Dr Ross Stewart
Lecturer
Biography
I am a lecturer of Psychology at The University of Chester, having joined the team in May 2025. My academic journey has taken me across the UK, with studies and occupations across Scotland, Wales, and England. I joined The University of Chester after two academic years at Wrexham University (previously known as Wrexham Glyndwr University or Glyndwr University). Whilst at Wrexham, I was the acting course leader for the MSc Applied Psychology course, and also served as the academic link. I began my PhD in 2018 at The University of Edinburgh, researching the extent to which personality traits are predictive of life outcomes, both within and across cultures. I have been published in academic journals such as The Journal of Research in Personality (JRP) and The Journal of Personality (JoP). Furthermore, I have also acted as a reviewer for journals such as Scientific Reports, The British Journal of Health Psychology, and Current Psychology.
Teaching and Supervision
I predominantly teach in modules covering research methods and Individual Differences. More specifically, I'm the module leader of Individual and Social Processes (PS4024), and am involved in the teaching of Introduction to Research in Psychology (PS4023), Cyberpsychology (PS4027), Psychology in Society (PS5024) and Applied Research Methods in Psychology (PS7602). I am also involved in both UG and PG dissertations.
Research and Knowledge Exchange
My research is grounded in Individual Differences, predominantly from a trait-personality perspective. My predominant interest is in the way we best operationalise these traits to understand their associations with life outcomes. That is, I use advanced predictive models to predict life outcomes from personality traits, seeing which provide us with the most accurate predictions. In doing so, I use a wide range of psychometric tools, developed specifically to capture a wide range of personality traits. I have some interest in psychometrics, looking at the ways we can best capture particular outcomes. In doing so, I look to understand the ways in which we understand psychological outcomes and constructs, looking at how we can best represent them in research. From an applied perspective, I have interests in both Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and general addiction. My current research into these areas involves the use of detailed personality traits, looking to identify key identifiers of these outcomes. My hope is that this can be used for future diagnostic or intervention purposes. Finally, I also have an interest in personality change. Whilst there does appear to be emerging evidence of change within personality, I am interested in uncovering what aspects of us are most prone to change. This will give a more rounded understanding of what is indicative of 'normal' and 'non-normal' change.