Benjamin Tauber

The interplay between personality and cognitive ability across 12 years in middle and late adulthood: Evidence for reciprocal associations.

Research on relationships between personality and cognitive abilities has so far resulted in inconsistent findings regarding the strength of the associations. Moreover, relationships have rarely been compared longitudinally and bidirectionally between midlife versus late-life cohorts by considering different personality traits as well as multiple cognitive domains over a long-term follow-up period. We hypothesize that the interplay between the “Big Five” personality traits (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness) and cognitive abilities (information processing speed, crystallized intelligence, fluid intelligence) may change from midlife to old age due to age-associated changes in cognitive and personality plasticity. We used data from the German Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development (ILSE study; n = 1,002). Participants were either born in 1950/52 (midlife sample, n = 502) or in 1930/32 (late-life sample, n = 500) and followed up for up to 12 years. Based on bivariate latent change score regression models (adjusted for gender, education, self-rated and physician-rated health), we observed that, apart from very few exceptions, the intervariable cross-lagged associations between personality traits and cognitive abilities were generally similar between cohorts. Moreover, in case of neuroticism, extraversion, and openness, the effects of cognitive abilities on change in personality were stronger than the reversed effects. Our findings thus suggest that the so far predominant perspective of personality in middle adulthood and late-life as a predictor, rather than as an outcome, of cognitive abilities needs more differentiation and reconsideration.

12-Year Associations of Health with Personality in the Second Half of Life

We examined longitudinal associations between personality, objective (physician-rated) and self-rated health over 12 years in two German cohorts (midlife cohort, born 1950/52, nT0 = 502; late-life cohort, born 1930/32, nT0 = 500) from the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development (ILSE). Based on cross-lagged panel design analyses controlling for sex, education, depression, and cognitive abilities, we found that after 12 years better baseline objective health predicted lower Neuroticism and higher Agreeableness, whereas baseline Extraversion and Conscientiousness were positive predictors of later self-rated health. Our findings thus illustrate that the direction of longitudinal personality-health associations is dependent on whether objective or self-rated health is considered, whereas relations do not seem to be considerably different in midlife vs. in old age.

NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE IN TWO BIRTH COHORTS BORN 20 YEARS APART: DATA FROM THE INTERDISCIPLINARY LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF ADULT DEVELOPMENT AND AGING (ILSE)

2back accuracy rate Gender -0.135 (0.079) -0.049 (0.519) -0.054 (0.470) Age -0.325 (< 0.001) -0.222 (0.006) -0.276 (0.001) Education 0.229 (0.004) 0.151 (0.049) 0.156 (0.041) Right IPG activation – 0.322 (< 0.001) 0.348 (< 0.001) Right IPG left MCG connectivity – – 0.168 (0.028) 0back reaction time Gender 0.124 (0.118) 0.127 (0.105) 0.113 (0.144) Age 0.235 (0.005) 0.187 (0.027) 0.251 (0.005) Education -0.114 (0.158) -0.094 (0.241) -0.104 (0.191) Left ACG activation – 0.175 (0.028) 0.198 (0.013) Left ACG left IPG connectivity – – -0.184 (0.027)