After 60, the crabbiest people are the smartest, study suggests. Boomers now have an excuse

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 Jacqueline Bichsel of Morgan 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 Thomas 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.

By Marilyn Elias, USA TODAY

Full Story: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2006-08-16-iq-age-personality_x.htm