Papers by Brent W. Roberts
The present meta-analysis examined the stability of vocational interests from early adolescence (... more The present meta-analysis examined the stability of vocational interests from early adolescence (age 12) to middle adulthood (age 40). Stability was represented by rank-order and profile correlations. Interest stability remained unchanged during much of adolescence and increased dramatically during the college years (age 18 -21.9), where it remained for the next 2 decades. Analyses of potential moderators showed that retest time interval was negatively related to interest stability and that rank-order stability was less stable than profile stability. Although cohort standings did not moderate stability, interests of the 1940s birth cohort were less stable than those of other cohorts. Furthermore, interests reflecting hands-on physical activities and self-expressive/artistic activities were more stable than scientific, social, enterprising, and clerical interests. Vocational interests showed substantial continuity over time, as evidenced by their higher longitudinal stability when compared with rank-order stability of personality traits. The findings are discussed in the context of psychosocial development.
Journal of personality and social psychology, Jan 1, 2003
This longitudinal study provides an analysis of the relationship between personality traits and w... more This longitudinal study provides an analysis of the relationship between personality traits and work experiences with a special focus on the relationship between changes in personality and work experiences in young adulthood. Longitudinal analyses uncovered 3 findings. First, measures of personality taken at age 18 predicted both objective and subjective work experiences at age 26. Second, work experiences were related to changes in personality traits from age 18 to 26. Third, the predictive and change relations between personality traits and work experiences were corresponsive: Traits that "selected" people into specific work experiences were the same traits that changed in response to those same work experiences. The relevance of the findings to theories of personality development is discussed.
A longitudinal study of the relationships between conscientiousness and the social-environmental factors and substance-use behaviors that influence health
Journal of personality, Jan 1, 2004
The present study tested the relationships among conscientiousness-related traits, social-environ... more The present study tested the relationships among conscientiousness-related traits, social-environmental factors that affect health, and substance-use behaviors across a 30-year period from age 21 to age 52 in the Mills Longitudinal study of women (N=99). Results showed that the trait of social responsibility (a facet of conscientiousness) assessed at age 21 predicted family, work, and substance use outcomes at midlife (age 43 and age 52). In turn, marital quality, duration of marriage, divorce, participating in paid work, status level of work, and marijuana consumption were associated with changes in social responsibility. The implications for personality, health, and personality development are discussed.
Journal of personality and social psychology, Jan 1, 2004
The present research examined continuity and change in the importance of major life goals and the... more The present research examined continuity and change in the importance of major life goals and the relation between change in goals and change in personality traits over the course of college (N Ď 298). Participants rated the importance of their life goals 6 times over a 4-year period and completed a measure of the Big Five personality traits at the beginning and end of college. Like personality traits, life goals demonstrated high levels of rank-order stability. Unlike personality traits assessed during the same period and in the same sample, the mean importance of most life goals decreased over time. Moreover, each goal domain was marked by significant individual differences in change, and these individual differences were related to changes in personality traits. These findings provide insights into the relatively unstudied question of how life goals change during emerging adulthood.
Psychological bulletin, Jan 1, 2004
Personality and social psychology review : an official journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc, Jan 1, 2004
The question of whether the person or the situation is largely responsible for behavior has plagu... more The question of whether the person or the situation is largely responsible for behavior has plagued psychology intermittently for the last half century. Studies of the heritability, stability, and consensual validity of traits have clearly demonstrated the existence of traits. However, there is continuing controversy about the role of traits and situations in the enterprise of personality psychology. The goal of this article is to describe how insights yielded from adopting a developmental approach can foster the successful integration of the person and the situation across the life span. Five key lessons are described: (a) age matters-studying different age groups can lead to biases for and against traits and situations; (b), if age matters, time matters more-longitudinal and within-participant designs demonstrate that traits and situations are reciprocally related; (c) examine multiple types of change-focusing on one type, such as mean-level change, can lead to inappropriate conclusions about the merits of persons or situations; (d) be sensitive to levels of analysis-the relative breadth of persons and situations may determine the relative influence of the two; (e) pay attention to process-process models lead inextricably to transactional explanations.
Psychological review, Jan 1, 2005
In contemporary psychology there is debate over whether individual differences in psychological c... more In contemporary psychology there is debate over whether individual differences in psychological constructs are stable over extended periods of time. The authors argue that it is impossible to resolve such debates unless researchers focus on patterns of stability and the developmental mechanisms that may give rise to them. To facilitate this shift in emphasis, they describe a formal model that integrates 3 developmental processes: stochastic-contextual processes, person-environment transactions, and developmental constancies. The theoretical and mathematical analyses indicate that this model makes novel predictions about the way in which test-retest correlations are structured across a wide range of ages and test-retest intervals. The authors illustrate the utility of the model by comparing its predictions against meta-analytic data on Neuroticism. The discussion emphasizes the value of focusing on patterns of continuity, not only as phenomena to be explained but as data capable of clarifying the developmental processes underlying stability and change for a variety of psychological constructs.
Journal of personality, Jan 1, 2005
Abstract How much do we think our personality changes over time? How well do our perceptions of c... more Abstract How much do we think our personality changes over time? How well do our perceptions of change correspond with actual personality change? Two hundred and ninety students completed measures of the Big Five personality traits when they first entered college. Four years later, they completed the same measures and rated the degree to which they believed they had changed on each dimension. Participants tended to view themselves as having changed substantially, and perceptions of change showed some correspondence with actual personality change. Perceived and actual change showed theoretically meaningful correlations with a host of variables related to different aspects of college achievement and adjustment.
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Papers by Brent W. Roberts