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“Impressive, both in scope and quality. Sixty-nine authors, many of whom represent the widely acknowledged authority or are the pioneering authors on their topics, contributed to this collection of 37 chapters....The editors of this handbook set out to assemble a comprehensive resource and the depth and breadth of coverage, including even the most esoteric and recently adopted methods, is impressive. The fact that no model for a comprehensive personality research methods resource existed before this handbook makes the accomplishment even more impressive still. The editors should also be commended for their care in assigning and structuring largely mutually exclusive chapter topics, and avoiding significant redundancy....This is a text written by scholars for a scholarly audience of personality, social, and clinical psychologists, and thus it is a resource that will prove useful to researchers at the front lines, first and foremost, but the Handbook would also be an effective text for a specialized graduate seminar....The efforts of the editors and authors are to be applauded for providing a significant contribution to psychological science. The volume will find a place on the shelves and desks of many personality researchers for years to come.”

—Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology


“Provides very thoughtful explorations and descriptions of three sets of topics that by and large represent a coherent system of research in personality psychology: design, measurement, and analysis. Although these topics are discussed in the context of personality research, I was immediately impressed by the book's applicability to research in other fields of the social sciences, including education....What I like about the book is that each chapter is concise and right to the point; since many different areas of design and measurement are covered, it provides an excellent reference for researchers. From this perspective, the book is a worthwhile possession for researchers wanting an up-to-date survey of relevant measurement methods as they apply to personality research as well as research in other fields. Researchers lacking statistical background could benefit from the conceptual discussions and the guides to some thorny issues such as sample size requirement....Researchers who are savvy with statistics could also benefit from discovering the latest advances described within the personality psychology context....Researchers who are interested in issues in designing research, measuring behaviors, and analyzing data can benefit from conceptual, as well as pragmatic, considerations offered in the book, whether for personality research or for research in other fields.”

—PsycCRITIQUES


“This is an exceptional addition to the field. Researchers and students will find answers to almost any personality research question, whether it involves methodology, measurement techniques, or statistical analyses. The suggestions are immensely useful and, if followed, can clearly lead to well designed studies for both personality researchers and researchers in related fields. Weighted Numerical Score: 96 - 4 Stars!”

—Doody's Review Service


“Edited and written by experienced, distinguished scholars, this handbook encompasses the remarkable breadth of research venues, assessment methods, and data-analytic approaches embraced by modern personality psychology. The quality and accessibility of the contents make this volume an indispensable guide for undergraduate and graduate students who are serious about personality science. It will surely become a standard reference for all personologists.”

—Auke Tellegen, PhD, Department of Psychology (Emeritus), University of Minnesota


“There is nothing more essential to good science than good methods, and personality research is no exception to this fundamental rule. This handbook is a landmark collection of defining statements on the diverse methods available to researchers in the field. It is a 'must read' for experienced and novice researchers alike, and will surely advance the state of the scientific study of personality.”

—Mark Snyder, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota


“This is a 'must-have,' 'must-read' handbook for personality researchers at all levels of the game. The outstanding, award-winning editors have produced a superb textbook and reference for graduate and undergraduate students just entering the field and hoping to conduct their own research. The book is essential for seasoned personality researchers too, because it covers exciting new methods that didn’t exist when we veterans were trained. Beyond its great value for anyone wishing to understand, critique, or conduct modern personality research, the Handbook is emblematic of a research field that is experiencing a dramatic upswing in self-confidence and influence. The sophistication, scope, and engaging prose style of this volume reflect the vitality of the field itself.”

