The present study examines the association between longevity and personality as measured by ten scales of the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey (GZTS, 38). To relate the GZTS scales to the broader literature, each scale can be interpreted in terms of higher- and lower-order traits of the FFM. Table 1 reproduces the correlations reported by Terracciano et al. (39) between the ten GZTS scales and a measure of the FFM, the NEO-PI-R (23). As seen in the table, GZTS scales mainly cover the Neuroticism and Extraversion domains, and offer the opportunity to examine whether certain facets of these two domains are associated differently with longevity. Within the Extraversion domain, of particular interest is whether being active, assertive (Ascendance), or sociable are differently associated with longevity. Given the consistent results in the literature that support a role of Conscientiousness, we also estimated the Conscientiousness factor from the average of General Activity and Restraint, the two GZTS scales most strongly related to Conscientiousness. This composite correlates substantially with the NEO-PI-R Conscientiousness factor (r = .60) and its facets, and has discriminant correlations close to zero with the other four factors, including Extraversion (see Table 1).
