Management of study time and successful academic learning: On the fit between learning behavior and temperament

Because empirical findings on the relation between management of study time and learning success are inconsistent, the present study examined how far this relation between learning behavior and academic learning success was moderated by dispositional variables in the learner. Learning behavior was assessed in 60 students of business management and economics who were preparing for a major intermediate examination. Study time was recorded in a timetable every half hour. Various dimensions of temperament were assessed psychometrically, and general data were collected on the students' biographies and study situation. As well as supplying descriptive findings on learning behavior, results confirmed that distributed learning and shorter study units were more effective. The interaction between the temperament characteristic of flexibility and the variability of learning behavior also had a positive impact on learning success.