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American Psychological Association, Psychology and Aging, 2(27), p. 286-292, 2012

DOI: 10.1037/a0025918

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Can an old dog learn (and want to experience) new tricks? Cognitive training increases openness to experience in older adults

Journal article published in 2012 by Joshua J. Jackson, Patrick L. Hill, Brennan R. Payne ORCID, Brent W. Roberts, Elizabeth A. L. Stine-Morrow
This paper is available in a repository.
This paper is available in a repository.

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Abstract

The present study investigated whether an intervention aimed to increase cognitive ability in older adults also changes the personality trait of openness to experience. Older adults completed a 16-week program in inductive reasoning training supplemented by weekly crossword and Sudoku puzzles. Changes in openness to experience were modeled across four assessments over 30 weeks using latent growth curve models. Results indicate that participants in the intervention condition increased in the trait of openness compared with a waitlist control group. The study is one of the first to demonstrate that personality traits can change through nonpsychopharmocological interventions.