René Mõttus
@renemottus.bsky.social
Personality psychology professor.
Edinburgh. Tartu.
Current effort: https://whichjob.me
About psychology:
https://psychologytoday.com/us/blog/people-unexplained
https://personalitypsychologypodcast.com
Edinburgh. Tartu.
Current effort: https://whichjob.me
About psychology:
https://psychologytoday.com/us/blog/people-unexplained
https://personalitypsychologypodcast.com
🔔 Those coming to the ECP22 in Edinburgh: Consider booking accommodation early!
Edinburgh is a very popular place.
Here are accommodation tips for ECP folks:
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
📝 Submissions & registrations are also open:
ecp22edinburgh.org
#ecp22
Edinburgh is a very popular place.
Here are accommodation tips for ECP folks:
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
📝 Submissions & registrations are also open:
ecp22edinburgh.org
#ecp22
November 6, 2025 at 5:11 PM
🔔 Those coming to the ECP22 in Edinburgh: Consider booking accommodation early!
Edinburgh is a very popular place.
Here are accommodation tips for ECP folks:
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
📝 Submissions & registrations are also open:
ecp22edinburgh.org
#ecp22
Edinburgh is a very popular place.
Here are accommodation tips for ECP folks:
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
📝 Submissions & registrations are also open:
ecp22edinburgh.org
#ecp22
Why aren't some of the strongest personality neuroscience papers getting widely cited?
November 4, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Why aren't some of the strongest personality neuroscience papers getting widely cited?
ECP22 Registration is now open:
www.ecp22edinburgh.org/registration
www.ecp22edinburgh.org/registration
November 4, 2025 at 1:01 PM
ECP22 Registration is now open:
www.ecp22edinburgh.org/registration
www.ecp22edinburgh.org/registration
Reminder: the 22nd European Conference on Personality, ECP22, Edinburgh, July 2026, is accepting submissions until 07/12. Submit a symposium, talk, or poster! We promise you the best research, many smart discussions, social fun, and a fantastic historic city.
www.ecp22edinburgh.org/submission
www.ecp22edinburgh.org/submission
October 24, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Reminder: the 22nd European Conference on Personality, ECP22, Edinburgh, July 2026, is accepting submissions until 07/12. Submit a symposium, talk, or poster! We promise you the best research, many smart discussions, social fun, and a fantastic historic city.
www.ecp22edinburgh.org/submission
www.ecp22edinburgh.org/submission
Early career personality researchers coming to the Edinburgh ECP22: If you want to get a link to a slightly more affordable uni accommodation option later this year, leave your email here:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Advance Accommodation Information
Primarily for Early Career Researchers (PhD, post-doc):
If you would like to receive advance information about a limited number of more affordable accommodation options available for the 22nd Europea...
docs.google.com
September 30, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Early career personality researchers coming to the Edinburgh ECP22: If you want to get a link to a slightly more affordable uni accommodation option later this year, leave your email here:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Personality change people: does it make sense to think that to change a broader trait domain (neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness) one could consider starting with those facets/nuances that are furthest from the desired levels?
(Most room for change?)
(Most room for change?)
September 26, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Personality change people: does it make sense to think that to change a broader trait domain (neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness) one could consider starting with those facets/nuances that are furthest from the desired levels?
(Most room for change?)
(Most room for change?)
Submissions are now open for 22nd European Conference on Personality (Edinburgh, 2026); deadline 7/12/25.
Keynote speakers and pre-conference workshops have also been confirmed.
www.ecp22edinburgh.org/submission
Keynote speakers and pre-conference workshops have also been confirmed.
www.ecp22edinburgh.org/submission
September 18, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Submissions are now open for 22nd European Conference on Personality (Edinburgh, 2026); deadline 7/12/25.
Keynote speakers and pre-conference workshops have also been confirmed.
www.ecp22edinburgh.org/submission
Keynote speakers and pre-conference workshops have also been confirmed.
www.ecp22edinburgh.org/submission
Reposted by René Mõttus
New paper out with @boryslaw.bsky.social 🥳 In which we sketch out how to rethink measurement invariance causally for applied researchers. And provide a causal definition of measurement invariance!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
September 11, 2025 at 9:11 AM
New paper out with @boryslaw.bsky.social 🥳 In which we sketch out how to rethink measurement invariance causally for applied researchers. And provide a causal definition of measurement invariance!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
I once proposed a simple tool to understand and visualise correlations, TACT.
doi.org/10.5964/ps.7...
