Personality and memory performance over twenty years: Findings from three prospective studies

The present study examined whether personality traits are related to episodic memory over the long-term.

Participants were adults from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study Graduate (WLSG, N = 3726) and Sibling samples (WLSS, N = 1720), and the Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS, N = 2411). Five factor model personality traits and demographic factors were measured at baseline. Memory performance on immediate and delayed free recall tasks was assessed at follow-up, almost 20 years later.

In regression models that accounted for demographic factors, consistent evidence was found across three samples that middle-aged adults who scored higher on neuroticism performed significantly worse on a memory test 20 years later. In the WLSG and WLSS and a meta-analysis, higher openness was also associated with better memory at follow-up. High neuroticism and low openness were also associated with a 20 to 40% increased risk of performing below one and a half standard deviation from the sample mean on the memory task.

The present study extends previous research with evidence that the association between personality traits and memory function persist over two decades.