—Phillip R. Shaver, PhD, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of California, Davis

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Table of Contents

I. Designing a Personality Study

1. The Role of Theory in Personality Assessment, Dan P. McAdams and Jennifer L. Pals

2. Designing and Implementing Longitudinal Studies, M. Brent Donnellan and Rand D. Conger

3. Experimental Approaches to the Study of Personality, William Revelle

4. Behavior Genetic Designs, Robert F. Krueger and Jennifer L. Tackett

5. Idiographic Personality: The Theory and Practice of Experience Sampling, Tamlin S. Conner, Lisa Feldman Barrett, Michele M. Tugade, and Howard Tennen

6. Psychobiography and Case Study Methods, Alan C. Elms

7. Mining Archival Data, Phebe Cramer

8. Using the Internet for Personality Research: What Can Be Done, How to Do It, and Some Concerns, R. Chris Fraley

9. The Null Hypothesis Significance-Testing Debate and Its Implications for Personality Research, R. Chris Fraley and Michael J. Marks

10. Cross-Cultural Personality Research: Conceptual and Methodological Issues, Verónica Benet-Martínez

11. Measuring Personality in Nonhuman Animals, Simine Vazire, Samuel D. Gosling, Audrey S. Dickey, and Steven J. Schapiro

II. Methods for Assessing Personality at Different Levels of Analysis

12. Taxonomies, Trends, and Integrations, Kenneth H. Craik

13. The Self-Report Method, Delroy L. Paulhus and Simine Vazire

14. The Construct Validation Approach to Personality Scale Construction, Leonard J. Simms and David Watson

15. Observer Ratings of Personality, Robert R. McCrae and Alexander Weiss

16. Behavior Observation, R. Michael Furr and David C. Funder

17. Content Coding of Open-Ended Responses, Barbara A. Woike

18. Personality Assessment at a Distance, Anna V. Song and Dean Keith Simonton

19. Measuring Implicit Motives, Oliver C. Schultheiss and Joyce S. Pang

20. Lives Lived in Milliseconds: Using Cognitive Methods in Personality Research, Michael D. Robinson

21. Patient and Neuroimaging Methodologies, Jennifer S. Beer and Michael V. Lombardo

22. Physiological Measures, Lisa M. Diamond and Kim Otter-Henderson

23. The Human Genome Project and Personality: What We Can Learn about Our Inner and Outer Selves through Our Genes, Richard P. Ebstein, Rachel Bachner-Melman, Salomon Israel, Lubov Nemanov, and Inga Gritsenko

III. Analyzing and Interpreting Personality Data

24. Toward Modern Psychometrics: Application of Item Response Theory Models in Personality Research, Julien Morizot, Andrew T. Ainsworth, and Steven P. Reise

25. Factor Analysis in Personality Research, Kibeom Lee and Michael C. Ashton

26. Applications of Structural Equation Modeling in Personality Research, Rick H. Hoyle

27. The Importance of Being Valid: Reliability and the Process of Construct Validation, Oliver P. John and Christopher J. Soto

28. Evaluating Effect Size in Personality Research, Daniel J. Ozer

29. Multilevel Modeling in Personality Research, John B. Nezlek

30. Studying Personality Processes: Explaining Change in Between-Persons Longitudinal and Within-Person Multilevel Models, William Fleeson

31. The Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Personality Research, Daniel K. Mroczek

32. Person-Centered Structural Analyses, James W. Grice

33. Multiple Regression: Applications of the Basics and Beyond in Personality Research, Stephen G. West, Leona S. Aiken, Wei Wu, and Aaron B. Taylor

34. Moderator and Mediator Models in Personality Research: A Basic Introduction, William F. Chaplin

35. Computational Modeling of Personality as a Dynamical System, Yuichi Shoda

36. Meta-Analysis in Personality Psychology: A Primer, Brent W. Roberts, Nathan R. Kuncel, Wolfgang Viechtbauer, and Tim Bogg

37. What Kinds of Methods Do Personality Psychologists Use?: A Survey of Journal Editors and Editorial Board Members, Richard W. Robins, Jessica L. Tracy, and Jeffrey W. Sherman

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About the Editors

Richard W. Robins, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Davis, where he is Director of the Personality, Self, and Emotions Laboratory; Director of the California Families Project; and a member of the core faculty for the National Institute of Mental Health Training Program in Affective Science. Dr. Robins is Associate Editor of Personality and Social Psychology Review and past Associate Editor of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology from the American Psychological Association and both the Theoretical Innovation Prize and the Diener Award for Outstanding Mid-Career Contributions to Personality Psychology from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. His research focuses on personality, emotion, the self, and ethnic-minority youth development.