This app makes it even easier to use: apps.psych.ut.ee/TACT/
doi.org/10.5964/ps.7...
This app makes it even easier to use: apps.psych.ut.ee/TACT/
TACT: Trisect And Cross-Tabulate to understand and visualise correlations
apps.psych.ut.ee
September 5, 2025 at 5:15 PM
I once proposed a simple tool to understand and visualise correlations, TACT.
doi.org/10.5964/ps.7...
This app makes it even easier to use: apps.psych.ut.ee/TACT/
doi.org/10.5964/ps.7...
This app makes it even easier to use: apps.psych.ut.ee/TACT/
Personality folks, is there an argument to be made for latent Big Five traits that exist independently of the particular test we happen to use to assess them?
(If yes, I will have a follow-up question)
(If yes, I will have a follow-up question)
July 10, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Personality folks, is there an argument to be made for latent Big Five traits that exist independently of the particular test we happen to use to assess them?
(If yes, I will have a follow-up question)
(If yes, I will have a follow-up question)
Now published in Current Opinion, we show why personality research should embrace multi-rater studies and how this can be achieved in practice, even at scale. Often, this is the most realistic way to avoid (reliably) invalid conclusions.
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
June 30, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Now published in Current Opinion, we show why personality research should embrace multi-rater studies and how this can be achieved in practice, even at scale. Often, this is the most realistic way to avoid (reliably) invalid conclusions.
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
Reposted by René Mõttus
What I really enjoy about Bluesky is how you can serendipitously learn so much stuff. You’ve probably heard of Dunbar’s number — the idea that humans can only maintain X stable social relationships, because *gestures vaguely* brain? Here’s a deconstruction of it.>
Taking the chance to boost the antidote, for what good it will do
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
‘Dunbar's number’ deconstructed | Biology Letters
A widespread and popular belief posits that humans possess a cognitive capacity that
is limited to keeping track of and maintaining stable relationships with approximately
150 people. This influential...
royalsocietypublishing.org
June 14, 2025 at 6:48 AM
What I really enjoy about Bluesky is how you can serendipitously learn so much stuff. You’ve probably heard of Dunbar’s number — the idea that humans can only maintain X stable social relationships, because *gestures vaguely* brain? Here’s a deconstruction of it.>
Reposted by René Mõttus
Folks, it's time to submit your papers to PCI Psychology. Here is our invitation to you, taken from our editorial osf.io/preprints/ps...
June 12, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Folks, it's time to submit your papers to PCI Psychology. Here is our invitation to you, taken from our editorial osf.io/preprints/ps...
What is the best public domain occupational interest test currently available (still relevant for the current job market)?
June 11, 2025 at 10:43 AM
What is the best public domain occupational interest test currently available (still relevant for the current job market)?
New preprint: One of the largest studies (N = 67,000) on how sexual desire varies with age, sexual orientation, education, job, number of children, recent birth, and relationship satisfaction, and how the trends differ by gender.
doi.org/10.21203/rs....
doi.org/10.21203/rs....
Associations Between Demographic and Relationship Variables and Sexual Desire: Findings from a Large-Scale Estonian Biobank Dataset
Sexual desire plays a crucial role in human well-being and relational dynamics, yet its demographic and relational predictors remain insufficiently understood. Leveraging a uniquely large and represen...
doi.org
June 9, 2025 at 11:26 AM
New preprint: One of the largest studies (N = 67,000) on how sexual desire varies with age, sexual orientation, education, job, number of children, recent birth, and relationship satisfaction, and how the trends differ by gender.
doi.org/10.21203/rs....
doi.org/10.21203/rs....
Would you recognise your friend from their personality trait profile?
Photos can be instructive: portraits of 5×5px (Big Five), 30×30px (NEO facets), or 100×100px (more facets/nuances). You decide.
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Photos can be instructive: portraits of 5×5px (Big Five), 30×30px (NEO facets), or 100×100px (more facets/nuances). You decide.
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
June 7, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Would you recognise your friend from their personality trait profile?
