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The criterion-related validity of personality measures for predicting GPA: A meta-analytic validity competition.
Interest in the role of personality traits in predicting academic performance outcomes has steadily increased over the last several decades, enough to produce a number of meta-analyses that summarize this research (e.g., Poropat, 2009; Richardson, Abraham, & Bond, 2012). These previous meta-analyses combine a variety of alternative personality measures under the assumption that they all reflect the same personality traits and thus predict outcomes similarly. The current meta-analysis tests this assumption by comparing different personality measures when predicting postsecondary grade point average (GPA). The operational validities (r+) of 5 frequently used measures of the Big Five personality traits were compared: the NEO Personality Inventory—Revised (NEO-PI–R; Costa & McCrae, 1992), the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI; Costa & McCrae, 1992), the Big Five Inventory (BFI; e.g., Benet-Martínez & John, 1998), Goldberg's (1992) unipolar Big Five Factor Markers (Markers), and the Big Five International Personality Item Pool (IPIP; Goldberg, 1999). A systematic review of the psychological literature from 1992 to 2012 was conducted, identifying 51 studies containing 274 correlations. Conscientiousness demonstrated the strongest criterion-related validity for predicting GPA (r+ = .23), consistent with previous meta-analyses; in addition, this overall validity was found to be robust across measures (rBFI+ = .24, rIPIP+ = .21, rMarkers+ = .15, rNEO-FFI+ = .24, rNEO-PI–R+ = .26). Although the criterion-related validities for Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience (Intellect) differed by measure, they were generally low (r+s < .10). Practical implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)
