Relationship between WAIS-R intelligence and the five-factor model of personality in a normal elderly sample

The present study examined associations between Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) scores and the five-factor model of personality, as measured by the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. Both tests were administered to a nonclinical sample of 100 Italian subjects 75 years and older. Analysis showed that the NEO-PI-R Openness to Experience domain was a weak but the best predictor of the three WAIS-R intelligence scores (Total, Verbal, and Performance). Were such a relationship confirmed by further investigations, Openness could be interpreted as a factor which might mitigate intellectual impoverishment which accompanies the normal aging process.