Relationship between IQ and Personality in Children and Adolescents

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Abstract The role of personality is assessed in the intellectual ability of children and young adults from the study’s Block and Block (1980) longitudinal study. Personality traits in people with higher IQ were measured at age 4 and 18 separately by gender. First, we correlated California Child Q-Sort personality descriptions with the WPPSI IQ score of children aged 3,4. Then, we correlated California Adult Q-Sort personality traits of 18 year old adolescents with their WAIS IQ Score. As a result, we discovered that higher IQ 3 and 4 year olds have more consciousness and are open to experiences. They are also more verbally fluent than their lower IQ counterparts and are socially competent. The results for age 18 were very similar, with some additional personality traits. At age 18, extroversion was a prominent and frequent trait associated with social success and resourcefulness. There were no statistically significant differences among the genders that were noteworthy. In conclusion, there seemed to be a positive personality trait association with higher IQ participants of both age groups. It may be used as a predictor of future behavior and achievements, whereas on the other hand, more restless, anxious and intolerant personality traits of lower IQ individuals may be linked to psychopathy and social segregation.
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Relationship between IQ and Personality in Children and Adolescents | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Relationship between IQ and Personality in Children and Adolescents Sana Sangli This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8586349/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The role of personality is assessed in the intellectual ability of children and young adults from the study’s Block and Block (1980) longitudinal study. Personality traits in people with higher IQ were measured at age 4 and 18 separately by gender. First, we correlated California Child Q-Sort personality descriptions with the WPPSI IQ score of children aged 3,4. Then, we correlated California Adult Q-Sort personality traits of 18 year old adolescents with their WAIS IQ Score. As a result, we discovered that higher IQ 3 and 4 year olds have more consciousness and are open to experiences. They are also more verbally fluent than their lower IQ counterparts and are socially competent. The results for age 18 were very similar, with some additional personality traits. At age 18, extroversion was a prominent and frequent trait associated with social success and resourcefulness. There were no statistically significant differences among the genders that were noteworthy. In conclusion, there seemed to be a positive personality trait association with higher IQ participants of both age groups. It may be used as a predictor of future behavior and achievements, whereas on the other hand, more restless, anxious and intolerant personality traits of lower IQ individuals may be linked to psychopathy and social segregation. Psychology Developmental Biology Intelligence Personality Longitudinal study Openness Gender Verbal Fluency Introduction Cognitive ability, or when measured using standardized testing, IQ, has evolutionarily benefited us to form the world we live in today. That said, intellectual capacity is as varied as there are humans today, and differs based on a resulting combination of genetics and environment in a person. For those who are intelligent or possess high IQ, we tend to categorize these people as different from the rest (whether that’s superior or inferior is not concluded, but just different) and also tend to assign other underlying qualities to them either subconsciously or intentionally. As per our experience, “smart people” are are assumed to be anti-social, introverted, and obsessive about their things. They’re the front-benchers, teachers’ pets and are often not part of the popular group of people. This is of course based on personal experiences in high school and college, and is also a result of what is reinforced by popular media and books. Whether these stereotypical personality traits about high IQ people are true, as well as whether these traits are solidified at an early age (3/4) are questions we’d like to explore through this investigation. Can nerdy ever be synonymous to cool? To consider the possible relationship between personality and IQ, we need to review published literature from the field. In a recent study conducted by Checa et al (2015), the authors try to find a relationship between cognition, abilities like inhibition, interference suppression and emotional intelligence. Although this study dives deeper into devising novel measures of EI and doesn’t mention specific personality traits, the main takeaway pertaining to our research is how high IQ is negatively correlated to traits like impulsivity and interference suppression, refuting previous studies from the field. It was believed that intelligent people with higher fluid and crystallized intelligence can, by means of abstract reasoning and focusing on relevant information, delay gratification and have greater inhibitory control. But after recruiting 92 undergraduate students and conducting Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2000) along with the Stroop task and other measures of EI over two sessions, they concluded that there exists a negative correlation between self-regulation and intelligence, but a high positive association between EI and IQ. Since we’re also focusing on the 3/4 age group, this study sheds some light on intelligent preschool children not being able to control impulses measured by delayed gratification tasks, who also end up displaying low self-control as adults 40 years later. These findings show that high IQ is not necessarily associated with positive personality traits like impulse control, inhibition and ability to resist interference as was believed before, and might just give us reason to believe that stereotypical personality traits about IQ don’t hold true. We further explored past research from the field that provides a slightly different perspective to these findings. Descriptive research conducted by Ackerman (2018) references a plethora of associational research dating back to Catell (1945) and even modern day findings that has explored correlations between personality and IQ. The article is also argumentative in style, and admits that the notion of intelligence being associated with “good character” has long been believed. Most recently, the methodology used by personality psychologists is meta-analysis, meaning the intensive study on a single question with limited sampling. The authors of this article conducted a meta-analytic summary of 135 studies of non-clinical samples to find a correlation between personality assessment and an intellectual ability assessment. There were three findings from this pattern of results that are especially relevant to the current discussion- first, there were ubiquitous negative correlations between IQ and personality traits most highly associated with neuroticism, psychoticism, and test anxiety. Second, there were positive correlations between personality traits of intellectance, openness to experience and verbal fluency especially those in the crystallized intelligence, fluency, and knowledge domains. Despite these findings in the field, the authors encourage broadening the search for personality- intellect relations, by approaching personality in a non-bipolar manner, and finding non-linear correlations. This has inspired us to investigate this gap in data, and use other personality measures (CAQ in addition to Big 5) while finding relationships to IQ. The research conducted by Waiyavutti, Johnson and Deary (2012) aims to test measurement invariance across two scales- the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) and NEO-Five-Factor Inventory (NEOFFI) to see if personality differences that arise due to differences in cognitive ability are real and meaningful. Although our study’s goal is slightly different, we can benefit from the findings revealed during their methodology. The study observed that people with high IQs had higher mean intellect and openness to experience and emotional stability (lower neuroticism) scores. In