Photos can be instructive: portraits of 5×5px (Big Five), 30×30px (NEO facets), or 100×100px (more facets/nuances). You decide.
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Photos can be instructive: portraits of 5×5px (Big Five), 30×30px (NEO facets), or 100×100px (more facets/nuances). You decide.
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
This was a fun conversation with Kensy, the host of the @manymindspod.bsky.social
New episode!! 📣🎙️
A conversation w/ @renemottus.bsky.social about the science of human personality.
The "Big Five" model of human personality has been enormously generative and influential. But what does it miss? What does it mask? Where should the field go next?
Listen: disi.org/the-big-five...
A conversation w/ @renemottus.bsky.social about the science of human personality.
The "Big Five" model of human personality has been enormously generative and influential. But what does it miss? What does it mask? Where should the field go next?
Listen: disi.org/the-big-five...
June 2, 2025 at 8:36 PM
This was a fun conversation with Kensy, the host of the @manymindspod.bsky.social
With a PhD in personality research and interested in teaching? Consider applying for a fixed-term teaching job at the University of Edinburgh.
elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
Lecturer
The School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences is seeking to appoint a teaching focused lecturer in Psychology on a full time, fixed term contract until 31st of August 2026.
elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com
May 28, 2025 at 2:10 PM
With a PhD in personality research and interested in teaching? Consider applying for a fixed-term teaching job at the University of Edinburgh.
elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
This may be one of the largest personality research projects ever.
Extremely excited to share the first effort of the Revived Genomics of Personality Consortium: A highly-powered, comprehensive GWAS of the Big Five personality traits in 1.14 million participants from 46 cohorts. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
May 20, 2025 at 11:09 AM
This may be one of the largest personality research projects ever.
German coverage of our work on occupational personality profiles.
www.spektrum.de/news/persoen...
www.spektrum.de/news/persoen...
Job: Typische Persönlichkeitsprofile für 263 Berufe
In vielen Berufen haben die Menschen mindestens ein besonderes charakterliches Merkmal
www.spektrum.de
May 16, 2025 at 10:56 AM
German coverage of our work on occupational personality profiles.
www.spektrum.de/news/persoen...
www.spektrum.de/news/persoen...
Reposted by René Mõttus
Episode alert 🚨 Anat Bardi and Laura Parks-Leduc discuss their research on values. They delve into definitions and research approaches, changes in values, and associations with personality traits. They also highlights established evidence about values and areas unexplored.
May 14, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Episode alert 🚨 Anat Bardi and Laura Parks-Leduc discuss their research on values. They delve into definitions and research approaches, changes in values, and associations with personality traits. They also highlights established evidence about values and areas unexplored.
Reposted by René Mõttus
Some really interesting contrasts in our new "assumption-free heritability" preprint: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Nature, nurture, and socioeconomic outcomes: New evidence from sib pairs and molecular genetic data
A consequence of Mendel's First Law is that siblings' genetic relatedness varies randomly (with a mean of 50% and a standard deviation of ~4%). We use molecular
papers.ssrn.com
April 25, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Some really interesting contrasts in our new "assumption-free heritability" preprint: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
How do life satisfaction and job satisfaction vary among hundreds of jobs? (Doing a religion job looks good, if you are considering a career change.)
New preprint: osf.io/preprints/ps...
New preprint: osf.io/preprints/ps...
May 7, 2025 at 3:14 PM
How do life satisfaction and job satisfaction vary among hundreds of jobs? (Doing a religion job looks good, if you are considering a career change.)
New preprint: osf.io/preprints/ps...
New preprint: osf.io/preprints/ps...
A reminder: the European Conference of Personality of 2026, ECP22, will be in Edinburgh in July 2026.
ecp22edinburgh.org
ecp22edinburgh.org
April 14, 2025 at 10:21 PM
A reminder: the European Conference of Personality of 2026, ECP22, will be in Edinburgh in July 2026.
ecp22edinburgh.org
ecp22edinburgh.org
Gender differences in personality traits tend to be larger in countries where the dominant language is gendered according to several metrics.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
April 14, 2025 at 7:07 AM
Gender differences in personality traits tend to be larger in countries where the dominant language is gendered according to several metrics.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io/preprints/ps...