headshot of Oliver John

Research Bio

Oliver John is a professor in the Department of Psychology.  The Berkeley Personality Lab is interested in understanding how person factors (personality) interact with situational and environmental factors to shape people's lives and important social outcomes. Their work is summarized in terms of three broad but interrelated research topics summarized below:

  1. The Big Five Model of Personality Traits
  2. Individual Differences in Emotion and Emotion Regulation
  3. Self and Self-Perception Processes

Research Expertise and Interest

research methods, personality, measurement, emotion regulation, personality structure, personality development, traits, Big Five model, individual differences, emotion expression, self-concept, accuracy, bias, self-knowledge, personality assessment

In the News

Being a selfish jerk doesn’t get you ahead, research finds

The evidence is in: Nice guys and gals don’t finish last, and being a selfish jerk doesn’t get you ahead. That’s the clear conclusion from research that tracked disagreeable people—those with selfish, combative, manipulative personalities—from college or graduate school to where they landed in their careers about 14 years later.

Teaching

Courses taught during the three most recent terms
2026 Spring

  • Field Study in Psychology  [PSYCH 197]  

  • Supervised Independent Study and Research  [PSYCH 199]  

  • Directed Study  [PSYCH 298]  

  • Research  [PSYCH 299]  

  • Supervised Independent Study and Research  [PSYCH 99]  

  • Special Study for Honors Candidates  [PSYCH H195B]  

2025 Fall

  • Psychology of Personality  [PSYCH 150]  

  • Field Study in Psychology  [PSYCH 197]  

  • Supervised Independent Study and Research  [PSYCH 199]  

  • Seminars: Social  [PSYCH 290J]  

  • Directed Study  [PSYCH 298]  

  • Research  [PSYCH 299]  

  • Supervised Independent Study and Research  [PSYCH 99]  

  • Special Study for Honors Candidates  [PSYCH H195A]  

2025 Summer

  • Field Study in Psychology  [PSYCH 197]  

  • Supervised Independent Study and Research  [PSYCH 199]  

  • Directed Study  [PSYCH 298]  

  • Psychology of Personality  [PSYCH N150]  

2025 Spring

  • Field Study in Psychology  [PSYCH 197]  

  • Supervised Independent Study and Research  [PSYCH 199]  

  • Proseminar Course in Social and Personality Psychology  [PSYCH 260B]  

  • Directed Study  [PSYCH 298]  

  • Research  [PSYCH 299]  

  • Supervised Independent Study and Research  [PSYCH 99]  

  • Special Study for Honors Candidates  [PSYCH H195B]