addition, they also observed associations between sex and personality and found that, for the IPIP, agreeableness, emotional stability, and intellect scores were higher in both sexes with high IQs whereas extraversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness scores were higher in those with low IQs. The authors came to this conclusion by conducting an experiment with two groups of 320 participants from a previous study, “Lothian Birth Cohort 1936” with relatively high and low cognitive abilities. They measured their IQ using Moray House Test No.12, and measured the extent of consistency between results from the IPIP and Big 5 Factor Model, separately by gender. These findings provide a robust platform for the purpose of our study. Since these findings have been confirmed not only on one personality measure, but across two measures, therefore attesting to the validity of the results. A final study we have reviewed is by Stankov et al. (2018) which has challenged previous findings. What is very interesting about this study is that it provides a counter- perspective to not just the result trend we have been seeing, but also the approaches and operational definitions previous researches have relied on. The authors claim that correlations between cognitive abilities and personalities have been low (no more than r=0.30) and the only significant Big 5 trait that stands out for high IQ individuals is Openness to Experience. The author believes this is because the lexical approach or Big Five Factor Model hasn’t been able to adequately capture all personality traits, leaving out crucial traits that would show a greater correlation to IQ. The author claims that in real life and academics etc, the two constructs, IQ and personality are so inextricably linked that there has to be a greater correlation that what has been found. Moreover, correlations between personality traits of psychopathy, social conservatism, self-beliefs or what the author calls “no-man’s land” hasn’t been explored before and the author claims these traits are better predictors of IQ than the generalised Big Five. That is why, the authors urges the broadening of measures that capture personality traits, and suggests including social attitudes, dispositions, religiosity, and confidence. Although there was no experimentation of any kind, this research provides a rich argumentative summary of why age-old models of identifying individual differences in personality (or even intelligence for that matter) and helps us justify the usage of two personality measures (CAQ in combination with Big Five) in our own research. The carefully selected literature review in this paper don’t all point to the same findings. If that were the case, there would be no room left for further scientific research. That said, they’re not all speaking different languages- previous research from the field does agree that cognitive ability and intelligence is correlated, but the debate lies in which exact personality trait is most indicative of high/low IQ. Most evidently, in three out of the four papers we have consulted, people with high IQ have been linked to have greater openness to experience, and more emotional stability (i.e. less neuroticism). This means that they are more receptive to novel information and circumstances, and experience less anxiety when it comes to test taking or high pressure situations. Additionally, some hint at high IQ individuals being more agreeable and a general linkage to positive traits rather than psychopathy or extreme bipolarity. Furthermore, what is important to note is that all research papers encourage its audience to broaden the scope of research on this topic- either by including measures that more rightly capture the personality of the person or by looking at personality on a spectrum rather than black and white. It can also be done by checking the reliability or validity of a finding, by using more than one operational definition for a construct. Lastly, differences in gender have been commented on. While some papers found minute differences, most studies conclude that there is more variability within genders than between them, giving us incentive to explore that realm of research. As the papers have suggested, there exists a gap in the field with respect to broadening of personality domains, lack of substantial correlations between other personality trait measures and intellectual ability measures and lack of appropriate methods for assessing personality–intelligence relations. Additionally, there doesn’t exist longitudinal research that analyses high/low IQ preschool children and then the same participants as young adults to establish if personality differences exist as one matures. Furthermore, we have spilt our findings based on gender, to see if being male or female has an effect on personality exhibited. The main purpose of this study is to see if there is any evident and statistically significant correlation between IQ and personality, and if so, analyse which patterns of personality are related to high IQ vs low IQ participants. This will be done at two stages, one at age 3/4 and one at age 18 where age appropriate intelligence and personality measures will be administered to get data. To conclude if more stereotypically positive traits are actually a by-product of high IQ or if this is just a popular misconception, this research was conducted. Method Participants The participants in the Block and Block Longitudinal Study of Cognitive and Ego Development at the University of California at Berkeley were initially recruited at age 3 while attending either a university-run or parent-cooperative nursery school (see Block, 1993, for a comprehensive description of the study). They lived primarily in urban settings and are heterogeneous with respect to race, social class, and parent education. In the current study, participant’s data was used from age 3, 4 and 18. At age 3 and 4, 111 participants were assessed; at age 18, 101 participants were assessed. Overall, usable data for the present analyses were available for 111 participants (58 females and 53 males). Personality Descriptions Examiner descriptions: The personality characteristics of each participant were described by four examiners at age 18, and by six examiners in early childhood (3 at age 3 and 3 at age 4), using the standard vocabulary of the California Adult Q-sort (CAQ; Block, 1978) and California Child Q-Sort (CCQ). The CAQ and CCQ consists of 100 statements, each printed on a separate card, that describe a wide range of personality, cognitive, and social attributes. The task of the examiners was to sort these 100 statements into nine categories ranging from "least characteristic of the subject" (1) to "most characteristic of the subject" (9). The examiner was required to place a predetermined number of statements into each category (e.g., 5 in category 1 and 9, 8 in category 2 and 8, 12 in category 3 and 7, etc.). The personality descriptions were averaged across the examiners to obtain a composite personality description of each subject at age 3,4 and again at age 18. These descriptions were provided by examiners who were doctoral-level personality or clinical psychologists, or advanced graduate students in a doctoral program in personality or clinical psychology. The examiners each had run the participant in one or more research procedures or had other formal and informal contacts over the course of an assessment battery conducted across many sessions over several days. It is important to note that two entirely independent teams of examiners provided personality descriptions for the age 3,4 and age 18 assessments. Intelligence Examination at age 4 and age 18 : The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI; Third Edition) was clinically administered by the members of the Block project to each child aged 4 to assess the intelligence of children. This assessment yields a composite score after assessing specific cognitive domains such as Verbal IQ and types: core, supplemental, or optional. The core subtests are required for the computation of the Verbal, Performance, and Full-Scale IQ, which together form the intelligence scores Similarly, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS; Third edition) was used to measure the intelligence of participants aged 18. This assessment has two subsets- verbal IQ and performance IQ, which have subsets each (information, similarities, matrix reasoning etc) The scoring scales of both intelligence measures, WAIS and WPPSI were similar, with 130+ indicting superior intelligence; 120-129 superior; 110-119 is high average and so on, ending with below 70 which was subpar. See Goldstein, Mazefsky (2013) for more information about WAIS, and Freeman (2013) for additional information about WPPSI. Ethics Statement This study analyzed archival data from the publicly available Block and Block Longitudinal Study conducted at the University of California, Berkeley. All original research was carried out in accordance with institutional ethical standards and the Declaration of Helsinki. Because the present analysis used existing, de-identified data, no additional ethics approval was required. Results The goal of this study was to determine the relation between individual differences in intelligence and personality. For children aged 3 & 4, I correlated participants’ WPPSI IQ scores with clinical examiners CCQ ratings. For adolescents aged 18, I correlated their WAIS IQ scores with CAQ personality ratings. Data from both age groups were divided separately by gender. The results for age 3,4 are reported in Table 1 and 2. Boys in preschool aged 3 or 4 with relative high IQ were rated as verbally fluent, focused and creative. In contrast, boys with relatively lower IQ were rated as jealous or envious, unable to delay gratification and appeared to feel unworthy. In Table 2, girls at age 4 who had higher IQ were verbally fluent, attentive, and skillful. In contrast, girls who had lower than average IQ were seen to be easily victimized by other children, inappropriate in emotive behavior and tended to get immobilized under stress. The results for age 18 males and females are reported in Table 3 and 4 respectively. Table 3 shows that adolescent males who had relatively higher IQ were verbally fluent, productive and genuinely valued intellectual matters. On the other hand, low IQ males aged 18 were unable to delay gratification, withdrew in the face of adversity, and had brittle ego- defense systems. Table 4 shows adolescent females aged 18. The personality traits for high IQ females are verbally fluent, genuinely values intellectual matters and are able to see the heart of the problem. In contrast, low IQ females showed traits like withdrawal in the face of adversity, repressive/dissociative tendencies, and may be self-defeating. To clarify the meaning of these results, I translated each significant CAQ and CCQ item into its corresponding Big Five Factor. The results for women and men of both age groups are displayed in the rightmost columns of Table 1 through 4. The tables are referenced at the end of the paper, in the references section. Overall, a common link between higher IQ males and females of both ages was the trait of contentiousness and openness to experience. Males and females showed similar results, which means there wasn’t much influence of gender on personality. However, young adults of age 18 were little more socially extraverted and emotionally stable than those aged 3 & 4 although both age groups were energetic, focused and displayed an inverse correlation with neuroticism. Discussion Empirical In the present study, it was found that there were commonalities between all age groups and genders of the higher IQ category with respect to contentiousness and openness to experience. The data shows a more positive trait association with intelligent groups than lower IQ groups. In ages 3 and 4, intelligent children were seen to be calm, introspective, and resourceful. In fact, all traits that are correlated with higher IQ pre-schoolers is what we’re taught makes a “good child.” They are verbally fluent, which is a very strong and prominent trait associated with high IQ groups across the data. The complete opposite is seen in children with lower IQ. These children prefer non-verbal communication, are restless, and have a temperament. Similar results are seen at age 18, in both males and females, with the addition of a few more traits. The differences arise because as an individual matures, their environment and experiences play a part, they take on more roles and social responsibilities. Adolescents who are smarter than their peers are rated as being more socially extroverted and settled in society than they were as 3 or 4 year olds. On the other hand, lower IQ adolescents seem to project their problems and blame others a lot more frequently, and have brittle self-egos. Although they don’t have problems controlling temperament like children, they do tend to exhibit feelings similar to that of their 3-year-old counterparts. Lastly, as mentioned, these results are common to both males and females, and there weren’t any statistically significant differences between the genders. Conceptual In all 4 tables, you can see that one the most prominent traits that stand out for high IQ participants is verbal fluency. It may indicate that higher IQ participants are better at communicating and have an enriched vocabulary, which may have resulted from the extensive reading and studying they do. For 3 and 4 year olds, this means they don’t rely on acting out or throwing a tantrum every time they don’t get what they want. They “use their words” as teachers and parents say, and are more efficient at handling problems and being handled themselves. That means lower IQ children who rely on non-verbal communication, are restless may show qualities lacking impulse control or learning problems. Research shows that early life temperament does map onto later life personality, and these traits may manifest as anger management problems and communication difficulties once they get older. This prediction are confirmed by the same participants who are seen to show “hostile behaviour” or “unpredictability” at age 18. Another noteworthy personality trait associated with higher IQ participants is their sociability or importance in society due to their cognitive abilities. For children, the manifestation of sociability is in the form of verbal ability, and hyperactivity because as Piaget claimed, children develop social understanding after they solidify their cognitive ability (Carpendale, 2015). This may be a reason for the large frequency of “Extraversion” traits in age 18, but not seen at age 3,4. Intelligent teenagers are socially popular, and are consulted for advice in their peer group. Overall, higher IQ participants are rated as more emotionally stable, more contentiousness and open to experience. This means they are more able to deal with anxiety and stress or and are organised and disciplined as both children and adults. Comparing Results Our findings are more or less consistent with the findings in the literature review. Both agree that there in fact does exist a correlation between IQ and personality, and some common findings are that higher IQ individuals are contentiousness, emotionally stable and open to experience. However, their research was limited to only analysing the Big 5 model or describing other literature, whereas our paper used two personality measurement techniques, and compared over 100 personality descriptors of the CAQ and CCQ each along with the Big 5 measure. The study by Waiyavutti, Johnson and Deary (2012) which encourages using multiple operational definitions like we did provides backing that our findings have some degree of reliability and validity. Lack of impulse control was another common feature related to low IQ participants that was found in both sets of research. One finding that was mentioned in the previous research was the trait of agreeableness related to higher IQ. From our data, we cannot conclude that because it was not a statistically significant trait that correlated with IQ. Further, we found verbal fluency to be a dominant trait among higher IQ people, which is not at all talked about before. Future Research Just like previous research from the field and a gap in findings inspired us to explore this topic, our findings can provide a platform for future research. Scientific research is often extended to public policy and education. By understanding how individuals perform and behave differently based on IQ, research into how to make the education system more fit and customised for each individual can be carried out. In addition, cross-cultural