Neither cognitive ability, curiosity, nor epistemic behavior significantly predicts tertiary academic performance in the heterogeneous sample¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2022 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

Reading the evidence codes

q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.

This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.

q3 i? None of the three constructs was significantly associated with tertiary GPA, in conflict with prior literature. → Mussel 2022

Evidence¶

Mussel 2022¶

Mussel, Patrick. (2022). Processes Underlying the Relation between Cognitive Ability and Curiosity with Academic Performance: A Mediation Analysis for Epistemic Behavior in a Five-Year Longitudinal Study. Journal of Intelligence 10: 23. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence10020023

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Bivariate correlation analysis in the Results section (tertiary GPA, N = 143). The article reports this null pattern as conflicting with existing literature, and the author attributes it to the heterogeneous sample drawn from career counseling, with much variance within degree categories. The study tested measurement equivalence of the predictors across measurement occasions, but ran no statistical equivalence test on these null associations, so they show no detected association rather than evidence of none.

"In contrast, none of the three constructs was signiﬁcantly associated with tertiary academic performance."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

General Cognitive Ability — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
Interest — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Learners invest more effort in tasks they perceive as interesting, personally important, or useful to their future goals. — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
Cognitive ability and curiosity are positively correlated in young adults — related
Secondary academic performance is predicted by cognitive ability more strongly than by curiosity — related
Epistemic behavior does not mediate the relation of cognitive ability or curiosity with academic performance — related
Exploratory: leisure epistemic behavior mediates the relation of cognitive ability with tertiary academic performance, with a very small effect — related
Epistemic behavior relates to curiosity but not to cognitive ability — related
Work-avoidant orientation correlates negatively with GPA in the project-based course — related
Stimulus change can selectively reinforce behaviors that produce change and elicit exploratory behavior — related
No significant impact of frustration or boredom (or anxiousness, discouragement, distractedness) on practice performance was found — related
Multiple student survey measures negatively predicted GPA; significant negative associations were otherwise rare — related
Standardized test batteries are poor predictors of counselor trainee success — related
Curiosity is a special case of interest, with the two constructs overlapping in a part-whole rather than mutually exclusive relationship — related

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`claim`
`id`	`no-significant-predictors-tertiary-gpa`
`title`	`Neither cognitive ability, curiosity, nor epistemic behavior significantly predicts tertiary academic performance in the heterogeneous sample`
`description`	`Neither cognitive ability, curiosity, nor epistemic behavior significantly predicts tertiary academic performance in the heterogeneous sample`
`status`	`review`
`evidence_strength`	`weak`
`newest_evidence`	`2022`
`source_checked`	`2026-10-20`
`generated`	by `process:wiki-ingest` on `2026-09-26`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `mussel-2022`

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