Abstract

Previous research suggests that demographic factors are important correlates of cognitive functioning in African Americans; however, less attention has been given to the influence of personality. the present study explored how dimensions and facets of personality predicted individual variability in cognition in a sample of older African Americans from the Baltimore Study of Black Aging. Cognition was assessed by verbal learning and attention/working memory measures. Personality was measured by the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised. Linear regressions controlling for demographic factors showed that Neuroticism, Openness, and Agreeableness were significant regression predictors of cognitive performance. Individual facets of all five personality dimensions were also associated with cognitive performance. These findings suggest personality is important in understanding variability in cognition among older African Americans. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.

Department(s)

Psychological Science

Comments

National Institute on Aging, Grant T32 AG000029

Keywords and Phrases

African americans; Aging; Cognition; Personality

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1095-7251; 0092-6566

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2024 Elsevier, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Oct 2012

Included in

Psychology Commons

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