Richard E. Lucas

Richard E. Lucas is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Michigan State University's College of Natural Science. He directs the Personality and Well-Being Lab and serves as a DIW Fellow with the German Socio-Economic Panel study. His research program focuses on the causes, consequences, and measurement of subjective well-being, with particular emphasis on the relationship between personality traits and emotional experiences.

Lucas's research examines three interrelated questions: (1) the associations between personality traits (particularly extraversion) and positive affect, (2) the impact of life circumstances (age, sex, marital status, unemployment) on well-being, and (3) measurement issues in assessing personality and well-being. His work frequently utilizes large, nationally representative panel studies including the German Socio-Economic Panel, the British Household Panel Study, and the Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia Study.

His recent publications reveal a strong focus on methodological issues in longitudinal research, particularly critiquing the cross-lagged panel model (CLPM) and advocating for more appropriate alternatives like the random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM). He has also published extensively on adaptation to life events, personality stability across the lifespan, and geographic variations in well-being.

As an advocate for research transparency, Lucas actively participates in replication efforts and promotes best practices in psychological research. His lab emphasizes advanced quantitative methods training, with students gaining experience in experience sampling, longitudinal analysis, and secondary data analysis using large panel studies.

Lucas's lab includes numerous PhD students and research assistants working on various aspects of personality and well-being research. He has mentored students examining within-person variability in personality, societal predictors of well-being, and psychometric properties of measurement tools. The lab is equipped with facilities for group meetings, individual computer stations, and specialized rooms for video-monitored interactions.