Tom Farsides

Individual differences and undergraduate academic success: the roles of personality, intelligence, and application

Abstract The roles of intelligence and motivation in predicting academic success are well established. Evidence is, however, mixed concerning the role of personality traits in predicting such success. The current study attempted to overcome various methodological limitations associated with many previous studies to examine the potency of the traits of the ‘five factor model of personality’ in predicting academic success up to 3 years later, both directly and when controlling for intelligence and ‘application’ (used as a proxy for motivation). Only two traits yielded significant zero-order correlations with eventual undergraduate success, with both Openness to experience and Agreeableness being positively associated with Final Grades. Openness to experience explained unique variance in Final Grades even when predicting in the company of intellect and application measures. The impact of Agreeableness on Final Grades was wholly mediated by the main application measure; namely, not missing seminars. Less than one fifth of Final Grade variance was explained by all the individual difference variables in combination. Several practical, theoretical, and future research implications are explored.

Culture and Context-sensitive Self: The Amount and Meaning of Context-sensitivity of Phenomenal Self Differ Across Cultures

Self-concepts change from context to context. The experience that ones self is context-sensitive may be universal, however the amount and meaning of context-sensitive self vary across cultures. Cross-cultural differences in the amount and meaning of context-sensitive self were investigated in three Western cultures (Australia, Germany, and UK) and two East Asian cultures (Japan and Korea). The amount of context-sensitivity of self was greater in Japan than in Western cultures and Korea. The meaning of context-sensitive self also varied across cultures. In the Western cultures, a context-invariant self was seen to be clear and true; however, these patterns were not observed in the East Asian cultures. In Korea, a context-invariant self was interpreted to be exhibiting a relational self, which adheres to the ethics of care. In Japan, it was a context-sensitive self that was seen to be true, implying that the true self in Japan may mean to be true to the self-in-context, rather than the transcendental, decontextualized self. The results suggest the importance of differentiating East Asian cultures such as Japan and Korea. The utility of quantitative methods in explicating cultural meaning was highlighted.

Self-reported reasons for moral decisions

ABSTRACT Many investigations of moral decision-making employ hypothetical scenarios in which each participant has to choose between two options. One option is usually deemed “utilitarian” and the other either “non-utilitarian” or “deontological”. Very little has been done to establish the validity of such measures. It is unclear what they measure, let alone how well they do so. In this exploratory study, participants were asked about the reasons for their decisions in six hypothetical scenarios. Various concerns contributed to each decision. Action decisions occurred when utilitarian concerns dominated. Bystanding decisions resulted from different concerns or combinations of concerns dominating in different situations, with utilitarianism usually among participants’ concerns. None of the labels usually used for either decision therefore seems entirely appropriate. Five concerns were identified as necessary and sufficient to predict over 85% of participants’ decisions. This suggests great promise for future research, particularly in investigation of real-world moral decisions.