Department of Psychology, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA 01075, USA.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2012 Sep;67(5):545-54. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbr149. Epub 2012 Feb 22.
Although personality is relatively stable over time, there are individual differences in the patterns and magnitude of change. There is some evidence that personality change in adulthood is related to physical health and longevity. The present study expanded this work to consider whether personality stability or change would be associated with better cognitive functioning, especially in later adulthood.
A total of 4,974 individuals participated in two waves of The Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS) in 1994-1995 and 2004-2005. Participants completed the MIDUS personality inventory at both times and the Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone cognitive battery at Time 2.
Multiple regression and analysis of covariance analyses showed that, consistent with predictions, individuals remaining stable in openness to experience and neuroticism had faster reaction times and better inductive reasoning than those who changed. Among older adults, those who remained stable or decreased in neuroticism had significantly faster reaction times than those who increased.
As predicted, personality stability on some traits was associated with more adaptive cognitive performance on reasoning and reaction time. Personality is discussed as a possible resource for protecting against or minimizing age-related declines in cognition.
尽管个性在一段时间内相对稳定，但在变化的模式和程度上存在个体差异。有证据表明，成年人的个性变化与身体健康和长寿有关。本研究扩展了这一工作，以考虑个性的稳定性或变化是否与更好的认知功能相关，尤其是在晚年。
共有 4974 人参加了 1994-1995 年和 2004-2005 年的美国中年研究（MIDUS）的两次调查。参与者在两次调查中都完成了 MIDUS 个性量表和电话式成人认知测验的简短版认知测试。
多元回归和协方差分析显示，与预测一致，在开放性和神经质方面保持稳定的个体比那些发生变化的个体反应速度更快，推理能力更好。在老年人中，那些在神经质方面保持稳定或降低的个体比那些增加的个体反应速度更快。
正如预测的那样，某些特质的个性稳定性与推理和反应时间方面更适应的认知表现有关。个性被视为保护或最小化与年龄相关的认知衰退的一种可能资源。
