Links between personality and memory varied with wealth
An observational study of 57,947 people aged 50 and older linked personality to memory levels, but found little evidence of links to five-year change.
Gerontology
Researchers analysed 57,947 people aged 50 and older in an observational study using the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe. Participants had completed at least two survey rounds. The analysis examined personality, education, income and wealth alongside episodic memory, the ability to remember events, and its change over five years.
Greater openness to new experiences was linked to better memory, particularly among less wealthy people. Greater neuroticism, a tendency towards negative emotions, and lower conscientiousness, a tendency to be organised and responsible, were linked to poorer memory only among less wealthy people. Greater extraversion, or being outgoing, was linked to better memory overall. People at either extreme of extraversion had somewhat flatter declines than those in the middle. Otherwise, researchers found little evidence linking personality to five-year memory change.
Why it matters
Understanding why some people maintain memory while others decline is central to cognitive aging research. The authors highlighted wealth, beyond income and education, as a relevant resource for cognitive health in old age.
Caveats
The observational design cannot establish cause and effect. The authors called for more frequent assessments over longer periods to clarify possible links with cognitive aging.
The paper
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Josefine Atzendorf, David Richter,Gerontology · 7 Oct 2026
