Experts

Shawn Achor

CEO of GoodThink Inc.

Specialties: happiness at work, happiness and success

Books: Before Happiness: The 5 Hidden Keys to Achieving Success, Spreading Happiness, and Sustaining Positive Change (2013), The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work (2010)

Links: GoodThink Inc., Shawn Achor’s TED talk, Shawn Achor on Twitter

Caroline Adams Miller

Certified professional coach, advisory board member at Happify

Specialties: well-being, goal setting, leadership

Books: Positively Caroline: How I Beat Bulimia for Good…and Found Real Happiness (2013), Creating Your Best Life: The Ultimate Life List Guide (2011, with Michael B. Frisch), Bright Words for Dark Days: Meditations for Women Who Get the Blues (1994), Feeding the Soul: Daily Meditations for Recovering from Eating Disorders (1991), My Name Is Caroline (1988)

Links: Caroline Adams Miller’s website, Caroline Adams Miller on Twitter

Tal Ben-Shahar

Teacher at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, cofounder and chief learning officer of the Wholebeing Institute

Specialties: leadership, education, ethics, happiness, self-esteem, resilience, goal setting, mindfulness

Books: Choose the Life You Want: The Mindful Way to Happiness (2014), Being Happy: You Don’t Have to Be Perfect to Lead a Richer, Happier Life (2010), The Pursuit of Perfect: How to Stop Chasing Perfection and Start Living a Richer, Happier Life (2009), Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment (2007)

Links: Tal Ben-Shahar’s website, The Wholebeing Institute

Brené Brown

Research professor at the University of Houston Graduate School of Social Work

Specialties: vulnerability, courage, worthiness, shame

Books: Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead (2012), The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are (2010), I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t): Making the Journey from “What Will People Think?” to “I Am Enough (2007)

Links: Brené Brown’s website, Brené Brown at the University of Houston, Brené Brown’s TED talk, Brené Brown on Twitter

Roy Baumeister

Professor of social psychology at Florida State University

Specialties: Self and identity, emotion, social rejection and belongingness, aggression, sexuality, self-control, self-esteem, interpersonal processes, defensiveness and self-deception, self-defeating behaviors, quest for meaning, motivated cognition, interdisciplinary approaches to psychology

Books: Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength (2011, with John Tierney)

Links: Roy Baumeister at Florida State University

Stuart Brown

Assistant consulting professor at Stanford’s d.school, founder of the National Institute for Play

Specialties: play

Books: Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul (2009)

Links: Stuart Brown at Stanford, Stuart Brown on TED

Fred Bryant

Professor at Loyola University Chicago

Specialties: subjective life quality, positive emotions, savoring, affect intensity, psychological well-being, conceptualization and measurement of cognition and emotion, psychological functioning

Books: Savoring: A New Model of Positive Experience (2006, with Joseph Veroff)

Links: Fred Bryant at Loyola University Chicago

Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi

Distinguished professor of psychology and management at Claremont Graduate Institute, founding codirector of the Quality of Life Research Center

Specialties: creativity and innovation, flow

Books: The Evolving Self: A Psychology for the Third Millennium (2009), Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention (2009), Good Business: Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning (2004), Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life (1997), Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (1990)

Links: Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi at Claremont Graduate Institute, Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi’s TED talk

Richard Davidson

Professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, chair of the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds

Specialties: meditation, neuroscience, affective and anxiety disorders

Books: The Emotional Life of Your Brain: How Its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think, Feel, and Live – and How You Can Change Them (2012), Training the Brain: Cultivating Emotional Skills (2012)

Links: Richard Davidson at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Richard Davidson’s website, The Center for Investigating Healthy Minds on Twitter

Ed Diener

Emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, senior scientist at Gallup

Specialties: subjective well-being

Books: Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth (2008, with Robert Biswas-Diener)

Links: Ed Diener at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Angela Duckworth

Associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania

Specialties: grit, self-control

Links: Angela Duckworth at the University of Pennsylvania, The Duckworth Lab at the University of Pennsylvania, Angela Duckworth on TED

Jane Dutton

Professor of business administration and psychology at the University of Michigan

Specialties: organizations, connections and relationships at work, compassion, issue selling and issue management, identity and identification in organizations, job crafting and the meaning of work

Books: How to Be a Positive Leader: Small Actions, Big Impact (2014, with Gretchen M. Spreitzer), Energize Your Workplace: How to Create and Sustain High-Quality Connections at Work (2003)

Links: Jane Dutton at the University of Michigan, The CompassionLab, Jane Dutton on Twitter

Carol Dweck

Professor at Stanford University

Specialties: mindsets, self-conception, motivation, self-regulation, achievement, interpersonal processes

Books: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2006)

