Introduction
Achieving high academic outcomes, as a rule, is the result of a series of efforts made to accomplish this goal. Diligence, innate talents, the ability to allocate time correctly, and sometimes financial capabilities determine educational success. However, in reviewing my own achievements, I can note that personality traits are a defining criterion influencing academic performance. Along with the distinctive environments of upbringing and growth, people tend to demonstrate different results of educational activities. This is primarily due to the features of reality perceptions and individual behavioral and cognitive properties. Personality traits are significant determinants of academic performance, and training specific skills through intentional learning can have a positive impact on educational outcomes.
Personality
The human personality is a complex set of qualities acquired throughout the entire period of socialization. According to Bergner (2020), despite many years of efforts by psychologists, sociologists, and other specialists involved in the study of human developmental characteristics, this is challenging to give an accurate and unambiguous definition of personality. Every person is individual, and the perception of reality by one may fundamentally contradict that of another. In simpler terms, personality can be defined as a set of facts about a particular person, including the internal and external manifestations of relevant beliefs (Bergner, 2020). In addition, this is essential to note that personality develops from an early age. Psychotherapists’ reasoning that many problems in adulthood originate in childhood explains the fact that the child, interacting with peers and adults, forms an individual view of the world. Different stimuli, for instance, punishments, rewards, psychological trauma, moments of joy, and other events, may be considered the measures that affect specific perceptions. Thus, personality is a set of attitudes that, in their simplest form, can be described as a person’s character.
Personality Traits
When speaking of specific personality traits, one should pay attention to the universal list of key properties. Bucher et al. (2019) consider the concept of Big Five traits, which reviews the main personality features from the perspective of internal and external manifestations. This set of human characteristics includes extraversion, openness, agreeableness, neuroticism, and conscientiousness (Bucher et al., 2019). Each of these properties describes the degree to which an individual exhibits personal qualities. For instance, low agreeableness may indicate selfishness and poor social adaptability; a high level of extraversion correlates with a person’s sociability positively; weak openness turns an individual into a closed and unemotional one. All these manifestations make it possible to describe a person’s character and shape the perception of others about a specific individual.
Influence of Individual Personality Traits on Academic Performance
I, like any other person, do not tend to show identical reactions to any situation because my mood and environment influence my perceptions. Nevertheless, by adapting specific properties to my academic performance, I can see that high agreeableness has a positive effect on my class attendance, which, in turn, allows me to avoid claims from tutors. I can also mention my openness, which helps me quickly adapt to new educational regimes since, as Stajkovic et al. (2018) argue, this property makes it possible to better assimilate different learning models faster. I cannot call myself an extrovert, and this helps me focus better on the learning process. Due to my conscientiousness, I tend to finish what I start, and this quality has a positive effect on my academic performance. However, in stressful situations, such as during tests, I can demonstrate high neuroticism, which makes me anxious and reduces performance. When summing up my qualities, I can say that, in general, my personality traits help me in learning, although some of them, particularly neuroticism, hinder my performance.
Approaches to Ensure Academic Success
To ensure my academic success, I plan to work on overcoming the barriers that interfere with my daily learning. In particular, I intend to reduce my level of neuroticism because, as Seman and Ismail (2019) note, this trait has a negative effect on productivity by creating false perceptions of individual self-esteem. I want to participate in student educational competitions more often to develop resilience to stress, thereby overcoming the feeling of self-doubt. In addition, I want to train the qualities of an extrovert because, despite the virtues of introverted behaviors, my interaction with peers and tutors is not at a high level. More frequent communication, complemented by high openness, can help me achieve my full academic potential. Therefore, I want to participate in team tasks and collaborative research projects to improve these skills accomplish my educational objectives.
Conclusion
The analysis of personality traits shows that relevant features are essential determinants of academic success, while some intrinsic traits hold back the achievement of high educational outcomes. The concept of Big Five traits helps describe my individual beliefs and character manifestations. Despite my individual strengths, there are some steps I can take to improve my academic performance. Overcoming manifestations of neuroticism and introversion may have a positive impact on my productivity, and for this purpose, I intend to communicate more with peers and tutors and participate in team projects.
References
Bergner, R. M. (2020). What is personality? Two myths and a definition. New Ideas in Psychology, 57, 100759. Web.
Bucher, M. A., Suzuki, T., & Samuel, D. B. (2019). A meta-analytic review of personality traits and their associations with mental health treatment outcomes. Clinical Psychology Review, 70, 51-63. Web.
Seman, K., & Ismail, Z. (2019). Big Five personality traits on academic performance among foundation students. Asian Social Science and Humanities Research Journal (ASHREJ), 1(2), 28-35. Web.
Stajkovic, A. D., Bandura, A., Locke, E. A., Lee, D., & Sergent, K. (2018). Test of three conceptual models of influence of the big five personality traits and self-efficacy on academic performance: A meta-analytic path-analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 120, 238-245. Web.