People who are readily disagreeable in their youth may end up being smarter than their laid-back contemporaries in their golden years, a new U.S. study says.
The study by psychology professor Jacqueline Bichsel of Morgan State University in Baltimore found that cranky people maintain a higher level of intelligence from about age 60 and up than more easy-going seniors.
"These individuals have a higher vocabulary," she told The Baltimore Sun. "They have a better use of words, a better knowledge of facts."
Her study, conducted with Thomas Baker of York University in Toronto, found grumpy old men and feisty old women are often smarter in some ways than young people.
It concludes that an ability to be open to new situations may predict intelligence earlier in life, but disagreeableness may predict intelligence later in life.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
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