Correlation of Chronotype (Lark Versus Night Owl Status) with Mind-Set and Effect of Chronotype on Examination Performance in Veterinary School

Abstract

Chronotype describes what time of day people are most productive, with the specific terminology of larks (productive early in the day) and night owls (productive late in the day). Society, including education, schedules work at times that generally favor larks. The goals of this study were to (a) define our student population regarding mind-set and chronotype, (b) examine the relationship between chronotype and mind-set score, and (c) examine the relationship between lark score and examination score with examinations offered at varying times of day. The null hypotheses were that there would be no relationships between these variables. If the hypotheses were not proven, this information would be used to educate students about personal management to optimize academic success and to help the college determine if scheduling or other variations in examination implementation could be altered to permit students to demonstrate best their knowledge and skills. There were 184 participants from the classes of 2020–2022. Overall, there were few definite night owls or larks, with 55% of participants categorized as neither. Overall, 78% of students had either a strong growth mind-set or a growth mind-set with some fixed ideas. No meaningful association between chronotype and mind-set score was observed. There was neither a significant main effect for chronotype nor a significant interaction with start time for examinations. Scheduling of examinations in the early morning did not negatively impact student performance based on chronotype in this study.