Conscientious People are More Likely to Have Higher GPAs, Rice University Study

Conscientious people are more likely to have higher grade point averages, according to new research from psychologists at Rice University. The paper examines previous studies that research the link between the "Big Five" personality traits -agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism and openness to experience -- and college grade point average. It finds that across studies, higher levels of conscientiousness lead to higher college grade point averages. It also shows that five common personality tests are consistent in their evaluation of the "Big Five" personality traits; all five measures found a positive correlation between conscientiousness and grade point average and virtually no correlation between the other four personality traits and grade point average.