research to see if these results are universal or relative can be conducted to better understanding how people behave. Lastly, given our findings and those of previous research, the logical next step for future research would be to go into the details of the relationship between verbal abilities and IQ. Are the two causational and if so are quitter kids on a path to not be intelligent? What are (if any) positive traits or other forms of intelligence lower IQ children have that conventionally measured children with higher IQ don’t? Limitations The results found were correlational, not causational. This would mean that individual differences in personality may be due to other confounding variables and not just due to IQ. Furthermore, the generalizability of our findings don’t extend to every person. Personality is a very complex concept, and may be viewed differently in different cross- culturally. For example, when we say higher IQ participants are turned to for advice, we can’t say that that all higher IQ people are sought after and lower IQ doesn’t get any respect in society. To rectify this, two things ca be done a) future correlational studies can be conducted with other independent variables like home environment, upbringing, to see if similar results are found, and if so, there should be a bigger discussion about how a combination of factors are responsible for personality traits in an individual, and not just one independent variable b) greater diversity in recruitment in combination with a greater sample size should be consulted. A final limitation is that we have tested personality against one form of intelligence i.e. general intelligence. As more and more literature in the field suggests, the true measure of intelligence in an individual cannot be reduced to a score by taking a matrices or verbal ability quiz but can be in the form of musical intelligence, emotional intelligence, among many others. To say personality is influenced by cognitive ability still holds true, but in this research cognitive capability is restricted to one form only, and should be expanded to be more inclusive. Branching out from Wechsler’s scales of intelligence to other types of measurement that measure existential, interpersonal abilities should be incorporated. Conclusion The study of IQ and personality dates long back in history. Political entrepreneurs have used it to carry out discriminatory laws and divide society based on incorrect findings from the past. This is why it was imperative for us to conduct research and see for ourselves if these theories have stemmed from improper and unethical research and are not reliable enough to base a country’s education and public policies on. The Bell Curve , authored by Charles Murray is, after all, not a work of scientific research but rather a political book written by one of the most prominent conservative policy entrepreneurs in America as part of a larger ideological project. It claims that certain races like Asians are more cognitively competent than say Caucasians, who are in turn have a higher IQ than African Americans. Our research shows no such data. You cannot segregate that one race showed different personality traits versus the other based on IQ. We have conducted ethical research on people, human beings, who are not just identified by their races our data shows a mixture of people’s personalities and abilities. Furthermore, the findings of this research don’t want to single out people with lower IQ and assign “bad personality traits” to them. No trait is ever good or bad- they are just unique qualities that make us who we are. Some may be seen as beneficial in society and some may not, but that does not mean one is superior over the other. People are predisposed to certain traits, but as we have seen, personality can to a degree change over time- as seen from age 3,4 to age 18. The human mind is capable of learning and improving IQ just like any other skill! So to believe in stereotypes about nerds, jocks, and other socially made up groups would be wrong! You just have to be you, and that’s enough. Declarations Data Availability Statement The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Funding This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Conflict of Interest The author declares no conflict of interest. Acknowledgments The author thanks the researchers of the Block and Block Longitudinal Study for making their dataset available for secondary analysis. References Ackerman, P. L. (2018). The search for personality–intelligence relations: Methodological and conceptual issues. Journal of Intelligence, 6 (1), 2. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence6010002 Block, J. (1978). The Q-sort method in personality assessment and psychiatric research. Consulting Psychologists Press. Block, J. (1993). Studying personality the long way. In D. C. Funder, R. D. Parke, C. Tomlinson-Keasey, & K. Widaman (Eds.), Studying lives through time: Personality and development (pp. [insert page numbers if available]). American Psychological Association. Carpendale, J. I. M., & Lewis, C. (2015). The development of social understanding. In R. M. Lerner (Series Ed.) & L. S. Liben & U. Müller (Vol. Eds.), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science: Vol. 2. Cognitive processes (7th ed., pp. 381–424). Wiley. Checa, P., & Fernández-Berrocal, P. (2015). The role of intelligence quotient and emotional intelligence in cognitive control processes. Frontiers in Psychology, 6 , 1853. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01853 Freeman, S. (2013). Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence. In F. R. Volkmar (Ed.), Encyclopedia of autism spectrum disorders. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_293 Goldstein, G., & Mazefsky, C. (2013). Wechsler scales of intelligence. In F. R. Volkmar (Ed.), Encyclopedia of autism spectrum disorders. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_305 Stankov, L. (2018). Low correlations between intelligence and Big Five personality traits: Need to broaden the domain of personality. Journal of Intelligence, 6 (2), 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence6020026 Waiyavutti, C., Johnson, W., & Deary, I. J. (2012). Do personality scale items function differently in people with high and low IQ? Psychological Assessment, 24 (3), 545–555. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026266 Tables Tables 1 to 4 are available in the Supplementary Files section. Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files Tables1234.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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08:00:28","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":1735980,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Tables1234.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8586349/v1/e76e6967c1fc4284863e43d3.docx"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eRelationship between IQ and Personality in Children and Adolescents\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eCognitive ability, or when measured using standardized testing, IQ, has evolutionarily benefited us to form the world we live in today. That said, intellectual capacity is as varied as there are humans today, and differs based on a resulting combination of genetics and environment in a person. For those who are intelligent or possess high IQ, we tend to categorize these people as different from the rest (whether that\u0026rsquo;s superior or inferior is not concluded, but just different) and also tend to assign other underlying qualities to them either subconsciously or intentionally. As per our experience, \u0026ldquo;smart people\u0026rdquo; are are assumed to be anti-social, introverted, and obsessive about their things. They\u0026rsquo;re the front-benchers, teachers\u0026rsquo; pets and are often not part of the popular group of people. This is of course based on personal experiences in high school and college, and is also a result of what is reinforced by popular media and books. Whether these stereotypical personality traits about high IQ people are true, as well as whether these traits are solidified at an early age (3/4) are questions we\u0026rsquo;d like to explore through this investigation. Can nerdy ever be synonymous to cool? To consider the possible relationship between personality and IQ, we need to review published literature from the field.