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The influence of personality traits and facets on visuo-spatial task performance and self-assessed visuo-spatial inclinations in young and older adults

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  • Elena Carbone
  • Chiara Meneghetti
  • Erika Borella

Abstract

Aims: Personality traits are suggested to influence adults’ cognitive performance, but little is known about their association with visuo-spatial competence, in terms of those visuo-spatial abilities and inclinations crucial to remaining autonomous, especially with aging. This study newly investigated whether, and to what extent, major traits and narrower facets of personality influence young and older adults’ performance in the so-called objective visuo-spatial abilities (mental rotation and visuo-spatial working memory [VSWM]), and self-assessed visuo-spatial inclinations (pleasure and anxiety in exploring places). Method: Seventy young adults (18–35 years old) and 70 older adults (65–75 years old) completed the Big-Five questionnaire, objective rotation and VSWM tasks, and spatial self-assessments on pleasure and anxiety in exploring places. Results: Hierarchical regression models confirmed that age negatively predicted the variance in objective visuo-spatial tasks, but not in self-assessed visuo-spatial inclinations, while only the latter were slightly influenced by gender (in favor of men). Further, both objective visuo-spatial abilities (albeit modestly) and self-assessed visuo-spatial inclinations were predicted by higher Conscientiousness. The latter were also predicted by higher Emotional Stability. Finally, a better objective visuo-spatial performance was explained (again modestly) by lower Dynamism and Politeness, and higher Emotion Control, while higher Perseverance, Emotion Control and Cooperativeness explained a moderate part of the variance in the positive self-assessed visuo-spatial inclinations. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that, beyond age and gender, some personality traits and facets predict self-assessed visuo-spatial inclinations to a larger extent than objective visuo-spatial performance. These results are discussed within the spatial cognition and aging framework.

Suggested Citation

  • Elena Carbone & Chiara Meneghetti & Erika Borella, 2019. "The influence of personality traits and facets on visuo-spatial task performance and self-assessed visuo-spatial inclinations in young and older adults," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(8), pages 1-16, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0220525
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220525
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    1. John Horn, 1965. "A rationale and test for the number of factors in factor analysis," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 30(2), pages 179-185, June.
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