Nick Eaton Graduate student Clinical area

When I attended Washington University in St. Louis as an undergraduate, there was only a moderate focus on personality and individual differences; however, upon returning to my alma mater for graduate studies in 2008, it quickly became apparent that personality research in our department had truly blossomed. The existing core personality faculty members continue to pursue their groundbreaking research programs, and multiple new hires -- at both junior and senior levels – contribute vibrancy and cutting edge ideas to our enterprise.	Perhaps most beneficial, though, is the ease with which the new and established faculty members (and their students) have integrated into a cohesive, supportive, and collaborative area. Indeed, collaborative and interdisciplinary personality research has found a home in our Department of Psychology. Students and faculty alike regularly address questions of personality from multiple perspectives. This approach is particularly salient in the overlap between our personality and clinical psychology areas, which serves as a major attraction for students who have broad interests.
For example, Dr. Thomas Oltmanns, the Director of Clinical Training for our clinical psychology program, focuses his efforts on understanding normal and pathological personality (i.e., personality disorders) through self- and informant-report. This research dovetails nicely with that of Dr. Simine Vazire, who frequently uses informant-report designs to study person perception. Dr. Robert Krueger, my advisor, combines work on personality traits, mental disorders, and human genetics.	In short, I feel our department provides an environment that facilitates success. The mentors in the personality area provide a wealth of guidance for graduate students. Our department chair, Dr. Randy Larsen, is himself a personality researcher, and he strongly supports our area. These factors, combined with extensive resources and a truly collegial environment, combine to make Washington University an attractive home for both aspiring and established personality psychologists.