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn a recent study conducted by Checa et al (2015), the authors try to find a relationship between cognition, abilities like inhibition, interference suppression and emotional intelligence. Although this study dives deeper into devising novel measures of EI and doesn\u0026rsquo;t mention specific personality traits, the main takeaway pertaining to our research is how high IQ is negatively correlated to traits like impulsivity and interference suppression, refuting previous studies from the field. It was believed that intelligent people with higher fluid and crystallized intelligence can, by means of abstract reasoning and focusing on relevant information, delay gratification and have greater inhibitory control. But after recruiting 92 undergraduate students and conducting Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (Kaufman \u0026amp; Kaufman, 2000) along with the Stroop task and other measures of EI over two sessions, they concluded that there exists a negative correlation between self-regulation and intelligence, but a high positive association between EI and IQ. Since we\u0026rsquo;re also focusing on the 3/4 age group, this study sheds some light on intelligent preschool children not being able to control impulses measured by delayed gratification tasks, who also end up displaying low self-control as adults 40 years later. These findings show that high IQ is not necessarily associated with positive personality traits like impulse control, inhibition and ability to resist interference as was believed before, and might just give us reason to believe that stereotypical personality traits about IQ don\u0026rsquo;t hold true. We further explored past research from the field that provides a slightly different perspective to these findings.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDescriptive research conducted by Ackerman (2018) references a plethora of associational research dating back to Catell (1945) and even modern day findings that has explored correlations between personality and IQ. The article is also argumentative in style, and admits that the notion of intelligence being associated with \u0026ldquo;good character\u0026rdquo; has long been believed. Most recently, the methodology used by personality psychologists is meta-analysis, meaning the intensive study on a single question with limited sampling. The authors of this article conducted a meta-analytic summary of 135 studies of non-clinical samples to find a correlation between personality assessment and an intellectual ability assessment. There were three findings from this pattern of results that are especially relevant to the current discussion- first, there were ubiquitous negative correlations between IQ and personality traits most highly associated with neuroticism, psychoticism, and test anxiety. Second, there were positive correlations between personality traits of intellectance, openness to experience and verbal fluency especially those in the crystallized intelligence, fluency, and knowledge domains. Despite these findings in the field, the authors encourage broadening the search for personality- intellect relations, by approaching personality in a non-bipolar manner, and finding non-linear correlations. This has inspired us to investigate this gap in data, and use other personality measures (CAQ in addition to Big 5) while finding relationships to IQ.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe research conducted by Waiyavutti, Johnson and Deary (2012) aims to test measurement invariance across two scales- the\u0026nbsp;International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) and NEO-Five-Factor Inventory (NEOFFI) to see if personality differences that arise due to differences in cognitive ability are real and meaningful. Although our study\u0026rsquo;s goal is slightly different, we can benefit from the findings revealed during their methodology. The study observed that people with high IQs had higher mean intellect and openness to experience and emotional stability (lower neuroticism) scores. In addition, they also observed associations between sex and personality and found that, for the IPIP, agreeableness, emotional stability, and intellect scores were higher in both sexes with high IQs whereas extraversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness scores were higher in those with low IQs. The authors came to this conclusion by conducting an experiment with two groups of 320 participants from a previous study, \u0026ldquo;Lothian Birth Cohort 1936\u0026rdquo; with relatively high and low cognitive abilities. They measured their IQ using Moray House Test No.12, and measured the extent of consistency between results from the IPIP and Big 5 Factor Model, separately by gender. These findings provide a robust platform for the purpose of our study. Since these findings have been confirmed not only on one personality measure, but across two measures, therefore attesting to the validity of the results.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA final study we have reviewed is by Stankov et al. (2018) which has challenged previous findings. What is very interesting about this study is that it provides a counter- perspective to not just the result trend we have been seeing, but also the approaches and operational definitions previous researches have relied on. The authors claim that correlations between cognitive abilities and personalities have been low (no more than r=0.30) and the only significant Big 5 trait that stands out for high IQ individuals is Openness to Experience. The author believes this is because the lexical approach or Big Five Factor Model hasn\u0026rsquo;t been able to adequately capture all personality traits, leaving out crucial traits that would show a greater correlation to IQ. The author claims that in real life and academics etc, the two constructs, IQ and personality are so inextricably linked that there has to be a greater correlation that what has been found. Moreover, correlations between personality traits of psychopathy, social conservatism, self-beliefs or what the author calls \u0026ldquo;no-man\u0026rsquo;s land\u0026rdquo; hasn\u0026rsquo;t been explored before and the author claims these traits are better predictors of IQ than the generalised Big Five. That is why, the authors urges the broadening of measures that capture personality traits, and suggests including social attitudes, dispositions, religiosity, and confidence. Although there was no experimentation of any kind, this research provides a rich argumentative summary of why age-old models of identifying individual differences in personality (or even intelligence for that matter) and helps us justify the usage of two personality measures (CAQ in combination with Big Five) in our own research.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe carefully selected literature review in this paper don\u0026rsquo;t all point to the same findings. If that were the case, there would be no room left for further scientific research. That said, they\u0026rsquo;re not all speaking different languages- previous research from the field does agree that cognitive ability and intelligence is correlated, but the debate lies in which exact personality trait is most indicative of high/low IQ. Most evidently, in three out of the four papers we have consulted, people with high IQ have been linked to have greater openness to experience, and more emotional stability (i.e. less neuroticism). This means that they are more receptive to novel information and circumstances, and experience less anxiety when it comes to test taking or high pressure situations. Additionally, some hint at high IQ individuals being more agreeable and a general linkage to positive traits rather than psychopathy or extreme bipolarity. Furthermore, what is important to note is that all research papers encourage its audience to broaden the scope of research on this topic- either by including measures that more rightly capture the personality of the person or by looking at personality on a spectrum rather than black and white. It can also be done by checking the reliability or validity of a finding, by using more than one operational definition for a construct. Lastly, differences in gender have been commented on. While some papers found minute differences, most studies conclude that there is more variability within genders than between them, giving us incentive to explore that realm of research.