World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Award Badge
Best Scientists
2025
Award Badge
Psychology
UK
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Best Scientists

D-Index
187
Citations
155060
World Ranking
469
National Ranking
50

Psychology

D-Index
182
Citations
134849
World Ranking
22
National Ranking
7

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Psychology in United Kingdom Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Best Scientists Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Psychology in United Kingdom Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Psychology in United Kingdom Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Psychology in United Kingdom Leader Award
  • 2021 - Grawemeyer Award in Psychology, University of Louisville
  • 2017 - APA Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Psychology, American Psychological Association
  • 2005 - Fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
  • 2004 - William James Fellow Award, Association for Psychological Science (APA)
  • 2001 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • Fellow of The Academy of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom
  • Fellow of The Academy of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom
  • Fellow of The Academy of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom
  • Fellow of The Academy of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom

Overview

Robert Plomin is affiliated with King's College London in the United Kingdom. Their research focuses primarily on the fields of Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, and Psychology, with a significant number of publications in Genetics and Experimental and Cognitive Psychology. Their work also spans Clinical Psychology, Education, and Molecular Biology.

The main topics addressed in their research include:

  • Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
  • Cognitive Abilities and Testing
  • Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Genetic Mapping and Diversity in Plants and Animals
  • Birth, Development, and Health
  • Early Childhood Education and Development

Robert Plomin has authored numerous publications in several prominent venues. The most frequent publication outlets include:

  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • European Neuropsychopharmacology
  • Twin Research and Human Genetics
  • Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
  • Molecular Psychiatry

Selected recent papers demonstrate the scope of their research:

  • Evaluation of polygenic prediction methodology within a reference-standardized framework, 2021, PLoS Genetics
  • Genome-wide analyses of individual differences in quantitatively assessed reading- and language-related skills in up to 34,000 people, 2022, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • Polygenic scores: prediction versus explanation, 2021, Molecular Psychiatry
  • Comparison of Adopted and Nonadopted Individuals Reveals Gene-Environment Interplay for Education in the UK Biobank, 2020, Psychological Science
  • Cognitive ability and education: How behavioural genetic research has advanced our knowledge and understanding of their association, 2020, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

Their frequent co-authors include Kaili Rimfeld, Andrea G. Allegrini, Margherita Malanchini, Dorret I. Boomsma, and Jaakko Kaprio, reflecting sustained collaboration in genetics and psychology-related studies.

Over the course of their career, Robert Plomin has received multiple awards, such as:

  • Grawemeyer Award in Psychology, University of Louisville, 2021
  • APA Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Psychology, American Psychological Association, 2017
  • Fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2005
  • William James Fellow Award, Association for Psychological Science (APA), 2004
  • Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2001
  • Fellow of The Academy of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom

Best Publications

  • Temperament (PLE: Emotion): Early Developing Personality Traits

    Arnold H. Buss;Robert Plomin

  • A temperament theory of personality development

    Arnold H. Buss;Robert Plomin

  • Temperament: Early Developing Personality Traits

    Arnold H. Buss;Robert Plomin

  • Discovery of the first genome-wide significant risk loci for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

    Ditte Demontis;Ditte Demontis;Raymond K Walters;Raymond K Walters;Joanna Martin;Joanna Martin;Joanna Martin;Manuel Mattheisen

  • Genotype-environment interaction and correlation in the analysis of human behavior.

    Robert Plomin;J. C. DeFries;John C. Loehlin

  • Why are children in the same family so different from one another

    Robert Plomin;Denise Daniels

  • Roundtable: what is temperament? Four approaches

    H. Hill Goldsmith;Arnold H. Buss;Robert Plomin;Mary Klevjord Rothbart

  • Common schizophrenia alleles are enriched in mutation-intolerant genes and in regions under strong background selection

