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Why are some students more successful than others? We combined motivational and personality predictors and jointly examined the relevance of subject-specific academic self-concepts and Big Five personality traits for academic performance. Based on data from two independent studies of German 9th graders (Study 1: N = 1,508, M age = 14.98 years, 51% female, 38% immigrant background; Study 2: N = 19,783, M age = 15.10 years, 50% female, 36% immigrant background), we, first, estimated latent bivariate correlations to investigate the nomological net between these socioemotional characteristics. Second, using latent moderated regression models, we examined the role of the main and interaction effects of both characteristics for academic performance levels and changes assessed by grades and test scores. Finally, we tested whether the relevance of socioemotional characteristics for academic performance differed across sociodemographic characteristics. Five findings stand out: First, we established widely consistent nomological nets between the academic self-concepts and Big Five traits, especially regarding the German self-concept. Second, the domain-specific self-concepts were consistent predictors of different academic performance measures in the respective subject. Third, beyond the established main effects of openness and conscientiousness, all Big Five traits contributed to performance in some way. Fourth, despite some inconsistencies, socioemotional characteristics formed only synergistic interaction effects. Fifth, students' sociodemographic background was likewise important illustrating main effects on performance and foremost synergistic interaction effects with socioemotional predictors. Our results highlight the complex interplay between motivation, personality, and sociodemographic variables in predicting academic achievement and underline the need to be mindful of this interactive nature. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Striving towards perfection is an important concept of study, given its heterogenous associations with both positive and negative outcomes. To address this matter, recent work has emphasized the need to differentiate between striving towards perfection (perfectionism) and excellence (excellencism). However, the applicability of this differentiation in adolescence remains largely unexplored, despite this life phase being particularly sensitive for the development of perfectionism. To better understand striving towards perfection in adolescence, we examined the psychometric properties of the German Scale of Perfectionism and Excellencism (SCOPE) and evaluated the nomological net with the Big Five and self-esteem in 788 German adolescents (M age  = 15.49 years; 50% female). The results underscored the distinctiveness of the different strivings in adolescents but pointed to mixed evidence regarding convergent and discriminant validities. Notably, striving towards perfection was related to lower levels of openness and self-esteem but higher levels of neuroticism, whereas striving towards excellence was related to higher levels of every trait except neuroticism. Finally, most results remained consistent across genders and school types. We discuss how the differentiation between perfectionism and excellencism deepens our understanding of adolescents' perfectionistic strivings and how it might inform future research across different psychological fields., (© 2024 The Author(s). British Journal of Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The British Psychological Society.)

Adolescence is a formative life phase for the development of personality characteristics. Although past findings suggest Big Five traits alongside self-esteem as indicators for successful development, little is known about their longitudinal interplay. We addressed this research gap by integrating data from three longitudinal studies (N T1 = 1,088; M age = 16.02 years, 72% female). We apply continuous time modeling to investigate longitudinal associations between Big Five traits and self-esteem in a period of up to 1 year. Results illustrate four main findings: First, rank-order stabilities were overall high for all personality characteristics. Second, longitudinal associations between Big Five traits and self-esteem were reciprocal for extraversion, neuroticism, and openness but one-sided for agreeableness and conscientiousness on self-esteem. Effects peaked within the first month and mostly faded after 2 months. Third, the majority of cross-effects were similar in size; however, the effect from neuroticism on later values of self-esteem was stronger than vice versa. Fourth, most effects were robust against influences of gender, age, and study characteristics. Analyses with acquaintance-reports supported the results but suggested stronger effects that lasted longer than effects of self-reports. We conclude that the development of personality characteristics acts as possible sources of development for each other. All in all, the interplay between Big Five and self-esteem development appears reciprocal for some traits but was most often driven by Big Five traits. We integrate our findings into three contrasting theoretical perspectives and discuss the importance of time for a better understanding of personality development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

