The Role of Brain-Behavioral Systems and Morningness-Eveningness Types in Predicting Students’ Academic Achievement

Academic achievement, which happens when there is no distance between learning capacity and academic performance, is affected not only by differences in IQ, but also by personality variables. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of brain/behavioral systems and morningness-eveningness types in predicting academic achievement in elementary school students in Baneh County, Kurdistan. The method used in this study was correlational, and the statistical population consisted of 160 primary school students, in fourth, fifth and sixth grades, in the academic year 2015-2016 (1394-1395), which were selected by cluster sampling. To collect data, Behavioral Inhibition/Activation systems scale (BIS/BAS) questionnaire of Carver and White, and the Horne & Östberg's Morningness-Eveningness questionnaire were used, and the collected data were analyzed by the Pearson correlation coefficient and Multiple Regression Analysis. The results showed that academic achievement has a positive correlation with sensitivity to reward (r= 0.34: p<0/002), drive (r=0.45, p<0/001) and behavioral activation system and morningness (r= 0/34: p<0/002), but it has a negative correlation with fun seeking (r=-0/22: p<0/043) and sensitivity to punishment (r=-0/39:p<0/001).The results also showed that drive and the extent of morningness-eveningness components could predict 22/2% and 11/6% of changes in students’ academic achievement, respectively. The results also showed that the more sensitive students are to reward and drive, and are more of morningness types, they show more academic achievement.