The logic of success: the relation between complex problem-solving skills and university achievement

Abstract

The successful completion of a university degree program is accompanied by multiple complex opportunities and challenges, which require students to react accordingly with the skills necessary to meet them. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of complex-problem solving (CPS) skills in undergraduate students’ university success in two independent samples. In Study 1, 165 university students completed a measure of intelligence as well as a measure of CPS. In addition, students’ university grade point averages (GPAs) and their subjective evaluation of academic success were collected. CPS made a significant contribution to the explanation of GPAs and the subjective success evaluations even when controlling for intelligence. To further investigate this effect, Study 2 relied on an independent and more heterogeneous sample of 216 university students. The findings of Study 1 were essentially replicated in Study 2. Thus, the combined results demonstrate a link between individual differences in CPS and the abilities necessary to be academically successful in university education.