PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PRODUCTIVITY IN THE UNIVERSITY STUDENT

This study describes the personality characteristics of the failing university student at the University of Seville. One hundred and three students with a mean age of 21 years were evaluated using the 16 PF questionnaire. The personality profile was completed by application of the Survey of Interpersonal Values (SIV), including an intelligence evaluation using the WAIS scale of intelligence. The results support the majority of previous studies which relate certain personality traits to academic failure (Lathey, 1991; Weiss, Lotan, Kedar & Ben-Shakhar, 1988). Students who are failing in their courses scored significantly higher in neurosis and extraversion than did their population group. The data encourage consideration of the existence of other personality traits which limit academic success; among these are psychoticism, poor leadership, strong nonconformity and low generosity. The final discussion points up the need to introduce more precise lines of investigation and the formulation of new working hypotheses.