CC Room 145
4601 Central Avenue
Columbus, Indiana 47203
4601 Central Avenue
Columbus, Indiana 47203
Professional Summary
My research focuses on how the associations between personality and outcomes in the real world as well as processes associated with well-being. For example, my recent projects examined how personality traits assessed in adolescence are associated with behavioral outcomes at work in middle adulthood. In my work, I have found that positive emotions are positively associated with real world outcomes such as work success and longevity (Le, Donnellan, & Conger, 2013). In addition, studies I have conducted in the lab examined how temporary positive and negative mood states influence how people think about their goals. I also am interested in how individual differences in happiness could be explained by time spent in social activities or reward sensitivity (Lucas, Le, Dyrenforth, 2008; Baird, Le, Lucas, 2006). Basically, I am interested in testing how personality is related to important outcomes and the processes underlying individual differences in positive emotional experience.
Education
- Ph.D. Personality Psychology, Michigan State University, 2009.
- M.A. Psychology, Michigan State University, 2006.
- B.A. Cognitive Science, University of California, Irvine, 1999
Courses Taught
- PSY B305: Introductory Statistics
- PSY B424: Personality Psychology
- PSY B356: Motivation
- PSY B311: Introduction to Lab
- PSY B425: Capstone in Personality Psychology
Publications
- Le, K., Donnellan, M.B., Conger, R. (2013). Personality Development at Work: Workplace Conditions, Personality Changes, and the Corresponsive Principle. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. doi: 10.1111/jopy.12032
- Killian, L.J., & Le, K. (2012). Citizen Perceptions of General-Purpose and Special District Governments: A Comparative Analysis. Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting, & Financial Management, 24, 397-428.
- Lucas, R.E., Le, K., & Dyrenforth, P. (2008). Explaining the extraversion/positive affect relation: Sociability cannot account for extraverts’ greater happiness. Journal of Personality, 76, 385-414. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00490.x
- Baird, B,M., Le, K., & Lucas, R.E. (2006). On the nature of intraindividual personality variability: Reliability, validity, and associations with well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 512-527. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.90.3.512
