Preliminary evidence for low openness to experience as a pre-clinical marker of incipient cognitive decline in older adults

• Self-reports of very low Openness to Experience are associated with incipient cognitive decline.
• Cognitive rigidity with respect to sociocultural values was most strongly associated with decline.
• Low aesthetic sensitivity was also significantly associated with decline.
• Findings support prior research on reaction to novelty as a marker of cognitive decline.

The current study examined self-reported Openness to Experience as a marker of incipient cognitive decline among older adults. Seventy five cognitively-intact, community-dwelling adults ages 58–87 were assessed with the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R; (Costa & McCrae, 1992) and the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale 2nd edition (DRS-2; (Mattis, Jurica, & Leitten, 1988) to examine association with incipient decline over approximately 1 year. Low Openness to Experience was associated with decline, controlling for baseline screening scores, age, education, and the other four personality factors. Examination of facet-level associations indicated that lower scores on the Values and Aesthetics facets of Openness primarily explained the association. Current findings build on prior research suggesting that exaggerated reaction to novelty may signal pre-clinical cognitive decline.