Does Conscientiousness Matter for Academic Success? Considering Different Facets of Conscientiousness and Different Educational Outcomes

Conscientiousness is the strongest BIG-5 predictor of academic success. Both conscientiousness and academic success are broad concepts, consisting of multiple lower level facets. Conscientiousness facets might display differential relations to different indicators of academic success. To investigate these relations, conscientiousness facets need to be measured in an economic and valid way. We conducted two studies, validating a short conscientiousness scale measuring seven facets of conscientiousness (Industriousness, Task Planning, Perfectionism, Procrastination Refrainment, Tidiness, Control, Cautiousness), and testing the relations of these facets with GPA, test scores, school satisfaction, and engagement. The results supported the validity of the scale. Industriousness, Perfectionism, and Cautiousness revealed the highest relations to academic outcomes. GPA and test scores showed differential associations with the different conscientiousness facets.