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs the papers have suggested, there exists a gap in the field with respect to broadening of personality domains, lack of substantial correlations between other personality trait measures and intellectual ability measures and lack of appropriate methods for assessing personality\u0026ndash;intelligence relations. Additionally, there doesn\u0026rsquo;t exist longitudinal research that analyses high/low IQ preschool children and then the same participants as young adults to establish if personality differences exist as one matures. Furthermore, we have spilt our findings based on gender, to see if being male or female has an effect on personality exhibited. The main purpose of this study is to see if there is any evident and statistically significant correlation between IQ and personality, and if so, analyse which patterns of personality are related to high IQ vs low IQ participants. This will be done at two stages, one at age 3/4 and one at age 18 where age appropriate intelligence and personality measures will be administered to get data. To conclude if more stereotypically positive traits are actually a by-product of high IQ or if this is just a popular misconception, this research was conducted.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Method","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eParticipants\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe participants in the Block and Block Longitudinal Study of Cognitive and Ego Development at the University of California at Berkeley were initially recruited at age 3 while attending either a university-run or parent-cooperative nursery school (see Block, 1993, for a comprehensive description of the study). They lived primarily in urban settings and are heterogeneous with respect to race, social class, and parent education. In the current study, participant\u0026rsquo;s data was used from age 3, 4 and 18. At age 3 and 4, 111 participants were assessed; at age 18, 101 participants were assessed. Overall, usable data for the present analyses were available for 111 participants (58 females and 53 males).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePersonality Descriptions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u0026nbsp;Examiner descriptions:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003eThe personality characteristics of each participant were described by four examiners at age 18, and by six examiners in early childhood (3 at age 3 and 3 at age 4), using the standard vocabulary of the California Adult Q-sort (CAQ; Block, 1978) and California Child Q-Sort (CCQ). The CAQ and CCQ consists of 100 statements, each printed on a separate card, that describe a wide range of personality, cognitive, and social attributes. The task of the examiners was to sort these 100 statements into nine categories ranging from \u0026quot;least characteristic of the subject\u0026quot; (1) to \u0026quot;most characteristic of the subject\u0026quot; (9). The examiner was required to place a predetermined number of statements into each category (e.g., 5 in category 1 and 9, 8 in category 2 and 8, 12 in category 3 and 7, etc.). The personality descriptions were averaged across the examiners to obtain a composite personality description of each subject at age 3,4 and again at age 18.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese descriptions were provided by examiners who were doctoral-level personality or clinical psychologists, or advanced graduate students in a doctoral program in personality or clinical psychology. The examiners each had run the participant in one or more research procedures or had other formal and informal contacts over the course of an assessment battery conducted across many sessions over several days. It is important to note that two entirely \u0026nbsp;independent teams of examiners provided personality descriptions for the age 3,4 and age 18 assessments.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eIntelligence Examination at age 4 and age 18\u003c/em\u003e: The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI; Third Edition) was clinically administered by the members of the Block project to each child aged 4 to assess the intelligence of children. This assessment yields a composite score after assessing specific cognitive domains such as Verbal IQ and types: core, supplemental, or optional. The core subtests are required for the computation of the Verbal, Performance, and Full-Scale IQ, which together form the intelligence scores\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSimilarly, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS; Third edition) was used to measure the intelligence of participants aged 18. This assessment has two subsets- verbal IQ and performance IQ, which have subsets each (information, similarities, matrix reasoning etc) The scoring scales of both intelligence measures, WAIS and WPPSI were similar, with 130+ indicting superior intelligence; 120-129 superior; 110-119 is high average and so on, ending with below 70 which was subpar. See Goldstein, Mazefsky (2013) for more information about WAIS, and Freeman (2013) for additional information about WPPSI.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics Statement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study analyzed archival data from the publicly available Block and Block Longitudinal Study conducted at the University of California, Berkeley. All original research was carried out in accordance with institutional ethical standards and the Declaration of Helsinki. Because the present analysis used existing, de-identified data, no additional ethics approval was required.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe goal of this study was to determine the relation between individual differences in intelligence and personality. For children aged 3 \u0026amp; 4, I correlated participants\u0026rsquo; WPPSI IQ scores with clinical examiners CCQ ratings. For adolescents aged 18, I correlated their WAIS IQ scores with CAQ personality ratings. Data from both age groups were divided separately by gender. The results for age 3,4 are reported in Table 1 and 2. Boys in preschool aged 3 or 4 with relative high IQ were rated as verbally fluent, focused and creative. In contrast, boys with relatively lower IQ were rated as jealous or envious, unable to delay gratification and appeared to feel unworthy. In Table 2, girls at age 4 who had higher IQ were verbally fluent, attentive, and skillful. In contrast, girls who had lower than average IQ were seen to be easily victimized by other children, inappropriate in emotive behavior and tended to get immobilized under stress.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe results for age 18 males and females are reported in Table 3 and 4 respectively. Table 3 shows that adolescent males who had relatively higher IQ were verbally fluent, productive and genuinely valued intellectual matters. On the other hand, low IQ males aged 18 were unable to delay gratification, withdrew in the face of adversity, and had brittle ego- defense systems.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTable 4 shows adolescent females aged 18. The personality traits for high IQ females are verbally fluent, genuinely values intellectual matters and are able to see the heart of the problem. In contrast, low IQ females showed traits like withdrawal in the face of adversity, repressive/dissociative tendencies, and may be self-defeating.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo clarify the meaning of these results, I translated each significant CAQ and CCQ item into its corresponding Big Five Factor. The results for women and men of both age groups are displayed in the rightmost columns of Table 1 through 4. The tables are referenced at the end of the paper, in the references section. Overall, a common link between higher IQ males and females of both ages was the trait of contentiousness and openness to experience. Males and females showed similar results, which means there wasn\u0026rsquo;t much influence of gender on personality. However, young adults of age 18 were little more socially extraverted and emotionally stable than those aged 3 \u0026amp; 4 although both age groups were energetic, focused and displayed an inverse correlation with neuroticism.