**This piece is part of a six-part series profiling each University scientist named to the 2024 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list. Installments of the series will be posted weekly.**
Brent Roberts’ influential career studying how human personality changes and stays consistent has transformed the field of personality psychology and landed him a spot on the 2024 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list. This year marks Roberts’ seventh time appearing on the list, which assesses citation data from the past 10 years.
Roberts is a Gutgsell-endowed professor at the University and a distinguished guest professor at the Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology at the University of Tübingen in Germany.
Roberts’ work questions how experiences shape personality, with an emphasis on the traits of narcissism and conscientiousness. He uses longitudinal studies, which track subjects over extended periods to observe their changing personality features.
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Though many expect constant change to be a fundamental aspect of human personality, Roberts’ research reveals the opposite — personality is more consistent than it is changing.
“It is more likely that people will be more the same than they will be changeable, and that’s something that’s really important to consider,” Roberts said.
In another surprising finding, Roberts said that the personality changes that occur throughout the lifespan are concentrated around early adulthood rather than childhood. His findings suggest that most modern developmental research focuses disproportionately on children.
“If we’re trying to help people be different people as they grow, we should really be looking at the transition from adolescence into young adulthood,” Roberts said.
He and his fellow researchers believe that the changing expectations of young adulthood prompt this personality development, but they plan to investigate the reasons further. Fortunately, the personality changes observed by Roberts during this period are overwhelmingly positive.
Improvements in self-confidence and extraversion can be seen between adolescence and adulthood. Some personality changes can include greater conscientiousness and decreased neuroticism, or emotional instability, Roberts said. Thus, individuals can achieve better emotional stability and responsibility throughout this developmental period.
Throughout his 30-year career, Roberts has witnessed the field of personality psychology evolve from underestimated to respected.
“The topic, when I got into the field, was the smallest, least well-regarded area in psychology,” Roberts said. “But there’s definitely been a renaissance during my lifetime.”
Roberts has played an active role in this renaissance and will continue participating in the field’s future. His team is currently conducting research that explores creativity, and it questions whether adversity is beneficial for personality development.
Looking back on his career, Roberts credits his colleagues and friends from the University’s psychology department for supporting his work.
“To use the farm metaphors of our Midwest geography, it’s fertile soil for the career,” Roberts said. “I wouldn’t be the person I am without the people who work here.”
