a warm and friendly person’, ‘I often feel tense or jittery’ and ‘I don’t like to waste my time daydreaming’.

Procedure

All students from the undergraduate and postgraduate Psychology course were presented with the ABF and asked whether they wished to participate in the study. Students willing to participate were briefed with clear instructions on how to complete the ABF and given time to ask questions. The Likert-scale was administered using the standard ABF instructions and the variable groups were tested separately. The ABF was administered to students in groups of approximately 10-15 in available classroom space at different times of day. On average, students took 5-10 minutes to complete the inventory.

Results

Independent t-tests were run to compare undergraduate and postgraduate Psychology students in terms of personality factors as measured by the Big Five Personality Inventory. It was hypothesised that that first year students would score significantly higher than postgraduate students on agreeableness and lower on conscientiousness. The results supported the hypothesis in that first year students scored significantly higher (M=13.4,

SD=5.04) than the postgraduates (M=, SD=5.02), t(718)=2.34, p=.042.

The results for conscientiousness showed no significant difference between undergraduate students (M=11.2, SD=5.03) and postgraduate students (M=14.5, SD=5.05), t=(718)=2.43, p=.085.

Discussion

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between both agreeableness and conscientiousness and studying. It was hypothesised that first year Psychology students

would score significantly higher than postgraduate students on agreeableness, but lower on conscientiousness. The findings in this study indicated that undergraduate Psychology students are significantly more agreeable than the postgraduate Psychology students, however, no significant differences were found in the levels of conscientiousness between the two variable groups. It was hypothesised that first year Psychology students would present higher scores in agreeableness whilst scoring lower in conscientiousness when compared to the postgraduate Psychology students. The results for agreeableness confirm the hypothesis and make practical sense, however; the findings for conscientiousness deny what was hypothesised and are inconsistent with what was found by James et al. (2009). This study highlights the apparent differences between undergraduate and postgraduate Psychology students however it should not be taken as a true representation of each individual student from either group.

The correlational design of this study placed limitations on the research. The study was limited by its inability to control the variable groups against self-report and self-bias, which would have ensured a true reflection of each student’s personality. The small number of volunteers in this study and the lack of valid measures of participants, gender and ethnicity, may have also impacted the results. Although the male to female ratio was acknowledged in the initial stages of the study, the gender differences were not considered when completing the end scores and further investigation is needed to determine if this gender bias could have had an effect on the final results.

The results contribute to a vast array of growing literature on the Big Five and personality traits among students and although limited, provide some data for future researchers. This study’s limitations reflect the need for further research on personality differences between different groups of students studying in the same degree. Researchers would benefit from a study, which uses a multi-method approach to assess each student’s

personality. For example, in conjunction with the ABP parents, teachers and peers should assess students. This would reduce the chance of self-report and/or self-bias on the students’ behalf. This study is useful from a practical standpoint for future research. Further studies in this area are highly recommended.

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