Neuroticism has a meaningful negative correlation with intelligence. The main large meta-analyses have obtained correlations around r = -.09. Debate exists about the extent to which the correlation reflects a substantive relationship or issues with measurement. Researchers have noted that neuroticism is correlated with test anxiety, which refers to the psychological distress experienced by individuals prior to, or during, an evaluative situation. As such, some researchers have argued that neuroticism leads to test anxiety and under performance on cognitive tests. However, others researchers have argued that test anxiety is mostly incidental and caused by neuroticism, contextual pressures, and lower cognitive ability.
