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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> None of the adults was revealed to have any demonstrable age-related declines in their cognitive abilities.
In fact, the researchers found that while the younger adults performed no better than any of the older adults on any seven different measures of intelligence, the "superior" older adults actually outperformed all the rest on every cognitive test.
The researchers concluded that among the older participants, agreeableness appears to be negatively related to intelligence. This implies, the researchers suggested, that being older and unfriendly might actually equate with being smarter.
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By way of explanation, the authors pointed out that prior research has indicated that highly intelligent people tend to be more independent, and that self-reliance can perhaps render the need to be agreeable less important.
The older "superior" group was also observed to be more conscientious, which was associated with better short-term memory and auditory processing -- two skills the study authors attributed to better test-taking abilities rather than improved smarts.
For young people, it was "openness" that appeared to be the key ingredient to gaining knowledge. Openness appeared to be specifically associated with better short-term memory. The researchers also found that young people who were relatively less extroverted also scored higher on knowledge tests.
The researchers concluded that the association between intelligence and personality changes with age -- with the kind of openness younger people need to absorb new information perhaps less meaningful to older and smarter adults who have already acquired a lot of knowledge.
"So, you don't necessarily need to get on cranky grandma and grandpa," said Bichsel, who was involved with the study while at Penn State University. "It may be good for them to be a little argumentative, and it may show that they are retaining a high cognitive capacity."
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