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEmpirical\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the present study, it was found that there were commonalities between all age groups and genders of the higher IQ category with respect to contentiousness and openness to experience. The data shows a more positive trait association with intelligent groups than lower IQ groups. In ages 3 and 4, intelligent children were seen to be calm, introspective, and resourceful. In fact, all traits that are correlated with higher IQ pre-schoolers is what we\u0026rsquo;re taught makes a \u0026ldquo;good child.\u0026rdquo; They are verbally fluent, which is a very strong and prominent trait associated with high IQ groups across the data. The complete opposite is seen in children with lower IQ. These children prefer non-verbal communication, are restless, and have a temperament. Similar results are seen at age 18, in both males and females, with the addition of a few more traits. The differences arise because as an individual matures, their environment and experiences play a part, they take on more roles and social responsibilities. Adolescents who are smarter than their peers are rated as being more socially extroverted and settled in society than they were as 3 or 4 year olds. On the other hand, lower IQ adolescents seem to project their problems and blame others a lot more frequently, and have brittle self-egos. Although they don\u0026rsquo;t have problems controlling temperament like children, they do tend to exhibit feelings similar to that of their 3-year-old counterparts. Lastly, as mentioned, these results are common to both males and females, and there weren\u0026rsquo;t any statistically significant differences between the genders.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConceptual\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn all 4 tables, you can see that one the most prominent traits that stand out for high IQ participants is verbal fluency. It may indicate that higher IQ participants are better at communicating and have an enriched vocabulary, which may have resulted from the extensive reading and studying they do. For 3 and 4 year olds, this means they don\u0026rsquo;t rely on acting out or throwing a tantrum every time they don\u0026rsquo;t get what they want. They \u0026ldquo;use their words\u0026rdquo; as teachers and parents say, and are more efficient at handling problems and being handled themselves. That means lower IQ children who rely on non-verbal communication, are restless may show qualities lacking impulse control or learning problems. Research shows that early life temperament does map onto later life personality, and these traits may manifest as anger management problems and communication difficulties once they get older. This prediction are confirmed by the same participants who are seen to show \u0026ldquo;hostile behaviour\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;unpredictability\u0026rdquo; at age 18.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnother noteworthy personality trait associated with higher IQ participants is their sociability or importance in society due to their cognitive abilities. For children, the manifestation of sociability is in the form of verbal ability, and hyperactivity because as Piaget claimed, children develop social understanding \u003cem\u003eafter\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003ethey solidify their cognitive ability (Carpendale, 2015). This may be a reason for the large frequency of \u0026ldquo;Extraversion\u0026rdquo; traits in age 18, but not seen at age 3,4. Intelligent teenagers are socially popular, and are consulted for advice in their peer group. Overall, higher IQ participants are rated as more emotionally stable, more contentiousness and open to experience. This means they are more able to deal with anxiety and stress or and are organised and disciplined as both children and adults.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eComparing Results\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur findings are more or less consistent with the findings in the literature review. Both agree that there in fact does exist a correlation between IQ and personality, and some common findings are that higher IQ individuals are contentiousness, emotionally stable and open to experience. However, their research was limited to only analysing the Big 5 model or describing other literature, whereas our paper used two personality measurement techniques, and compared over 100 personality descriptors of the CAQ and CCQ each \u003cem\u003ealong\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003ewith the Big 5 measure. The study by Waiyavutti, Johnson and Deary (2012) which encourages using multiple operational definitions like we did provides backing that our findings have some degree of reliability and validity. Lack of impulse control was another common feature related to low IQ participants that was found in both sets of research.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne finding that was mentioned in the previous research was the trait of agreeableness related to higher IQ. From our data, we cannot conclude that because it was not a statistically significant trait that correlated with IQ. Further, we found verbal fluency to be a dominant trait among higher IQ people, which is not at all talked about before.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFuture Research\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJust like previous research from the field and a gap in findings inspired us to explore this topic, our findings can provide a platform for future research. Scientific research is often extended to public policy and education. By understanding how individuals perform and behave differently based on IQ, research into how to make the education system more fit and customised for each individual can be carried out. In addition, cross-cultural research to see if these results are universal or relative can be conducted to better understanding how people behave. Lastly, given our findings and those of previous research, the logical next step for future research would be to go into the details of the relationship between verbal abilities and IQ. Are the two causational and if so are quitter kids on a path to not be intelligent? What are (if any) positive traits or other forms of intelligence lower IQ children have that conventionally measured children with higher IQ don\u0026rsquo;t?\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLimitations\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe results found were correlational, not causational. This would mean that individual differences in personality may be due to other confounding variables and not just due to IQ. Furthermore, the generalizability of our findings don\u0026rsquo;t extend to every person. Personality is a very complex concept, and may be viewed differently in different cross- culturally. For example, when we say higher IQ participants are turned to for advice,\u0026nbsp;we can\u0026rsquo;t say that that \u003cem\u003eall\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003ehigher IQ people are sought after and lower IQ doesn\u0026rsquo;t get any respect in society. To rectify this, two things ca be done a) future correlational studies can be conducted with other independent variables like home environment, upbringing, to see if similar results are found, and if so, there should be a bigger discussion about how a combination of factors are responsible for personality traits in an individual, and not just one independent variable b) greater diversity in recruitment in combination with a greater sample size should be consulted.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA final limitation is that we have tested personality against one form of intelligence i.e. general intelligence. As more and more literature in the field suggests, the true measure of intelligence in an individual cannot be reduced to a score by taking a matrices or verbal ability quiz but can be in the form of musical intelligence, emotional intelligence, among many others. To say personality is influenced by cognitive ability still holds true, but in this research cognitive capability is restricted to one form only, and should be expanded to be more inclusive. Branching out from Wechsler\u0026rsquo;s scales of intelligence to other types of measurement that measure existential, interpersonal abilities should be incorporated.