How to Win a Career Achievement Award in Five Easy Lessons

Abstract

This professional autobiography is based on a talk given as the recipient of the 2009 Bruno Klopfer Distinguished Contribution Award. It includes a discussion of 5 of my habits that might be useful as a guide for future awardees including 1. send everything that you write to everyone you know (and ask for their help); 2. don't be afraid to pick up what's been dropped by others; 3. don't be afraid to go away and then to stay away a long time; and 4. remember good ideas—they can be useful in the future. For the fifth and most important lesson, one must read the article.

Acknowledgments

This article is a modified version of my address accepting the 2009 Bruno Klopfer Career Achievement Award from the Society for Personality Assessment (SPA) at the SPA annual meeting in Chicago on March 5, 2009. That address in turn was shamelessly cribbed from previous versions used to acknowledge the Jack Block Career Achievement Award from the Society of Personality and Social Psychology (January 25, 2007, in Memphis, TN) and the Saul Sells Career Achievement Award from the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology (October 20, 2007, in Chapel Hill, NC). Given its starkly autobiographical nature, it might also be considered as an entry in the Journal of Personality Assessment special series on personality autobiographies. Funds for my work on this article have been provided by Grant AG20048 from the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Public Health Service. Among the many who have helped me over the years, I want to publically thank some of those whose impact on my work has been especially important, including Bob Altemeyer, Chris Arthun, Michael C. Ashton, Peter Bentler, Jack Block, Frank Brokken, Matthias Burisch, David P. Campbell, William F. Chaplin, Jacob Cohen, Adriaan De Groot, John M. Digman, Joan P. Dubanoski, Herbert W. Eber, Richard F. Farmer, Jennifer J. Freyd, Janice C. Goldberg, Harrison G. Gough, Richard A. Grucza, Sarah E. Hampson, Paul J. Hoffman, Willem K. B. Hofstee, Robert Hogan, Oliver P. John, John A. Johnson, Henry Kaiser, E. Lowell Kelly, Daniel Levitin, William McConochie, Clarence C. McCormick, Robert E. McGrath, Paul E. Meehl, Lawrence R. Moran, Warren T. Norman, Gerald Patterson, Dean Peabody, Peter J. Rentfrow, William Revelle, Brent W. Roberts, Leonard G. Rorer, Myron Rothbart, James A. Russell, Gerard Saucier, Paul Slovic, Oya Somer, Dennis Sweeney, Marjorie Taylor, Auke Tellegen, Tina Rosolack Traxler, Amos Tversky, Erika Westling, and Jerry S. Wiggins. Color versions of most of the pictures sprinkled throughout this article are available from the author ([email protected]).

Editor's Note: This is a version of the award talk given at the 2009 annual meeting of the Society for Personality Assessment. Articles based on award addresses are not sent for peer review, as they reflect the recipient's perspective on their work and the field.