G. SCOTT ACTON
CURRICULUM VITAE
September 1999
ADDRESS
PERSONAL INFORMATION
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Psychology: Personality
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
1999
A.B. Psychology
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
1993
HONORS AND FELLOWSHIPS
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, 1995-1999
Departmental Travel Award Recipient to present work at American Psychological Society Convention, Washington, D.C., 1997
National Science Foundation Summer Research Fellow, 1995
Departmental Travel Award Recipient to present work at American Psychological Association Convention, New York, New York, 1995
Ford Foundation Graduate Research Fellow (declined), 1995
Psychology Department Fellow, Northwestern University, 1994-1995
Cum Laude Graduate, Duke University, 1993
National Merit Scholar, 1989-1993
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
American Psychological Association (APA)
American Psychological Society (APS)
International Society for the Study of Individual Differences (ISSID)
Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP)
RESEARCH INTERESTS
My interest in theoretical and methodological issues in individual differences has led to a focus on two broad and overlapping areas of research: interpersonal theory, and classification. The interpersonal theory of personality incorporates a circumplex model of the interpersonal domain with dimensions of dominance and love. The interpersonal principle of complementarity specifies ways in which a person's interpersonal behavior evokes restricted classes of behavior from others, leading to a self-sustaining and reinforcing system. Three classification questions have occupied my attention: first, how valid are measures of personality taxonomies such as the interpersonal circumplex and the Big Five; second, what is the role of different semantic categories of personality-relevant terms, such as adjectives and type nouns, in lexical taxonomies of personality such as the Big Five; third, what philosophical puzzles are involved in whether psychological disorders are considered categories or dimensions? To each of these research interests I have attempted to bring conceptual clarity and methodological rigor.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Interpersonal Theory and Circumplex Structure
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
Research supported by NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and by Departmental Fellowship, and advised by William Revelle. (1) Created four new psychometric criteria for circumplex structure; (2) investigated the interpersonal theory of personality by testing five instruments for circumplex structure; (3) tested eleven circumplex criteria for their sensitivity to circumplex structure using Monte Carlo simulation; (4) studied the nomological relations of measures of the interpersonal circle and other personality taxonomies; (5) synthesized the literature on the interpersonal principle of complementarity using meta-analysis.
1994-present
Classification of Personality and Psychopathology
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
Research supported by NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Critiqued the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and recommended a dimensional alternative.
1994-present
Oregon Research Institute, Eugene, Oregon
Research supported by NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and advised by Lewis R. Goldberg, Gerard Saucier, and John M. Digman. Reviewed the literature on taxonomies of personality-relevant type nouns.
Summer 1996
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
Independent study student of Robert C. Carson. Studied the classification of psychopathology and the interpersonal theory of personality.
Spring 1993
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
Research Assistant in the laboratory of Robert Terry. (1) Wrote thesis on probabilistic causality; (2) used item response theory on the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale to determine whether children's anxiety is categorical or dimensional.
1991-1993
Aptitude Measurement
Researcher at Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation. Performed psychometric analyses of color discrimination test to determine, among other things, its general factor saturation.
1999-present
TEACHING INTERESTS
I am primarily interested in teaching courses on personality, psychometrics, and allied disciplines. I have taught a standard survey course on personality theory and research. I have also developed my own course, Great Ideas in Personality, which introduces a number of important personality theories and helps students address the question, What makes an idea in personality great? Indispensable to the science of individual differences is testing, measurement, and psychological assessment, and I would like to teach courses in these areas. I am also interested in teaching psychopathology, history and systems of psychology, and evolutionary psychology. Uniformly, my courses have emphasized the development of writing and critical thinking skills. Having found the web to be a valuable teaching resource, I have created the Great Ideas in Personality website, which includes not only my own work, but also some of my students' papers, peer commentaries, and web projects. In addition to teaching courses, I have involved students in my own research program, and expect to maintain a lab in which students can become involved in individual research.
COURSE INSTRUCTOR EXPERIENCE (NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY)
Introduction to Personality
Survey of personality theory and research. Students learned the basic findings of personality psychology, and summarized and evaluated the major approaches.
Summer 1998
Special Topics: Great Ideas in Personality
Advanced undergraduate course on outstanding personality research programs. Emphasized writing and peer commentary. Students answered the question, What makes an idea in personality great?
Fall 1997
Validity of Personality Taxonomies
Independent study student conducted a convergent and discriminant validity study on measures of the interpersonal circle and other personality taxonomies.
Fall 1998
Meta-Analysis of Interpersonal Complementarity
Independent study student conducted a quantitative review of the literature on the interpersonal principle of complementarity.
Spring 1997
TEACHING ASSISTANT / TUTORIAL EXPERIENCE
(NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AND DUKE UNIVERSITY)
Experimental Social Psychology
Introductory Psychology
Introductory Statistics
Personality Research
PUBLICATION
Acton, G. S. (1998). Classification of psychopathology: The nature of language. The Journal of Mind and Behavior, 19, 243-256.
WORKS IN PROGRESS
Acton, G. S., & Revelle, W. Evaluation of multiple circumplex criteria.
Acton, G. S., & Revelle, W. Interpersonal theory and circumplex structure.
Acton, G. S., & Revelle, W. CIRC_STRUC: A program for evaluating circumplex structure.
PRESENTATIONS
Acton, G. S., & Jang, K. M. (1999). Nomological relations of the interpersonal circle and other personality taxonomies. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Acton, G. S., & Revelle, W. (1999). New criteria for circumplex structure. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Acton, G. S., & Schroeder, D. H. (1999). Color discrimination as related to other aptitudes: An analysis of the Farnsworth-Munsell 100-Hue Test. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Acton, G. S. (1997a). Testing for circumplex structure in the Interpersonal Checklist and the Interpersonal Adjective Scales. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society, Washington, D.C.
Acton, G. S. (1997b). Testing for circumplex structure in the Interpersonal Checklist and the Interpersonal Adjective Scales. Address presented at the annual Northwestern-University of Chicago Psychology Conference, Evanston, Illinois.
Acton, G. S. (1996). On the nature of language in the classification of psychopathology. Address presented at the annual Northwestern-University of Chicago Psychology Conference, Chicago, Illinois.
Acton, G. S., & Revelle, W. (1996). Testing for circumplex structure in the interpersonal circle and the structural analysis of social behavior. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, Illinois.
Acton, G. S. (1995). On the nature of language in the classification of psychopathology. Address presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, New York, New York.
REFERENCES
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