Five-factor model personality traits and cognition in the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol sub-study of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe

Abstract

Five-factor model (FFM) personality traits are associated with cognitive function. The present research seeks to replicate and extend prior research on FFM traits and performance in five cognitive domains and informant-rated cognition. Participants (N=2,501) from the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol sub-study of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe completed a 10-item personality measure in 2017 and were administered a comprehensive cognitive assessment in 2022. Neuroticism was associated with lower global cognitive performance, episodic memory, speed-attention, visuo-spatial ability, verbal fluency and informant-rated cognitive decline; the effects were attenuated by clinical (e.g., hypertension) and behavioral (e.g., physical inactivity) risk factors for cognitive impairment, which may mediate the associations. Openness was associated with better performance in most cognitive domains, even after accounting for behavioral and clinical covariates. Conscientiousness was related to less informant-rated cognitive decline but was surprisingly unrelated to performance in any cognitive domain; extraversion and agreeableness were also largely unrelated to cognitive function. There was not a consistent pattern of moderation by sociodemographic factors, cognitive impairment, or depression across domains, suggesting more similarities than differences across groups. The present research suggests that even with brief FFM scales, neuroticism and openness have replicable associations with multiple cognitive domains, whereas a more comprehensive assessment of conscientiousness may be needed to detect robust associations with cognitive performance.