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Related Experiment Video

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Assessment of Physical Activity Intensity with Accelerometers and Oxygen Consumption

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Published on: June 20, 2025

To what extent do cognitive abilities, conscientiousness, and physical activity predict academic performance?

Lauren D Garner¹, Matthew K Robison¹

¹Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, USA.

Acta Psychologica

|January 28, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Fluid intelligence, a specific cognitive ability, uniquely predicts academic performance in undergraduates. General cognitive ability, disposition, and physical activity did not significantly predict GPA in this study.

Keywords:

Academic performance Cognitive ability Conscientiousness Physical activity

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Educational Psychology
Behavioral Science

Background:

Understanding individual differences in academic performance is crucial for educational interventions.
Previous research has explored cognitive abilities, personality traits, and lifestyle factors, but their interplay in predicting academic success requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

To examine the unique contributions of general cognitive ability, specific cognitive abilities (including fluid intelligence), disposition (conscientiousness), and physical activity to undergraduate academic performance.
To develop and test a comprehensive framework explaining variance in grade point average (GPA).

Main Methods:

Utilized structural equation modeling with a large undergraduate sample (n=263).
Administered a comprehensive cognitive battery assessing eight cognitive constructs and employed a bifactor model to differentiate general and specific cognitive abilities.
Collected data on disposition using the Big Five Inventory and on physical activity via Fitbit tracking over three weeks.

Main Results:

General cognitive ability did not predict GPA after accounting for specific abilities, conscientiousness, and physical activity.
Fluid intelligence emerged as the sole significant unique predictor, explaining 5% of the variance in GPA.
Conscientiousness and physical activity did not contribute unique variance to academic performance when other factors were controlled.

Conclusions:

Specific cognitive abilities, particularly fluid intelligence, are more predictive of academic performance than general cognitive ability in this undergraduate sample.
The current model explains 15% of the variance in GPA, highlighting the complex interplay of factors influencing academic success.
Future research should explore other potential predictors and refine models to capture a larger proportion of variance in academic performance.