Oliver John

Last updated
Oliver P. John
Born (1959-02-09) February 9, 1959 (age 66)
Alma mater University of Oregon
Known for Big Five personality traits
Awards2017 Block Award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology [1]
Scientific career
Fields Personality psychology
Institutions University of California, Berkeley
Thesis Direction and type of causal explanations in trait hierarchies  (1986)
Doctoral advisor Lewis R. Goldberg

Oliver Peter Martin John (born February 9, 1959) is an American personality psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is known for co-developing the 1998 Big Five Inventory. [2] [3]

Contents

As director of the Berkeley Personality Lab within the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, John's research has focused on personality structure and development, emotion expression and regulation, self and self-perception processes, and research methods. [4]

Academic Career and Research Contributions

John has served as Professor of Psychology and Research Psychologist at the Institute of Personality and Social Research at the University of California, Berkeley. His scholarly work spans multiple interconnected areas of personality psychology, examining how personality factors interact with situational and environmental contexts to shape life outcomes. [5] [6]

John's research program encompasses two primary perspectives: the social-psychological approach to personality concepts—how people use traits to understand themselves and others—and the personality-psychological approach that treats traits as measurable attributes of individuals. His work in emotional regulation investigates the way people perceive themselves and to what extent they manipulate present information to construct an idealistic concept of themselves. [4]

The Big Five Inventory

John's most influential contribution to the field has been the co-creation of the 1998 Big Five Inventory, following a critical evaluation of the taxonomy used within particular personality assessment measures. [4] This re-structuring of the Big Five Inventory has been instrumental in its validity and reliability, enabling it to remain the most consistently used personality measure in the world. [4] His Big Five Inventory has been translated into more than 20 languages.

The Big Five Inventory (BFI) represents a brief, multidimensional personality assessment tool designed to measure the five major dimensions of personality: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism (now referred to as Negative Emotionality), and Openness to Experience. [7]

Mills Longitudinal Study

John currently heads Helson's research team for the Mills Longitudinal Study, which has tracked women from the Mills College Classes of 1958 and 1960 through significant life changes over several decades. The findings of the Mills Longitudinal Study have resulted in more than 100 scholarly publications on personality, emotional experience, relationships, and life satisfaction. [8] This research has provided crucial insights into personality development and change across the adult lifespan, examining how personality traits influence well-being and life outcomes over extended periods. [8]

Recognition andAwards

Scholarly Publications

John has authored, co-authored, or edited numerous influential works in personality psychology. His work encompasses over 90 articles examining personality structure and processes, emotion expression and regulation, self-perception accuracy and biases, and methodological innovations in personality assessment. [16]

References

  1. ↑ "Congratulations to Oliver John on receiving the Society for Personality and Social Psychology's 2017 Block Award!". UC Psych. Archived from the original on 2018-06-30. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  2. ↑ Goldhill, Olivia (2018-02-11). "We took the world's most scientific personality test—and discovered unexpectedly sexist results". Quartz. Archived from the original on 2018-06-30. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  3. ↑ Wu, Jesse Singal, Ashley (2016-12-21). "Can You Predict Your Scores on an Important Personality Test?". The Cut. Archived from the original on 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2018-05-09.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. 1 2 3 4 Kean, James (2020), "Oliver P. John" , The Wiley Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp. 581–585, doi:10.1002/9781119547167.ch169, ISBN   978-1-119-54716-7 , retrieved 2025-11-20
  5. ↑ "Oliver P. John". Guilford Press. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  6. ↑ "Oliver John | Research UC Berkeley". vcresearch.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  7. ↑ John, Oliver P.; Robins, Richard W. (2021-01-26). Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research. Guilford Publications. ISBN   978-1-4625-4499-8.
  8. 1 2 "Learning from experience". Mills Quarterly. 2009-10-15. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  9. ↑ "SMEP Early Career Research Award | SMEP". smep.org. Archived from the original on 2021-06-12. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  10. ↑ "Wegner Theoretical Innovation Prize | SPSP". spsp.org. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  11. ↑ "Social Sciences: Distinguished Teaching and Distinguished Service Awards". Letters & Science. 2022-05-17. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  12. ↑ "Oliver P. John | Psychology". psychology.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  13. ↑ "Block Award | SPSP". spsp.org. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  14. ↑ "Congratulations to Oliver John on receiving the Society for Personality and Social Psychology's 2017 Block Award! | UC Psych". psychology.berkeley.edu. Archived from the original on 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  15. ↑ "Oliver P. John: Psychology H-index & Awards - Academic Profile". Research.com. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  16. ↑ John, Oliver P.; Robins, Richard W.; Pervin, Lawrence A. (2008-08-05). Handbook of Personality, Third Edition: Theory and Research. Guilford Publications. ISBN   978-1-60623-738-0.
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