title: Season of birth contributes to variation in university examination outcomes.
abstract: Epidemiological studies show that birth season influences a wide range of biological parameters such as growth, reproduction, mental illnesses, dyslexia, personality, and success in school. The present study is aimed at examining birth season's relationship to examination marks achieved at a university in a very large contemporary sample of male and female undergraduate students. We find that female university students born in spring and summer achieve better marks than those born in autumn and winter. Male students born in spring receive worse marks than those born in other seasons of the year. Furthermore, we find a birth-week periodicity in examination results of female students, with highest examination results for those born in May. We suppose that biological mechanisms might explain part of the observed effects.
authors.affiliation: Rector's Office, University of Vienna, A-1010 Vienna, Austria. martin.fieder@univie.ac.at
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fieder
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Prossinger
authors.forename: Karoline
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iber
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schaefer
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wallner
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huber
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D036801:Parturition; D012621:Seasons; D014495:Universities