Biography
Brent W. Roberts is a Professor of Psychology and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he holds the Gutsgell Endowed Professorship and a Center for Advanced Study Professorship at the University of Illinois, is designated as a Health Innovation Professor in the Carle-Illinois College of Medicine, a Center and is a Distinguished Guest Professor at the Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology at the University of Tübingen, Germany.
Dr. Roberts received his Ph.D. from Berkeley in 1994 in Personality Psychology and worked at the University of Tulsa until 1999 when he joined the faculty at the University of Illinois. Dr. Roberts's research focuses on continuity and change in personality across adulthood, the life experiences associated with changes in personality over time, and whether one's personality can be changed through intervention. Dr. Roberts also conducts research on measurement issues, in particular how to measure the traits of conscientiousness and narcissism, and more recently, how to best assess social, emotional, and behavioral skills.
He has received multiple awards for his work including the Carol and Ed Diener Mid-Career Award in Personality Psychology, the Theodore Millon Mid-Career Award in Personality Psychology, the Henry Murray Award, the Jack Block Award for Distinguished Research in Personality, and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Basel. He served as the Director of the Center for Social and Behavioral Science, Associate Editor for the Journal of Research in Personality and Psychological Science and is the Past President for the Association for Research in Personality.
Research Interests
- Personality Development
- Personality Assessment
- Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Skills
- Conscientiousness
- Narcissism
Research Description
Dr. Roberts's primary line of research is dedicated to understanding the patterns of continuity and change in personality across the decades of adulthood and the mechanisms that affect these patterns. Dr. Roberts has a second line of research on personality assessment. This research line includes studies focusing on the traits of conscientiousness and narcissism, the relationship between conscientiousness and the health process, how best to assess social and emotional skills, and using machine learning and artificial intelligence systems to assess personality.
Education
Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley
Additional Campus Affiliations
Professor, Psychology
Professor, Biomedical and Translational Sciences
CAS Professor, Center for Advanced Study
Senior Science Advisor, Office of the Provost
Affiliate, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
Recent Publications
Sewell, M. N., Yoon, H. J., Lechner, C. M., Napolitano, C. M., Rammstedt, B., Roberts, B. W., & Soto, C. J. (2025). Assessing Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Skills in Just a Few Minutes: 96-, 45-, and 20-Item Short Forms of the BESSI. Assessment, 32(4), 501-520. https://doi.org/10.1177/10731911241256434
Trautwein, U., Nagengast, B., & Roberts, B. W. (2025). Integrating two separate research traditions: The Conscientiousness × Interest Compensation (CONIC) model. In A. J. Elliot (Ed.), Advances in Motivation Science (pp. 41-82). (Advances in Motivation Science; Vol. 12). Elsevier Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.adms.2024.12.003
Inzlicht, M., & Roberts, B. W. (2024). The fable of state self-control. Current Opinion in Psychology, 58, Article 101848. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2024.101848
Mullen, S., Luo, Y., Adamek, J., Phansikar, M., Mackenzie, M., Roberts, B., & Larrison, C. R. (2024). Path Analysis of Effects of First-Generation Status on Physical Activity and 4-Year College Degree Completion. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work (United States), 21(1), 104-116. https://doi.org/10.1080/26408066.2023.2265922
Napolitano, C. M., Sewell, M. N., Yoon, H., Elmi, C., & Roberts, B. W. (2024). Self-Regulation: A Character Development Perspective: A Character Development Perspective. In M. D. Matthews, & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), The Routledge International Handbook of Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Character Development, Volume II: Moderators, Threats, and Contexts (pp. 137-162). (Routledge International Handbooks). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003252450-8