In Western societies, singlehood has become increasingly normative over historical time. But whether singles are more satisfied nowadays remains unclear. In this preregistered cohort-sequential study, we analyzed data from 2,936 German participants ( M = 21.01 years, SD = 7.60 years) from different birth cohorts. Singlehood satisfaction and life satisfaction were reported annually at two different time periods (2008-2011 and 2018-2021). This design allowed us to compare earlier-born and later-born singles during adolescence (14-20 years), emerging adulthood (24-30 years), and established adulthood (34-40 years). Results from multilevel growth-curve models indicated that adolescent singles born in 2001 to 2003 (vs. 1991-1993) were more often single and more satisfied with singlehood. No cohort-related differences emerged among emerging and established adults. Younger age and lower neuroticism predicted higher satisfaction, regardless of birth cohort. The results highlight the importance of considering both societal and individual factors to understand singles' satisfaction., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Research over the past 2 decades has repeatedly shown that the evaluation of one's own worth-trait self-esteem-is closely linked to the quality of social relationships and perceptions of social inclusion. However, there is limited evidence on the dynamics between momentary self-esteem and perceptions of social inclusion in everyday life, as well as on their possible long-term (bottom-up) effects on the development of trait self-esteem. We addressed this research gap using longitudinal data from a German multimethodological study ( N = 324) in which N = 235 late adolescents ( M age = 17.7; 76% female) and N = 89 older adults ( M age = 63.8; 64% female) were followed over 1 year. Based on three trait questionnaires with 6-month intervals and a 7-day experience-sampling burst at the first measurement point, we investigated momentary dynamics in self-esteem and longitudinal change by using multilevel and latent growth modeling. Results confirmed the positive association between momentary self-esteem and perceptions of social inclusion in everyday life, that is, self-esteem reactivity in both age groups. In addition, both self- and other-reports showed a consistent increase in trait self-esteem over 1 year. However, because the slope parameters did not indicate substantial interindividual variance, we were unable to test for bottom-up effects of self-esteem reactivity. We discuss the importance of daily social experiences for momentary self-esteem in late adolescence and late adulthood but also point to the need for further multimethodological research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Accumulated evidence indicates both stable and malleable parts of inter-individual differences in the broad Big Five domains. Less is known, however, about stability and change at the more diversified facet level. With the current study, we fill this gap by investigating personality stability and change across midlife and old age., Method: We apply local structural equation measurement models and second-order growth curve models to four waves of data obtained with the full NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) collected over 11 years from 1667 adults (M age  = 62.69 years, SD age  = 15.62, 55% female) who participated in the Seattle Longitudinal Study., Results: Measurement invariance analyses indicated that the psychometric properties of the NEO-PI-R facets are comparable across time and age. Results revealed substantial rank-order stabilities across all facets, yet the exact pattern varied strongly between facets of the same trait and across traits. Mean-level change of facets from midlife to old age largely mirrored the mean-level change observed for the broader traits., Conclusion: We discuss conceptual implications and argue that in the face of overall stability across midlife and old age, changes in the rank-ordering of people reveals a much more complex and diverse pattern of development than analyses at the trait level suggest., (© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Personality published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

In the global COVID-19 pandemic, adolescents are regarded as especially burdened due to school closures and leisure activities being banned, often reducing peer contacts to zero. Experiencing restrictions while being uninvolved in decision-making processes left them with little control over their daily lives. Meanwhile, research highlights that optimism can act as a buffer against the impact of daily hassles and is considered an important resource for mental health. To understand the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for adolescents' lives, this study examined how momentary perceived control and perceived personal and societal consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic relate to momentary optimism. Using experience-sampling data from N  = 242 ( M age  = 15.89; 86% female) adolescents assessed during the second pandemic wave in Germany, multilevel modeling revealed positive associations between adolescents' momentary perceived control and their momentary optimism at both the within- and between-person level. Additionally, perceived consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic showed specific associations with momentary optimism: Whereas perceived societal consequences were directly related to lower momentary optimism, perceived personal consequences strengthened the relationship between momentary perceived control and optimism. These findings highlight the role of perceived control as an important resource for optimism both as a general tendency and within specific situations in daily life. This way, our results may shed light on how to support adolescent optimism during states of emergency, such as a worldwide pandemic., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-03313-6., (© The Author(s) 2022.)

Fluid intelligence and conscientiousness are important predictors of students' academic performance and competence gains. Although their individual contributions have been widely acknowledged, less is known about their potential interplay. Do students profit disproportionately from being both smart and conscientious? We addressed this question using longitudinal data from two large student samples of the German National Educational Panel Study. In the first sample, we analyzed reading and mathematics competencies of 3778 fourth graders ( M age = 9.29, 51% female) and gains therein until grade 7. In the second sample, we analyzed the same competencies in 4942 seventh graders ( M age = 12.49, 49% female) and gains therein until grade 9. The results of (moderated) latent change score models supported fluid intelligence as the most consistent predictor of competence levels and gains, whereas conscientiousness predicted initial competence levels in mathematics and reading as well as gains in mathematics (but not reading) only in the older sample. There was no evidence for interaction effects between fluid intelligence and conscientiousness. We found only one statistically significant synergistic interaction in the older sample for gains in reading competence, which disappeared when including covariates. Although our findings point to largely independent effects of fluid intelligence and conscientiousness on competence gains, we delineate avenues for future research to illuminate their potential interplay.

