After 60, the crabbiest people are the smartest, study suggests

[Guest guest]

After 60, the crabbiest people are the smartest, study suggestsUpdated 8/16/2006 8:31 PM ET By Marilyn Elias, USA TODAY A hunger for knowledge and adventure seems to sharpen minds in early adulthood and middle age, but after age 60, it's not the most gung-ho but the most disagreeable people who are the smartest, a psychologist reports. There's little research on how personality correlates with intelligence as adults age, says Bichsel of State University in Baltimore. Different personality traits may go along with a high IQ at different life stages, suggests her study of 381 adults 19 to 89 years old. It was reported at the American Psychological Association meeting in New Orleans. She and co-author

Baker split people into three groups: those under 60 with a somewhat above-average IQ (105-108), those over 60 with somewhat above-average IQ and those over 60 with a high IQ (115). Before age 60, those with a more open personality as evidenced by an eagerness to learn new things and to gain experiences were the brightest. After 60, an open personality had no relationship to intelligence, and personality overall mattered less. In the older ages, the most agreeable had the lowest IQs. Seeking out information and being open to adventure could build general knowledge at younger ages, Bichsel suggests. But in older adults, this accumulation of facts may do less to promote intelligence. Instead, more challenging and argumentative people may be giving themselves more of the mental workout needed to keep their minds young. "They're not people pleasers," Bichsel says. Although she says she doesn't doubt the findings, psychologist Park says, "I doubt that being disagreeable is the reason for the higher intelligence." Better educated, wealthier adults, who generally have higher IQs, may not react cheerfully to the patronizing treatment that is often given to the elderly, says Park, an expert on cognitive aging at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Such people "have more of a sense of mastery and entitlement. So it could be high ability that's causing their disagreeable quality and not vice versa." Personality and intelligence are both strongly genetic, Bichsel says. "I wouldn't go so far as to say you can raise your intelligence by changing your personality." Find this article at: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2006-08-16-iq-age-personality_x.htm Carol in IL Mom to seven including , 6 with TOF, AVcanal, GERD, LS, Asthma, subglottal stenosis, chronic constipation ( cured now ) and DS. My

problem is not how I look. It's how you see me.

Get your own web address for just $1.99/1st yr. We'll help. Small Business.