The Personality of a “Good Test Taker”: Self-Control and Mindfulness Predict Good Time-Management When Taking Exams.

Abstract

Much prior research has linked trait self-control and trait mindfulness with improved performance on overall academic metrics such as GPA. The present research expands on this literature by linking self-control, mindfulness, and closely related personality constructs to differences in the way students manage their time while taking exams. Students at two large public universities total n = 362 completed scale measures of self-control, mindfulness, and their use of time when taking timed examinations. The results suggest that trait self-control r = .174 and trait mindfulness r = .311 are statistically significant predictors of effective time management while taking timed exams.

Keywords

• Self-Control,Mindfulness,Time-Management,Student Performance,Personality

Kaynakça

1. Alster, E. H. (1997). The effects of extended time on algebra test scores for college students with and without learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30(2), 222-227.
2. Bakosh, L. S. (2013). Investigating the effects of a daily audio-guided mindfulness intervention for elementary school students and teachers(Doctoral dissertation, Institute of Transpersonal Psychology).
3. Baumeister, R. F., & Heatherton, T. F. (1996). Self-regulation failure: An overview. Psychological Inquiry, 7, 1– 15.
4. Brausch, B. D. (2011). The role of mindfulness in academic stress, self-efficacy, and achievement in college students. (Masters Thesis, Eastern Illinois, University).
5. Cassady, J. C., & Johnson, R. E. (2002). Cognitive test anxiety and academic performance. Contemporary educational psychology, 27(2), 270-295. doi: 10.1006/ceps.2001.1094
6. Davis, K. M., Lau, M. A., & Cairns, D. R. (2009). Development and preliminary validation of a trait version of the Toronto Mindfulness Scale. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 23(3), 185-197. doi:10.1891/0889- 8391.23.3.185
7. de Ridder, D. T., Lensvelt-Mulders, G., Finkenauer, C., Stok, F. M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2012). Taking stock of self-control: A meta-analysis of how trait self-control relates to a wide range of behaviors. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 16(1), 76-99. doi: 10.1177/1088868311418749.
8. Duckworth, A. L., Quinn, P. D., & Tsukayama, E. (2012). What No Child Left Behind leaves behind: The roles of IQ and self-control in predicting standardized achievement test scores and report card grades. Journal of educational psychology, 104(2), 439-451. doi: 10.1037/a0026280

9. Duckworth, A. L., & Seligman, M. E. (2005). Self-discipline outdoes IQ in predicting academic performance of adolescents. Psychological science, 16(12), 939-944. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01641.x
10. Franco, C., Mañas, I., Cangas, A. J., & Gallego, J. (2010). The applications of mindfulness with students of secondary school: Results on the academic performance, self-concept and anxiety. Knowledge management, information systems, e-learning, and sustainability research, 83-97.
11. Good, C., Aronson, J., & Inzlicht, M. (2003). Improving adolescents' standardized test performance: An intervention to reduce the effects of stereotype threat. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 24(6), 645-662. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2003.09.002
12. Gough, H. G. (1987). California Psychological Inventory- Administrator’s Guide. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
13. Hogan, R., & Weiss, D. S. (1974). Personality correlates of superior academic achievement. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 21(2), 144-149.
14. John, O. P., Donahue, E. M., & Kentle, R. (1990). ‘The ‘‘Big Five. Factor Taxonomy: Dimensions of Personality in the Natural Language and in Questionnaires.’’In Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research, ed. Lawrence A. Pervin and Oliver P. John, 66-100.
15. Lau, M. A., Bishop, S. R., Segal, Z. V., Buis, T., Anderson, N. D., Carlson, L., & Devins, G. et al. (2006). The Toronto mindfulness scale: Development and validation. Journal of clinical psychology, 62(12), 1445- 1467. doi: 10.1002/jclp.20326
16. Meiklejohn, J., Phillips, C., Freedman, M. L., Griffin, M. L., Biegel, G., Roach, A., ... & Isberg, R. (2012). Integrating mindfulness training into K-12 education: Fostering the resilience of teachers and students. Mindfulness, 3(4), 291-307. doi:10.1007/s12671-012-0094-5
17. Mischel, W., & Ebbesen, E. B. (1970). Attention in delay of gratification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 16(2), 329-337.
18. Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Peake, P. K. (1988). The nature of adolescent competencies predicted by preschool delay of gratification. Journal of personality and social psychology, 54(4), 687-696.
19. Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Rodriguez, M. I. (1989). Delay of gratification in children. Science, 244(4907), 933-938.
20. Napora, L. (2013). The impact of classroom-based meditation practice on cognitive engagement, mindfulness and academic performance of undergraduate college students. State University of New York at Buffalo.
21. Onwuegbuzie, A. J., & Seaman, M. A. (1995). The effect of time constraints and statistics test anxiety on test performance in a statistics course. The Journal of experimental education, 63(2), 115-124.
22. Osgood, J. M., Muraven, M. (in press). Self-Control and alcohol consumption. To appear in Fujita, K, de Ridder, D., & Adriaanse, M (Eds). Handbook of Self-Control in Health and Wellbeing. London: Routledge.
23. Osgood, J. M. (2015). Acute cardiovascular exercise counteracts the effect of ego-depletion on attention: How ego-depletion increases boredom and compromises directed attention. International Journal of Psychological Studies, 7(3), 85-96.
24. Osgood, J.M., Salamone, A. (2017). Can trait self-control improve with training? A review of the evidence and possible underlying mechanisms. Advances in Psychology Research, 116, 1-30.
25. Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. New York: Oxford University Press and Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. www.viacharacter.org
26. Shoda, Y., Mischel, W., & Peake, P. K. (1990). Predicting adolescent cognitive and self-regulatory competencies from preschool delay of gratification: Identifying diagnostic conditions. Developmental psychology, 26(6), 978-986.
27. Tangney, J. P., Baumeister, R. F., & Boone, A. L. (2004). High self‐control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success. Journal of personality, 72(2), 271-324.
28. Wolfe, R. N., & Johnson, S. D. (1995). Personality as a predictor of college performance. Educational and psychological measurement, 55(2), 177-185.
29. Zenner, C., Herrnleben-Kurz, S., & Walach, H. (2014). Mindfulness-based interventions in schools—a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in psychology, 5, 603. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00603