Why Has Personality Psychology Played an Outsized Role in the Credibility Revolution?

Olivia E Atherton; Joanne M Chung; Kelci Harris; Julia M Rohrer; David M Condon; Felix Cheung; Simine Vazire; Richard E Lucas; M Brent Donnellan; Daniel K Mroczek; Christopher J Soto; Stephen Antonoplis; Rodica Ioana Damian; David C Funder; Sanjay Srivastava; R Chris Fraley; Hayley Jach; Brent W Roberts; Luke D Smillie; Jessie Sun; Jennifer L Tackett; Sara J Weston; K Paige Harden; Katherine S Corker

doi:10.5964/ps.6001

Why Has Personality Psychology Played an Outsized Role in the Credibility Revolution?

Personal Sci. 2021:2:e6001. doi: 10.5964/ps.6001. Epub 2021 Aug 12.

Authors

Olivia E Atherton¹, Joanne M Chung², Kelci Harris³, Julia M Rohrer⁴, David M Condon⁵, Felix Cheung⁶, Simine Vazire⁷, Richard E Lucas⁸, M Brent Donnellan⁸, Daniel K Mroczek^{1

9}, Christopher J Soto¹⁰, Stephen Antonoplis¹¹, Rodica Ioana Damian¹², David C Funder¹³, Sanjay Srivastava⁵, R Chris Fraley¹⁴, Hayley Jach⁷, Brent W Roberts^{14

15}, Luke D Smillie⁷, Jessie Sun¹⁶, Jennifer L Tackett⁹, Sara J Weston⁵, K Paige Harden^{17

18}, Katherine S Corker¹⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
² Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Canada.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.
⁵ Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA.
⁶ Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
⁷ School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
⁸ Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
⁹ Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Psychology, Colby College, Waterville, ME, USA.
¹¹ Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
¹² Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
¹³ Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, USA.
¹⁵ Hector Research Institute of Education and Sciences and Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
¹⁶ Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA.
¹⁸ Population Research Center, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA.
¹⁹ Department of Psychology, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI, USA.

PMID: 35434719
PMCID: PMC9008744
DOI: 10.5964/ps.6001

Abstract

Personality is not the most popular subfield of psychology. But, in one way or another, personality psychologists have played an outsized role in the ongoing "credibility revolution" in psychology. Not only have individual personality psychologists taken on visible roles in the movement, but our field's practices and norms have now become models for other fields to emulate (or, for those who share Baumeister's (2016, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2016.02.003) skeptical view of the consequences of increasing rigor, a model for what to avoid). In this article we discuss some unique features of our field that may have placed us in an ideal position to be leaders in this movement. We do so from a subjective perspective, describing our impressions and opinions about possible explanations for personality psychology's disproportionate role in the credibility revolution. We also discuss some ways in which personality psychology remains less-than-optimal, and how we can address these flaws.

Keywords: credibility revolution; meta-science; personality psychology; replication crisis.

Abstract

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