Personality traits prospectively predict verbal fluency in a lifespan sample.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Understanding the relationship between personality and cognitive function is crucial for a comprehensive view of human behavior.
• Previous research has explored links between personality and various cognitive abilities, but prospective studies on verbal fluency are less common.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prospective association between broad personality traits and specific cognitive performance on a verbal fluency task.
• To examine the influence of personality facets on verbal fluency.
• To explore potential moderating effects of education and age on the personality-fluency relationship.

Main Methods:

• A large community-dwelling sample (N = 4,790) with a wide age range (14-94 years) was assessed.
• Personality traits were measured, and participants subsequently completed a verbal fluency task.
• Statistical analyses were employed to examine predictive relationships and moderation effects.

Main Results:

• Open, extraverted, and emotionally stable individuals demonstrated superior verbal fluency.
• Specific facets, such as happiness and self-discipline, were associated with increased word retrieval, while anxiety, depression, and deliberative traits correlated with decreased performance.
• Education moderated the conscientiousness-fluency link; lower education participants with higher conscientiousness performed better. Age did not moderate these associations.

Conclusions:

• Personality traits prospectively predict verbal fluency performance across a lifespan.
• Emotional stability, openness, extraversion, conscientiousness, and specific facets significantly influence verbal fluency.
• A disposition toward emotional vulnerability, low openness, unhappiness, and lack of discipline may negatively impact cognitive performance.