I studied Psychology at the University of Exeter (U.K) and graduated with first-class honours. On graduating I worked for the UK Ministry of Defence – mainly developing techniques for selecting fast-jet pilots, and studying the effects of stress on the performance of missile-operators. Three years later I returned to Exeter to study for my PhD under Paul Kline and worked there as a research fellow for three more years before taking up a lectureship at the University of Ulster in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, in 1986. In 1992 I moved to Queen’s University, Belfast where I remained for 20 years, researching and teaching individual differences and psychometrics.
I have supervised approximately 15 PhD students and have published 60+ papers in peer-refereed academic journals. In addition, I have written ten books on individual differences, intelligence and psychometric assessment which have been translated into several languages. Psychological Testing was awarded the British Psychological Society‘s textbook prize for 2019. I have also developed distance learning materials for two universities.
I created and validated the IQ tests for the UK and Irish versions of “Test the Nation” and participated in all four UK broadcasts as well as the Irish and Japanese programs. In addition I have reviewed tests for the Buros “Mental Measurements Yearbooks” and given numerous conference presentations keynote addresses, and training sessions.
My expertise is in individual differences research (personality, intelligence etc.) and in psychometrics – the design, construction and evaluation of psychological tests and scales measuring personality, intelligence and other cognitive abilities, together with advice on how they may be used for assessment purposes. Past clients include the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Formula4Leadership, the British Broadcasting Corporation and PeopleHawk recruiting.
I was elected President of the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences for 2021-2023, and have been a senior associate editor (now an Editor-in-Chief) of the journal Personality and Individual Differences for more years than I care to remember. I’m also joint editor of the individual differences section of the re-vamped Acta Psychologica.