Can Personality Explain Learning Strategies? A Psychological Inquiry into Triguna and Big Five Traits across Indian and Western Context

Abstract

Traditional societies developed their own models for understanding reality across various domains of life; however, many of these models have not been systematically examined using modern scientific methods. Conversely, modern science has proposed its own conceptual frameworks, which have rarely been compared with traditional perspectives. One such concept is personality. In classical Indian texts, the concept of Triguna has been discussed extensively as a framework for understanding personality. In contemporary educational contexts, personality assessment is often used to design learning environments that align with individual preferences.

The present study aims to examine Triguna as a model of personality and explore its relevance in understanding students’ learning strategies. A correlational design was employed to investigate the relationship between Triguna and the Big Five personality traits (n = 343), and between Triguna and learning strategies and learning styles (n = 114). The findings indicate that Sattva is associated with emotional stability, sociability, altruism, broad-mindedness, and purposefulness. Individuals with higher Sattva also showed preferences for visual and auditory learning styles and demonstrated stronger engagement with effective learning strategies. In contrast, Rajas and Tamas were associated with emotional instability, frequent mood fluctuations, and comparatively lower organization and goal orientation. Rajas showed positive associations with tactile learning, whereas Tamas demonstrated a negative association with visual learning. These findings suggest that the Triguna framework may provide meaningful insights into personality characteristics and learning preferences, offering potential implications for designing more personalized educational approaches.