtained from parents of the students. Data collection was anonymous – each participant had a personal
identification number.

2.2. Measures

2.2.1. Academic achievement

Academic achievement was indicated by annual grades in Math, Language and Science. Annual grades are given
by teachers and vary from 2 (low achievement) to 5 (high achievement) points.

2.2.2. Personality traits

To assess personality traits we used the Russian version of the questionnaire NEO-PI-R standardized on the
Russian population. Each of the 5 scales of this questionnaire corresponding to 5 basic personality dimensions
comprises 6 subscales, each being assessed based on 8 questions. For the statistical analysis we used the scores for
the five factors – Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness.

2.2.3. Non-verbal intelligence

Non-verbal intelligence was measured with the ‘Raven Progressive Matrices’ test (RPM). It consists of 60 tasks
grouped in 5 series. In series A, participants have to complement the missing part of an image. In series B they are
asked to find correspondence between pairs. In series C the tasks are related to geometrical principles in figure
changes. In series D the participants have to find the structure in shuffling of figures. Series E requires the ability to
1306 Sergey Malykh / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 237 (2017) 1304 – 1309

analyze figures and add the missing parts. Each correct answer was counted as 1 point. Total scores were calculated.

3. Results and discussion

First, we performed a correlation analysis of nonverbal intelligence, personality traits and success in learning
Russian, mathematics and biology. Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated (SPSS 20.0 package). Second,
we analyzed the structure of the relationships between intelligence, personality traits and academic success using
structural equation modeling (OpenMX package).

3.1. Descriptive statistics

Table 1 represents the descriptive statistics for the personality traits, non-verbal inteligence and success in learning
Russian, mathematics and biology.

Table 1. Means and standard deviations

Mean SD

Neuroticism 94.01 18.50

Extraversion 112.79 20.26
Openness 111.18 16.02
Agreeableness 101.52 17.32
Conscientiousness 106.55 18.79
Non-verbal intelligence 49.1 5.44
Language 3.79 0.66
Math 3.8 0.71
Science 4.23 0.69

3.2. Correlations

Table 2 represents the Spearman correlations between the personality traits (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness
to experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness), non-verbal inteligence and academic achievement (Math,
Language and Science).

Table 2. Correlations between ‘Big Five’ personality traits, non-verbal intelligence and school achievement

Language Math Science

Neuroticism -0.09 -0.07 0.01

Extraversion 0.10 0.03 0.05

Openness 0.24*** 0.16* 0.26***

Agreeableness -0.01 -0.02 0.06

Conscientiousness 0.16* 0.14* 0.15*

Non-verbal intelligence 0.37*** 0.34** 0.36***

According to Table 2, similar patterns of associations with personality traits and non-verbal intelligence were
found for all indicators of academic achievement (Russian, mathematics and biology).
Among the personality traits, Openness to experience and Conscientiousness were associated with all the
indicators of academic achievement. In particular, the correlations between Openness to experience and academic
achievement varied from 0.16 (for mathematics) to 0.26 (for biology), p < 0.001. The relationships between
Conscientiousness and academic achievement were not as strong varying from 0.14 to 0.16, p < 0.05.
In addition to the two personality traits, academic achievement in all subjects was associated with non-verbal
intelligence. In particular, the correlations of non-verbal intelligence with academic success vary from 0.34 to 0.37, p
 Sergey Malykh / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 237 (2017) 1304 – 1309 1307

< 0.001.The significant correlation between one of the personality traits (Openness to experience) and non-verbal
intelligence also suggests that there are more complicated indirect interrelationships between the analyzed constructs.

3.3. Structural equation modeling

We tested three theoretical models of how personality traits and intelligence influence the academic achievement
based on the annual grades for the Russian language, mathematics and biology.
Model 1 suggested associations between the personality traits and non-verbal intelligence as well as between non-
verbal intelligence and academic achievement in general, but also direct relations between the personality traits and
academic achievement.
In Model 2 all direct links between the personality traits and academic achievement were excluded, except
Conscientiousness (based on Model 1).
In Model 3 all direct links between the personality traits and academic achievement were excluded. The analysis
was controlled for age and sex.
The analysis showed that Model 2 had good fit statistics: RMSEA < 0.06; 95% confidence intervals – RMSEAlow
= 0.00 and RMSEAhigh < 0.08; CFI > 0.95; TLI > 0.90,χ2 was not significant (p > 0.05).Fig. 1 shows the model of
the structure of relationships of the Big Five personality traits and non-verbal intelligence with academic achievement
at high school age.

Fig. 1. The model of the structure of the relationships between academic achievement, ‘Big Five’ personality traits and non-verbal intelligence

According to Fig. 1, the association between Openness to experience and academic achievement (β = 0.28, p <
0.05) is moderated by non-verbal intelligence. The more open to new experience the students are, the better they
perform on cognitive ability tests resulting in high academic achievement. This association is most frequently
replicated and is interpreted in terms of the investment theory (Malykh, Tikhomirova, 2015). According to the
investment theory, engagement in intellectual activities can partially explain the level of intelligence in adults. For
example, those who are more open and engage creatively in a wide range of intellectual activities boost their cognitive
abilities, in particular crystallized intelligence. This important aspect of the investment theory ‘Personality –
Intelligence’ suggests that personality traits might promote individual differences in intelligence (Gow et al., 2005).
Indeed, high scores for Openness to experience reflect a higher level of engagement in activities related to knowledge
acquisition which contribute to crystallized intelligence, such as information and vocabulary (Bates and Rock, 2004).
Moreover, a number of studies found a positive correlation between Openness to experience and engagement in
intellectual activities (Gow et al., 2005).
According to the results of structural equation modeling, Extraversion showed negative association with non-
1308 Sergey Malykh / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 237 (2017) 1304 – 1309

verbal intelligence (β = -0.22, p < 0.05), which in turn was related to non-verbal intelligence. The negative association
between Extraversion and non-verbal intelligence might be interpreted in terms of compensatory mechanisms
(Moutafi et al., 2004). In other words, people with lower levels of intelligence become more communicative as if
compensating for the lack of achievement.
Non-verbal intelligence contributes to individual differences in general academic achievement as measured by
success in learning Russian, mathematics and biology (β = 0.41, p < 0.05).This result is consistent with the study of
the role of personality traits and intelligence in academic achievement on a sample of Estonian school students (Laidra
et al., 2007).
The current study found a direct association between Conscientiousness and academic achievement (β = 0.18, p <
0.05). The association between intelligence and Conscientiousness is most frequently replicated on school-age
samples (e.g., Barbaranelli et al., 2003). It should be noted that Conscientiousness was the only ‘Big Five’ personality
trait that contributed to individual differences regardless of intelligence level.

4. Conclusions

Analysis of the role of personality traits and intelligence in shaping individual differences in academic success
using the method of structural equation modeling showed that the relationship between Openness and academic
achievement is mediated by non-verbal intelligence. The more open to new experience and knowledge high school
students are, the more successfully they cope with intelligence tests, which in turn is associated with high levels of
academic success. The relationship of this personality trait with intelligence is frequently replicated in studies and
interpreted in the context of the investment theory. It was also found that Extraversion is negatively related to the level
of nonverbal intelligence, which in turn is associated with academic success. Negative correlation between
extraversion and intelligence is interpreted in terms of compensatory mechanisms. Conscientiousness was the only
one of the ‘Big Five’ traits which contributed to individual differences in academic success regardless of the level of
intellectual development. The more conscientious and, therefore, responsible, competent and motivated high school
students are, the higher is their academic achievement.

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the grant from the Russian Science Foundation (Grant RSF Nº14-18-03764).

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