• Author's website
• All titles by Richard W. Robins

R. Chris Fraley, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on adult attachment dynamics, personality processes and development, and research methods. Dr. Fraley serves as Associate Editor of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. He received the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology.

• Author's website

Robert F. Krueger, PhD, is Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota. His research interests lie at the intersection of psychopathology, personality, psychometrics, behavior genetics, and physical health. Dr. Krueger is the recipient of awards including the Hoch Award from the American Psychopathological Association. He is coeditor of the Journal of Personality Disorders.

• All titles by Robert F. Krueger

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Contributors

Leona S. Aiken, PhD, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona

Andrew T. Ainsworth, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California

Michael C. Ashton, PhD, Department of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada

Rachel Bachner-Melman, MA, Scheinfeld Center of Human Genetics for the Social Sciences and Department of Psychology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD, Department of Psychology, Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts

Jennifer S. Beer, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California

Verónica Benet-Martínez, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, California

Tim Bogg, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois

William F. Chaplin, PhD, Department of Psychology, St. John's University, Jamaica, New York

Rand D. Conger, PhD, Department of Human and Community Development, University of California, Davis, California

Tamlin S. Conner, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatric Institute, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut

Kenneth H. Craik, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, California

Phebe Cramer, PhD, Department of Psychology, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts

Lisa M. Diamond, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

Audrey S. Dickey, BA, Department of Pharmacology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa

M. Brent Donnellan, PhD, Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan

Richard P. Ebstein, PhD, Scheinfeld Center of Human Genetics for the Social Sciences and Department of Psychology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

Alan C. Elms, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California

William Fleeson, PhD, Department of Psychology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

R. Chris Fraley, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois

David C. Funder, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, California

R. Michael Furr, PhD, Department of Psychology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Samuel D. Gosling, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas

James W. Grice, PhD, Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Inga Gritsenko, MS, Department of Psychology, Scheinfeld Center of Human Genetics for the Social Sciences, Hebrew University, and S. Herzog Memorial Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel

Rick H. Hoyle, PhD, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

Salomon Israel, MS, Department of Psychology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

Oliver P. John, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, California

Robert F. Krueger, PhD, Department of Psychology and Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Nathan R. Kuncel, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois

Kibeom Lee, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Michael V. Lombardo, BA, Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California

Michael J. Marks, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois

Dan P. McAdams, PhD, Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

Robert R. McCrae, PhD, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland

Julien Morizot, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Daniel K. Mroczek, PhD, Department of Child Development and Family Studies, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

Lubov Nemanov, MD, Sarah Herzog Memorial Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel

John B. Nezlek, PhD, Department of Psychology, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia

Kim Otter-Henderson, MA, Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

Daniel J. Ozer, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, California

Jennifer L. Pals, PhD, Foley Center for the Study of Lives, School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

Joyce S. Pang, PhD, Department of Psychology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Delroy L. Paulhus, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Steven P. Reise, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California

William Revelle, PhD, Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

Brent W. Roberts, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois

Richard W. Robins, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California

Michael D. Robinson, PhD, Department of Psychology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota

Steven J. Schapiro, PhD, Department of Veterinary Sciences, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston, Texas

Oliver C. Schultheiss, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Jeffrey W. Sherman, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California

Yuichi Shoda, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

Leonard J. Simms, PhD, Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York

Dean Keith Simonton, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California

Anna V. Song, PhD, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California, San Francisco, California

Christopher J. Soto, AB, Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, California

Jennifer L. Tackett, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Aaron B. Taylor, MA, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona

Howard Tennen, PhD, Department of Community Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut

Jessica L. Tracy, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Michele M. Tugade, PhD, Department of Psychology, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York

Simine Vazire, PhD, Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri

Wolfgang Viechtbauer, PhD, Department of Methodology and Statistics, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands

David Watson, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa

Alexander Weiss, PhD, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland

Stephen G. West, PhD, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona

Barbara A. Woike, PhD, Department of Psychology, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, New York

Wei Wu, MA, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona

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Course Use

Serves as a text in advanced undergraduate- and graduate-level seminars in personality research methods and personality assessment.