Robert Plomin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Plomin
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Plomin in 2018
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Robert Plomin
1948 (age 76–77) |
| Citizenship | American British |
| Education | DePaul University (BA) University of Texas at Austin (PhD) |
| Known for | Twins Early Development Study |
| Spouse(s) | Judith Dunn |
| Awards | Dobzhansky Memorial Award (2002; Behavior Genetics Association), William James Fellow Award (2004; Association for Psychological Science), Lifetime Achievement Award (2011; International Society for Intelligence Research) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Psychology, behavioral genetics |
| Institutions | University of Colorado at Boulder, Pennsylvania State University, King's College London |
| Doctoral advisor | Arnold H. Buss |
Robert Joseph Plomin (born 1948) is a famous American and British scientist. He is a psychologist and geneticist, which means he studies how our genes affect our behavior and how we think. He is a professor at King's College London in England. His main work is in a field called behavioural genetics, which looks at how much our genes and our environment shape who we are. In 2002, a study showed that he was one of the most often quoted psychologists of the 20th century. He has also written many books about genetics and psychology.
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About Robert Plomin
Robert Plomin was born in Chicago, a big city in the United States. He went to DePaul University and earned a degree in psychology in 1970. Later, in 1974, he received his PhD in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin.
His Career Journey
After finishing his studies, Plomin worked at the Institute for Behavioral Genetics at the University of Colorado Boulder. From 1986 to 1994, he worked at Pennsylvania State University. There, he studied twins to learn more about aging. Since 1994, he has been a professor at King's College London in the UK. He has also been the president of the Behavior Genetics Association, a group for scientists who study genes and behavior.
In 1987, Robert Plomin married Judith Dunn, who is also a British psychologist.
Awards and Recognition
Robert Plomin has received many important awards for his scientific work.
Major Awards
- In 2002, he received the Dobzhansky Memorial Award. This award is given for excellent work in behavioral genetics.
- In 2004, he was given the William James Fellow Award. This award comes from the Association for Psychological Science.
- In 2011, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Intelligence Research. This award recognized his long and important contributions to understanding intelligence.
- In 2017, he received the APA Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Psychology. This is a very high honor from the American Psychological Association.
Other Honors
Robert Plomin is considered one of the top 100 most important psychologists of the 20th century. In 2005, he became a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA). This is a special honor for experts in humanities and social sciences in the United Kingdom. In 2023, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). This award was given for his great contributions to scientific research.
What Robert Plomin Studies
Robert Plomin's research focuses on how our genes and our environment work together to make us who we are.
Plomin came up with the idea of the non-shared environment. This means the unique experiences that make people in the same family different from each other. For example, two siblings might grow up in the same house, but they have different friends, different teachers, or different hobbies. These unique experiences can make them less similar, even if they share genes.
Twins Early Development Study
Starting in 2000, Plomin led a big research project called the Twins Early Development Study. This study looked at all twins born in England between 1994 and 1996. The research focused on how children develop, especially if they have delays in early childhood. It also looked at how these delays might be connected to behavior problems and how well children do in school. This study helps scientists understand more about how genes and environment affect learning and behavior.
