Personality traits prospectively predict verbal fluency in a lifespan sample

In a community-dwelling sample (N = 4,790; age range 14-94), we examined whether personality traits prospectively predicted performance on a verbal fluency task. Open, extraverted, and emotionally stable participants had better verbal fluency. At the facet level, dispositionally happy and self-disci...

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Published in:Psychology and aging Vol. 26; no. 4; p. 994
Main Authors: Sutin, Angelina R, Terracciano, Antonio, Kitner-Triolo, Melissa H, Uda, Manuela, Schlessinger, David, Zonderman, Alan B
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States 01.12.2011
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging - physiology
Aging - psychology
Conscience
Educational Status
Emotions
Extraversion, Psychological
Female
Humans
Linear Models
Male
Middle Aged
Neurotic Disorders - physiopathology
Neurotic Disorders - psychology
Personality
Personality Inventory
Prospective Studies
Semantics
Temperament
Verbal Behavior
Young Adult
ISSN:1939-1498, 1939-1498
Online Access:Get more information
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Summary:In a community-dwelling sample (N = 4,790; age range 14-94), we examined whether personality traits prospectively predicted performance on a verbal fluency task. Open, extraverted, and emotionally stable participants had better verbal fluency. At the facet level, dispositionally happy and self-disciplined participants retrieved more words; those prone to anxiety and depression and those who were deliberative retrieved fewer words. Education moderated the association between conscientiousness and fluency such that participants with lower education performed better on the fluency task if they were also conscientious. Age was not a moderator at the domain level, indicating that the personality-fluency associations were consistent across the life span. A disposition toward emotional vulnerability and being less open, less happy, and undisciplined may be detrimental to cognitive performance.
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ISSN:1939-1498
1939-1498
DOI:10.1037/a0024276