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe study of IQ and personality dates long back in history. Political entrepreneurs have used it to carry out discriminatory laws and divide society based on incorrect findings from the past. This is why it was imperative for us to conduct research and see for ourselves if these theories have stemmed from improper and unethical research and are not reliable enough to base a country\u0026rsquo;s education and public policies on. \u003cem\u003eThe Bell Curve\u003c/em\u003e, authored by Charles Murray is, after all, not a work of scientific research but rather a political book written by one of the most prominent conservative policy entrepreneurs in America as part of a larger ideological project. It claims that certain races like Asians are more cognitively competent than say Caucasians, who are in turn have a higher IQ than African Americans. Our research shows \u003cb\u003eno\u003c/b\u003e such data. You cannot segregate that one race showed different personality traits versus the other based on IQ. We have conducted ethical research on people, human beings, who are not just identified by their races our data shows a mixture of people\u0026rsquo;s personalities and abilities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurthermore, the findings of this research don\u0026rsquo;t want to single out people with lower IQ and assign \u0026ldquo;bad personality traits\u0026rdquo; to them. No trait is ever good or bad- they are just unique qualities that make us who we are. Some may be seen as beneficial in society and some may not, but that does not mean one is superior over the other. People are predisposed to certain traits, but as we have seen, personality can to a degree change over time- as seen from age 3,4 to age 18. The human mind is capable of learning and improving IQ just like any other skill! So to believe in stereotypes about nerds, jocks, and other socially made up groups would be wrong! You just have to be you, and that\u0026rsquo;s enough.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData Availability Statement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConflict of Interest\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe author declares no conflict of interest.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe author thanks the researchers of the Block and Block Longitudinal Study for making their dataset available for secondary analysis.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAckerman, P. L. (2018). The search for personality\u0026ndash;intelligence relations: Methodological and conceptual issues. \u003cem\u003eJournal of Intelligence, 6\u003c/em\u003e(1), 2. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence6010002\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBlock, J. (1978). \u003cem\u003eThe Q-sort method in personality assessment and psychiatric research.\u003c/em\u003e Consulting Psychologists Press.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBlock, J. (1993). Studying personality the long way. In D. C. Funder, R. D. Parke, C. Tomlinson-Keasey, \u0026amp; K. Widaman (Eds.), \u003cem\u003eStudying lives through time: Personality and development\u003c/em\u003e (pp. [insert page numbers if available]). American Psychological Association.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCarpendale, J. I. M., \u0026amp; Lewis, C. (2015). The development of social understanding. In R. M. Lerner (Series Ed.) \u0026amp; L. S. Liben \u0026amp; U. M\u0026uuml;ller (Vol. Eds.), \u003cem\u003eHandbook of child psychology and developmental science: Vol. 2. Cognitive processes\u003c/em\u003e (7th ed., pp. 381\u0026ndash;424). Wiley.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCheca, P., \u0026amp; Fern\u0026aacute;ndez-Berrocal, P. (2015). The role of intelligence quotient and emotional intelligence in cognitive control processes. \u003cem\u003eFrontiers in Psychology, 6\u003c/em\u003e, 1853. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01853\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFreeman, S. (2013). Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence. In F. R. Volkmar (Ed.), \u003cem\u003eEncyclopedia of autism spectrum disorders.\u003c/em\u003e Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_293\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGoldstein, G., \u0026amp; Mazefsky, C. (2013). Wechsler scales of intelligence. In F. R. Volkmar (Ed.), \u003cem\u003eEncyclopedia of autism spectrum disorders.\u003c/em\u003e Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_305\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStankov, L. (2018). Low correlations between intelligence and Big Five personality traits: Need to broaden the domain of personality. \u003cem\u003eJournal of Intelligence, 6\u003c/em\u003e(2), 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence6020026\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWaiyavutti, C., Johnson, W., \u0026amp; Deary, I. J. (2012). Do personality scale items function differently in people with high and low IQ? \u003cem\u003ePsychological Assessment, 24\u003c/em\u003e(3), 545\u0026ndash;555. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026266\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"},{"header":"Tables","content":"\u003cp\u003eTables 1 to 4 are available in the Supplementary Files section.\u003c/p\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Northeastern University","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Intelligence, Personality, Longitudinal study, Openness, Gender, Verbal Fluency","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8586349/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8586349/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe role of personality is assessed in the intellectual ability of children and young adults from the study’s Block and Block (1980) longitudinal study. Personality traits in people with higher IQ were measured at age 4 and 18 separately by gender. First, we correlated California Child Q-Sort personality descriptions with the WPPSI IQ score of children aged 3,4. Then, we correlated California Adult Q-Sort personality traits of 18 year old adolescents with their WAIS IQ Score. As a result, we discovered that higher IQ 3 and 4 year olds have more consciousness and are open to experiences. They are also more verbally fluent than their lower IQ counterparts and are socially competent. The results for age 18 were very similar, with some additional personality traits. At age 18, extroversion was a prominent and frequent trait associated with social success and resourcefulness. There were no statistically significant differences among the genders that were noteworthy. In conclusion, there seemed to be a positive personality trait association with higher IQ participants of both age groups. It may be used as a predictor of future behavior and achievements, whereas on the other hand, more restless, anxious and intolerant personality traits of lower IQ individuals \u003cem\u003emay \u003c/em\u003ebe linked to psychopathy and social segregation.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Relationship between IQ and Personality in Children and Adolescents","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-14 04:57:41","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8586349/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"9f065bed-84c6-4a12-835b-729eb23453e8","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 14th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":61032574,"name":"Psychology"},{"id":61032575,"name":"Developmental Biology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-01-14T04:57:42+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-14 04:57:41","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8586349","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8586349","identity":"rs-8586349","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}

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