Tanaka Dissertation Award
The J.S. Tanaka Personality Dissertation Award is presented annually to recognize an outstanding dissertation concerning personality. The award was established to honor the memory of Jeff Tanaka and his numerous contributions to the empirical study of personality.
2024 Award Winner
The Tanaka Dissertation Award Committee has identified Dr. Hasagani Tissera as the recipient of the Tanaka Dissertation Award for dissertations defended in 2024. The committee was uniformly impressed by Dr. Tissera’s rigorous program of research.
Dr. Tissera’s dissertation is titled “The impressions we have about the impressions we make: Examining the role of accurate and positive metaperceptions on social well-being.” Her PhD supervisor was Lauren Human.
Congratulations to Dr. Tissera, and thank you to all of the 2024 Tanaka award applicants for the excellent work they are doing to further personality science!
List of Award Winners
2023 Thomas Costello
Thomas Costello, Ph.D., American University, 2022
Dissertation: Revisiting the rigidity-of-the-right hypothesis: A meta-analytic review.
Advisors: Scott O. Lilienfeld (deceased) & Arber Tasimi
2021 Hayley Jach
Hayley Jach, Ph. D., University of Melbourne, 2021
Dissertation: How personality psychology and cognitive neuroscience can enrich one another: Insights from information seeking to machine learning
Advisors: Luke D. Smilie
2020 Olivia Atherton
Olivia Atherton, Ph. D., University of California at Davis, 2020
Dissertation: Antecedents and Consequences of Effortful Control from Late Childhood to Young Adulthood
Advisors: Richard W. Robins
2019 Julia Rohrer
Julia Rohrer, Ph. D., International Max Planck Research School on the Life Course, University of Leipzig, 2019
Dissertation: Empirical and Conceptual Perspectives on the Determinants of Subjective Well-Being
Advisors: Stefan Schmukle & Gert G. Wagner
2018 Manon van Scheppingen
Manon van Scheppingen, Ph. D., Tilburg University, 2018
Dissertation: Personality development in the context of parenthood and romantic relationships
Advisors: Jaap Denissen and Wiebke Bleidorn
2017 Aaron Weidman
Aaron Weidman, Ph.D., University of British Columbia, 2017
Dissertation: Define, measure, repeat: An application of the iterative measurement-theory link to distinct positive emotions
Advisor: Jessica Tracy
2016 Felix Cheung
Felix Cheung, Ph.D., Michigan State University, 2016
Dissertation: Income redistribution and life satisfaction
Advisor: Richard Lucas
2015 Daniel A. Briley
Daniel A. Briley, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, 2015
Dissertation: The structure, development, and correlates of individual differences in human personality
Advisor: Elliot Tucker-Drob
2014 John F. Rauthmann
John F. Rauthmann, Ph.D., Humboldt University of Berlin, 2014
Dissertation: The psychological characteristics of situations
Advisors: Jens Asendorpf and Jochen Gebauer
2013 Ivana Anusic
Ivana Anusic, Ph.D., Michigan State University, 2013
Dissertation: Development of cultural identity and well-being of immigrants: Analysis of a longitudinal study of immigrants to Germany
Advisor: Richard E. Lucas
2012 Nicholas A. Turiano
Nicholas A. Turiano, Ph.D., Purdue University, 2012
Dissertation: The health behavior model of personality
Advisor: Daniel Mroczek
2011 Joshua J. Jackson
Joshua J. Jackson, Ph.D., University of Illinois, 2011
Dissertation: The effects of educational experiences on personality trait development
Advisor: Brent W. Roberts
2010 Sarah De Pauw
Sarah De Pauw, Ph.D., Ghent University, 2010
Dissertation: The contribution of temperament vs. personality to problem behavior in children and adolescents
Advisor: Ivan Mervielde
2009 Robert D. Latzman
Robert D. Latzman, Ph.D., University of Iowa, 2009
Dissertation: Interrelations among youth temperament, executive functions, and externalizing behaviors
Advisor: Lee Anna Clark
2008 Brian S. Connelly
Brian S. Connelly, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 2008
Dissertation: The reliability, convergence, and predictive validity of personality ratings: An other perspective
Advisor: Deniz S. Ones
2007 Kristian E. Markon
Kristian E. Markon , Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 2007
Dissertation: Delineating the structure of normal and abnormal personality: An integrative hierarchical approach
Advisor: Robert F. Krueger
2006 Colin G. DeYoung
Colin G. DeYoung, Ph.D., University of Toronto, 2005
Dissertation: Cognitive ability and externalizing behavior in a psychobiological personality framework
Advisor: Jordan B. Peterson
2005 Kate E. Walton
Kate E. Walton, Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2005
Dissertation: Using item response theory to bridge the measurement gap between normal personality and psychopathy
Advisor: Brent W. Roberts
2003 Marc A. Fournier
Marc A. Fournier, Ph.D., McGill University, 2002
Dissertation: Agency and communion as fundamental dimensions of social adaptation and emotional adjustment
Advisor: D. S. Moskowitz
1999 Jeremy C. Biesanz
Jeremy C. Biesanz, Ph.D., Arizona State University, 1999
Dissertation: Personality coherence across time: Implications for the structure and perception of personality
Advisor: Stephen G. West
1998 Ian D. McGregor
Ian D. McGregor, Ph.D., University of Waterloo, 1998
Dissertation: An identity consolation view of social phenomena: Theory and research
Advisor: Mark P. Zanna
1997 Eva C. Klohnen
Eva C. Klohnen, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 1996
Dissertation: Life paths of avoidantly and securely attached women across adulthood: A 31-year longitudinal perspective
Advisors: Ravenna Helson and Oliver P. John
1996 Robert F. Krueger
Robert F. Krueger, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, 1996
Dissertation: Personality traits and mental disorders: Studies of structures and their interrelations across nations, genders, races, assessment instruments, time periods and reporters
Advisor: Terrie E. Moffitt
1995 Lauri A. Jensen-Campbell
Lauri A. Jensen-Campbell, Ph.D., Texas A&M University, 1995
Dissertation: Perceptions of interpersonal conflict during early adolescence
Advisor: William G. Graziano
1994 Jenae M. Neiderhiser and Brent W. Roberts
Jenae M. Neiderhiser, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University, 1994
Dissertation: Family environment and adjustment in adolescence: Genetic and environmental influences over time
Advisor: Robert Plomin
Brent W. Roberts, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 1994
Dissertation: A longitudinal study of the reciprocal relation between women’s personality and occupational experience
Advisor: Ravenna Helson
1993 Eileen Donahue and Peter R. Darke
Eileen Donahue, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 1993
Dissertation: Bridging the gap between formal and informal assessments of personality
Advisor: Oliver P. John
Peter R. Darke, Ph.D., University of Toronto, 1993
Dissertation: The effects of a lucky event and beliefs about luck on confidence and risk-taking
Advisor: Jonathan L. Freedman