Society and developmental theory generally assume that there are wide generational differences in personality. Yet evidence showing historical change in the levels of adult Big Five traits is scarce and particularly so for developmental change. We tracked adult trajectories of personality in 4,732 participants (age: M = 52.93 years, SD = 16.69; 53% female) from the Seattle Longitudinal Study (born 1883-1976) across 50 years. Multilevel models revealed evidence for historical change in personality: At age 56, later-born cohorts exhibited lower levels of maturity-related traits (agreeableness and neuroticism) and higher levels of agency-related traits (extraversion and openness) than earlier-born cohorts. Historical changes in agreeableness and neuroticism were more pronounced among young adults, but changes in openness were less pronounced. Cohort differences in change were rare and were observed only for agreeableness; within-person increases were more pronounced among later-born cohorts. Our results yield the first evidence for historical change in the Big Five across adulthood and point to the roles of delayed social-investment and maturity effects.

Some researchers and policymakers advocate a stronger focus on fostering socio-emotional skills in the hope of helping students to succeed academically, especially those who are socially disadvantaged. Others have cautioned that this might increase, rather than reduce, social inequality because personality traits conducive to achievement are themselves unevenly distributed in disfavor of socially disadvantaged students. Our paper contributes to this debate. Analyzing representative, large-scale data on 9,300 ninth graders from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) and using the Big Five personality traits as a measure of socio-emotional skills, we cast light on two related yet distinct aspects of social inequality in socio-emotional skills: First, do levels of personality traits conducive to achievement vary as a function of students' parental socioeconomic status (pSES)? Second, do the returns to personality traits in terms of trait-achievement relations vary as function of pSES? Results showed that differences in Big Five traits between students with different pSES were small (0.04 ≤ | r| ≤ 0.09), especially when compared with pSES-related differences in cognitive skills (fluid intelligence) and sex-related differences in personality. The returns to Conscientiousness-the personality trait most relevant to achievement-in terms of its relations to academic achievement were higher in higher- vs. lower-SES students. Trait-achievement relations did not vary as a function of pSES for the other Big Five traits. Overall, both types of inequality were limited in magnitude. We discuss the implications of these findings for policy and practice and delineate directions for further research., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Lechner, Bender, Brandt and Rammstedt.)

Objective: This study examined associations between the five-factor personality traits and indicators of academic achievement (grades and test scores). A particular aim was to investigate whether personality-achievement associations differ between primary and secondary educational contexts and whether these differences vary between differential learning environments, that is academic versus nonacademic secondary schools., Method: We used two representative random samples from Germany: N = 3,658 6th graders in their last year of primary school and N = 2,129 9th graders attending different secondary school tracks (n = 566 academic track students; n = 1,563 nonacademic track students)., Results: First, our results confirmed positive associations between Conscientiousness, Openness, Extraversion, and Agreeableness and academic achievement as well as negative associations between academic achievement and Neuroticism. Second, associations with Conscientiousness were more pronounced for school grades than for test scores. Third, associations were higher for 6th than for 9th graders in the overall sample for all personality traits with the exception of Openness. Fourth, personality-achievement associations differed between academic and nonacademic track students., Conclusion: In sum, our results suggest the need for an educational stage-specific perspective and contextually sensitive approach when examining personality-achievement associations., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Aim: Personality traits and cognitive ability are well-established predictors of academic performance. Yet, how consistent and generalizable are the associations between personality, cognitive ability, and performance? Building on theoretical arguments that trait-performance relations should vary depending on the demands and opportunities for trait expression in the learning environment, we investigated whether the associations of personality (Big Five) and cognitive ability (fluid intelligence) with academic performance (grades and tests scores) vary across school subjects (German and math) and across ability-grouped school tracks (academic, intermediate, and vocational)., Method: Multiple group structural equation models in a large representative sample of ninth-grade students (N = 12,915) from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS)., Results: Differential associations across school subjects emerged for cognitive ability, Emotional Stability, and Conscientiousness (math > German); and for Openness and Extraversion (German > math). Differential associations across school tracks emerged for cognitive ability, Conscientiousness (academic > intermediate > vocational) and Agreeableness (academic > intermediate > vocational). Personality traits explained more variation in academic performance in the academic than in the other tracks., Conclusion: Most trait-performance relations varied across subjects, tracks, or both. These findings highlight the need for more nuanced and context-minded perspective on trait-performance relations., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Personality traits are well-known predictors of academic success across all levels of education. However, whether school provides an environment to cultivate and promote personality traits is largely unknown. Theories about personality development give reasons to assume that enduring experiences at school could lead to prolonged personality changes. We therefore studied the dynamic interplay of impulse control-an important predictor for educational and life outcomes-and perceptions of school-related experiences both in terms of selection and socialization effects. We used a large, representative, longitudinal dataset of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth following students from ages 10 to 21 across 6 assessment waves to examine mutual associations of impulse control and school-related experiences across middle and high school years. Sample sizes for the analyses ranged from 8,204 to 8,421 (51% male). Mutual associations between perceived school-related experiences and impulse control were analyzed using random intercept cross-lagged panel models. Results supported the appearance of selection and, to a lesser extent, socialization effects for impulse control and some school-related experiences. The results point to the importance of school-related experiences not limited to academic matters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).