    Antonio F. Pardiñas;Peter Holmans;Andrew J. Pocklington;Valentina Escott-Price

  • The Genetic Basis of Complex Human Behaviors

    Robert Plomin;Michael J. Owen;Peter McGuffin

  • Time to give up on a single explanation for autism

    Francesca Happé;Angelica Ronald;Robert Plomin

  • Genome-wide association meta-analysis in 269,867 individuals identifies new genetic and functional links to intelligence

    Jeanne E Savage;Philip R Jansen;Philip R Jansen;Sven Stringer;Kyoko Watanabe

  • Genetic variants associated with subjective well-being, depressive symptoms, and neuroticism identified through genome-wide analyses

    Aysu Okbay;Bart M L Baselmans;Jan-Emmanuel De Neve;Patrick Turley

  • Evidence for substantial genetic risk for psychopathy in 7-year-olds.

    Essi Viding;R. James R. Blair;Terrie E. Moffitt;Robert Plomin

  • Behavioral genetics, a primer

    Robert Plomin;J. C. DeFries;G. E. McClearn

  • Evidence for a strong genetic influence on childhood adiposity despite the force of the obesogenic environment

    Jane Wardle;Susan Carnell;Claire M. A. Haworth;Robert Plomin

  • Development, genetics, and psychology

    Robert Plomin

  • Substantial genetic influence on cognitive abilities in twins 80 or more years old

    Gerald E. McClearn;Boo Johansson;Stig Berg;Nancy L. Pedersen

  • Separate Lives: Why Siblings Are So Different

    Judith Dunn;Robert Plomin

  • Gene-environment interaction analysis of serotonin system markers with adolescent depression.

    Thalia Eley;K Sugden;A Corsico;Alice Gregory

  • Common disorders are quantitative traits

    Robert Plomin;Claire M. A. Haworth;Oliver S. P. Davis

  • The genetic and environmental origins of learning abilities and disabilities in the early school years: V. Genetic stability, environmental change.

    Yulia Kovas;Claire M. A. Haworth;Philip S. Dale;Robert Plomin

  • GENOTYPE-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION AND CORRELATION IN ANALYSIS OF HUMAN-BEHAVIOR

    Robert Plomin

  • Genetic variants associated with subjective well-being, depressive symptoms, and neuroticism identified through genome-wide analyses

    Aysu Okbay;Bart M. L. Baselmans;Jan-Emmanuel De Neve;Patrick Turley

Frequent Co-Authors

Philip S. Dale
Philip S. Dale University of New Mexico
Claire M. A. Haworth
Claire M. A. Haworth University of Bristol
Yulia Kovas
Yulia Kovas Goldsmiths University of London
John C. DeFries
John C. DeFries University of Colorado Boulder
Thalia C. Eley
Thalia C. Eley King's College London
Stephen A. Petrill
Stephen A. Petrill The Ohio State University
Kaili Rimfeld
Kaili Rimfeld King's College London
David W. Fulker
David W. Fulker University of Colorado Boulder
Gerald E. McClearn
Gerald E. McClearn Pennsylvania State University
Ian W. Craig
Ian W. Craig King's College London

If you think any of the details on this page are incorrect, let us know.

Report an issue

We appreciate your kind effort to assist us to improve this page, it would be helpful providing us with as much detail as possible in the text box below:

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

Studying psychology in the USA can open the door to numerous online degrees and diverse career pathways. Many students choose to pursue mental health counseling, clinical psychology, or related fields, which often require advanced degrees and licensure.

One of the most popular career routes is becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). Each state has its own licensure process. For example, you can explore lpc license requirements in Oregon if you wish to practice there. Other states have their own guidelines, like the Pennsylvania licensed professional counselor requirements and the Rhode Island lpc licensure requirements.

Most states, such as South Carolina, require a graduate degree, supervised clinical experience, and a passing score on the national counselor examination. To learn more about the process, see this guide on how to get an lpc license in South Carolina.

Choosing the right online degree and understanding the specific requirements in your target state are crucial first steps toward a rewarding counseling career.

Best Scientists Citing Robert Plomin

Trending Scientists

Recently Published Articles