PostDoc @Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, Freiburg.
PhD @Vrije University Amsterdam. With the belief that 'Serious inquiry into human nature is not a luxury', I am inspecting how personality traits and psychological situational factors jointly shape:
(Personality-Social) Psychology is 'Forever Moonlight'. I also have interdisciplinary interests, including computational social science, behavioral economics, philosophy of science/meta-science, and criminology.
Below I organize my past and ongoing research into the following:
Li, R., & Wilt, J. A. (2025). Situated selves: A cyclical model of personality expression in context. Current Opinion in Psychology, 102104. doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102104
Li, R., Balliet, D., Thielmann, I., & De Vries, R. E. (2024). Revisiting situational strength: Do strong situations restrict variance in behaviors? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. doi:10.1037/pspi0000475
Li, R., Thielmann, I., Balliet, D., & De Vries, R. E. (2023). Development of the Generic Situational Strength (GSS) scale: Measuring situational strength across contexts. In L. R. Ford & T. A. Scandura (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Survey Development and Application. doi:10.4135/9781529617757.n35
Li, R. (2022). Revisiting person–situation interactionism. Nature Reviews Psychology (journal club). doi:10.1038/s44159-022-00139-8
Li, R., Thielmann, I., Balliet, D., & De Vries, R. (R&R). Trait activation in daily life: Comparing two perspectives on person–situation interactions. Manuscript in prep.
Li, R., Van Gelder, J.-L., & De Vries, R. E. Personality and Situation Selection. Manuscript in prep.
Much content is covered in my PhD dissertation, see here:
Li, R. (2025). Unlocking Personality: How Situational Strength and Situational Affordances Shape Behavioral Expression. [PhD-Thesis – Research and graduation internal, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam]. doi:10.5463/thesis.1256
Ye, Z., Long, F., Feng, R., Van Dijk, W., & Li, R. (R&R). How Honesty–Humility shapes adjustments of communicated vs. experienced emotions in response to others’ (mis)fortunes? Manuscript in prep.
Li, R., Thielmann, I., Balliet, D., & De Vries, R. (submitted). Incentivized dishonesty: Situational strength increases trait activation and variance in dishonest behavior. Manuscript in prep.
Van Gelder, J.-L., Li, R., Wiechert, S., & Frankenhuis, W. E. (2025). Short-term mindsets: Beyond traits and self-regulation. Current Opinion in Psychology, 102112. doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102112
Li, R., De Vries, R. E., & Van Gelder, J.-L. Entangled Pathways to Crime: When Traits, Situations, and Unstable Worlds Collide. Manuscript in prep.
Li, R., & Zettler, I. (forthcoming). Entangled Minds: A roadmap for bridging cultural and personality psychology research. doi:M10.1177/27000710251388772
Li, R., De Vries, R. E., & Van Gelder, J.-L. Entangled Pathways to Crime: When Traits, Situations, and Unstable Worlds Collide. Manuscript in prep.
Li, R., Derakhshan, S., & Van Gelder, J.-L. Charting the Future of Virtual Reality in Criminology: Methodological Challenges and Future Pathways. Manuscript in prep.
We utilized well-established economic game paradigms to address a debated proposition in personality and social psychology. The implications of this research extend beyond academic circles, offering valuable insights to scholars studying human behavior and policy-makers aiming to nudge desired behaviors. Read more
Explore the latest advancements in personality assessment, including new methodologies and their implications for research and practice. Read more
An examination of questionable research practices in social science, their consequences, and strategies for promoting research integrity. Read more
An in-depth discussion on the limitations of p-value in hypothesis testing and the advantages of Bayesian approaches in statistical analysis. Read more
Discover how big data analytics is transforming research in psychology and management, offering new insights and enhancing decision-making processes. Read more
A reflection on the insights and experiences from the AOM 2020 Conference, highlighting key takeaways and their significance for management professionals. Read more