Big-Five Personality Traits and Cognitive Skills in Higher Education in the Pandemic Context

Abstract

The SARS-Cov-2 pandemic created a severe psychosocial and medical shock all over the world. For more than a year, humanity struggled with adjusting to different measures that governments imposed on the population worldwide. Educational systems all over the world were forced to comply with the new conditions of activity. In this context, different reactions emerged, and skills were used and developed. The coronavirus pandemic was and still is a stressful worldwide event that disrupted, among numerous other things, the everyday life of professional activities and the manner of their deployment. This study aims to investigate the relationship between variables like analytical reasoning, text comprehension, detail perception, conscientiousness, emotional stability and autonomy. A sample of 327 students from Ovidius University of Constanta, aged between 19 and 50 years, were assessed using Cognitrom Assessment System. Results show that: (1) there is a positive correlation between analytical reasoning, text comprehension and detail perception; (2) analytical reasoning positively correlates with conscientiousness and emotional stability; (3) text comprehension correlates with emotional stability; and (4) detail perception has no significant correlation with any of the studied personality traits. Results are interpreted and discussed in the end of the article, in relationship with the use of these intellectual skills and personality traits in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially by certain population categories which had to use the online environment for their regular professional activities.

Opportunity in COVID-19 crisis: Moving away from chalk and talk to technology-integrated teaching in Nepalese higher education institutions

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Perspectives on Emergency Remote Teaching during COVID-19 Pandemic in a Sample of Greek Undergraduate Students: The Role of Self-Image

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