Robert Roger McCrae (born April 28, 1949) is a personality psychologist. He earned his Ph.D. in 1976, and worked at the

National Institute of Aging The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is a division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), located in Bethesda, Maryland. The NIA itself is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The NIA leads a broad scientific effort to understand ...

. He is associated with the Five Factor Theory of personality. He has spent his career studying the stability of personality across age and culture. Along with Paul Costa, he is a co-author of the

Revised NEO Personality Inventory The Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) is a personality inventory that assesses an individual on five dimensions of personality. These are the same dimensions found in the Big Five personality traits. These traits are openness to experi ...

. He has served on the editorial boards of many scholarly journals, including the ''

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology The ''Journal of Personality and Social Psychology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Psychological Association that was established in 1965. It covers the fields of social and personality psychology. The edi ...

'', the ''

Journal of Research in Personality The ''Journal of Research in Personality'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the field of personality psychology, published by Elsevier Elsevier ( ) is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and m ...

'', the ''

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology ''Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers research in the field of cross-cultural psychology. The editor-in-chief is Deborah L. Best (Wake Forest University). It has been in publication since 1970 and ...

'', and the ''

Journal of Individual Differences The ''Journal of Individual Differences'' is an academic journal covering personality psychology published by Hogrefe Publishing. The editor in chief is Martin Voracek (University of Vienna). The ''Journal of Individual Differences'' publishes ...

''. McCrae was born in Maryville,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, on April 28, 1949. He is the youngest of three children of Andrew McCrae and Eloise Elaine McCrae. The Five Factor Theory takes a biological view of personality. It states “Personality traits are construed as basic tendencies that are rooted in biology and that interact with external influences, including culture, in shaping the skills, habits, tastes, and values of the individual”.Hofstede , G., & McCrae, R. R. (2004). Personality and culture revisited: Linking traits and dimensions of culture. Cross-Cultural Research, 38(1), 52-88. doi: 10.1177/1069397103259443 McCrae believes that personality is a biological trait, first and foremost. Through his research he found that around the age of 30,

neuroticism Neuroticism is a personality trait associated with negative emotions. It is one of the Big Five traits. Individuals with high scores on neuroticism are more likely than average to experience such feelings as anxiety, worry, fear, anger, shame ...

and

extraversion Extraversion and introversion are a central trait dimension in human personality theory. The terms were introduced into psychology by Carl Jung, though both the popular understanding and current psychological usage are not the same as Jung's ...

begin to decline, while

agreeableness Agreeableness is the trait theory, personality trait of being kind, Sympathy, sympathetic, cooperative, warm, honest, straightforward, and considerate. In personality psychology, agreeableness is one of the Big Five personality traits, five major ...

and

conscientiousness Conscientiousness is the personality trait of being responsible, :wikt:careful, careful, or :wikt:diligent, diligent. Conscientiousness implies a desire to do a task well, and to take obligations to others seriously. Conscientious people tend to ...

increase with age.

Openness to experience Openness to experience is one of the domains which are used to describe personality psychology, human personality in the Big Five personality traits, Five Factor Model. Openness involves six Facet (psychology), facets, or dimensions: active imagina ...

, however, seems to follow a curved shape, peaking around the age of 19.McCrae, R. R., Martin, T. A., & Costa, P. T. (2005). Age trends and age norms for the neo personality inventory-3 in adolescents and adults. Assessment,12(4), 363-373. doi: 10.1177/1073191105279724 These results, however, apply to people as a whole, this does not apply specifically to each individual. The group as a whole tends to change in these ways throughout the lifetime. As he studied personality trends and stability in cultures, McCrae found that countries high in neuroticism and low in agreeableness form dimensions of uncertainty avoidance. Countries that are low in extraversion and high in conscientiousness tend to be high in power distance. Cultures high in extraversion predict a high rate of individualism. And, high levels of neuroticism and openness to experience indicate dimensions of masculinity within the culture.

References

Living people 1949 births National Institutes of Health faculty 21st-century American psychologists Personality psychologists People from Maryville, Missouri 20th-century American psychologists {{US-psychologist-stub