Memory problems often lead people to conclude that there’s no hope for improvement as they get older.

A new study on a large international sample shows the value of focusing on the “nuances” or personality.

Rather than letting your memory problems get to you, change it for the better with these personality tweaks.

Wanting a better memory, especially as you get older, seems like an almost universal desire. How many times have you stopped in the middle of telling a story about a friend whose name, mysteriously, escapes you? It’s these little bothersome episodes that can lead us to be convinced that it’s all downhill from here when it comes to your ability to disgorge desired information. But maybe there’s hope.

Memory and Personality

As it turns out, new research by University of Montpelier’s Yannick Stephan and colleagues (2026) suggests that memory is not only a modifiable ability, but one that can have surprising links to what seems like a completely different part of your psychological makeup.

In the study, the authors point to prior research showing that the broad personality domains of the Five Factor Model (FFM) line up with patterns of change in memory across adulthood. For example, people high on the FFM trait of neuroticism (who are prone to worry and sadness) remember less, take longer to complete tasks, and have more trouble when they have to switch gears in the middle of a problem.

Highly conscientious people and those open to new experiences, two other FFM traits, do well on precisely these kinds of abilities. Indeed, high neuroticism and lower........

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