Links: Carol Dweck at Stanford University, MindSet website, Mindset Works website, Brainology on Twitter

Robert Emmons

Professor at the University of California-Davis

Specialties: personality, emotion, religion, gratitude, personal goals

Books: Gratitude Works!: A 21-Day Program for Creating Emotional Prosperity (2013), THANKS!: How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier (2008), The Psychology of Ultimate Concerns: Motivation and Spirituality in Personality (2003), Words of Gratitude for Mind, Body, and Soul (2001)

Links: Robert Emmons at UC Davis, Robert Emmons on Twitter

Barbara Fredrickson

Professor of psychology and principal investigator of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Laboratory at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

Specialties: positive emotions

Books: Love 2.0: Finding Happiness and Health in Moments of Connection (2013), Positivity: Top-Notch Research Reveals the 3 to 1 Ratio That Will Change Your Life (2009)

Links: Barbara Fredrickson at UNC-Chapel Hill, Barbara Fredrickson’s website,

Shelly Gable

Professor at UC Santa Barbara

Specialties: motivation, close relationships, positive emotions

Links: Shelly Gable at UC Santa Barbara

Daniel Gilbert

Professor of psychology at Harvard University

Specialties: affective forecasting, social perception, belief

Books: Stumbling on Happiness (2006)

Links: Daniel Gilbert at Harvard, Daniel Gilbert on TED, Daniel Gilbert on Twitter

Daniel Goleman

Author, science journalist, and former New York Times writer

Specialties: emotional intelligence, self-deception, creativity, transparency, meditation, social and emotional learning, ecoliteracy

Books: What Makes a Leader: Why Emotional Intelligence Matters (2014), The Triple Focus: A New Approach to Education (2014, with Peter Senge), Primal Leadership, With a New Preface by the Authors: Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence (2013, with Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee), Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence (2013), Healing Emotions: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Mindfulness, Emotions, and Health (2013), Emotional Intelligence: 10th Anniversary Edition (2012), Ecoliterate: How Educators Are Cultivating Emotional, Social, and Ecological Intelligence (2012, with Lisa Bennett and Zenobia Barlow), Working With Emotional Intelligence (2011), Leadership: The Power of Emotional Intelligence (2011), The Brain and Emotional Intelligence: New Insights (2011), Ecological Intelligence: How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy Can Change Everything (2009), Measuring the Immeasurable: The Scientific Case for Spirituality (2008, with Gary Small, Gregg Braden, Bruce Lipton, and Lynne McTaggart), Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships (2006), The New Leaders: Transforming the Art of Leadership (2002, with Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee), The Meditative Mind: The Varieties of Meditative Experience (1996), The Creative Spirit: Companion to the PBS Television Series (1992, with Paul Kaufman and Michael Ray)

Links: Daniel Goleman’s website, Daniel Goleman on TED, Daniel Goleman on Twitter

Adam Grant

Professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton

Specialties: work motivation, prosocial giving and helping behaviors, job design and meaningful work, initiative and proactivity, leadership, burnout

Books: Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success (2013)

Links: Adam Grant at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton, Give and Take website, Adam Grant’s website, Adam Grant on Twitter

John M. Gottman

Cofounder of The Gottman Institute, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Washington

Specialties: marriage, divorce

Books: Why Marriages Succeed or Fail: And How You Can Make Yours Last (2012), Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child (2011, with Daniel Goleman), The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships (2002)

Links: [uni], The Gottman Institute, The Gottman Blog, Gottman Institute on Twitter

Jonathan Haidt

Professor of ethical leadership at NYU-Stern

Specialties: moral psychology, politics, awe, admiration, moral elevation

Books: The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom (2006)

Links: Jonathan Haidt at NYU, Jonathan Haidt’s TED talk, Happiness Hypothesis website

Susanna Halonen

The Happyologist, a happiness coach and writer

Specialities: Living a happy and passionate life, career change, habit change, and confidence

Books: Screw Finding Your Passion: It’s Within You, Let’s Unlock It (2015)

Links: Happyologist, Happyologist on Facebook

Daniel Kahneman

Emeritus professor of psychology and public affairs at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs

Specialties: judgment, decision making, behavioral economics, hedonic psychology

Books: Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011)

Links: Daniel Kahneman at Princeton, Daniel Kahneman on TED

Todd Kashdan

Associate professor of psychology and senior scientist at the Center for Consciousness and Transformation at George Mason University

Specialties: positive emotions, purpose, character strengths, meaning

Books: The Upside of Your Dark Side: Why Being Your Whole Self–Not Just Your “Good” Self–Drives Success and Fulfillment (2014, with Robert Biswas-Diener), Curious? (2009)

Links: Todd Kashdan at George Mason University, Todd Kashdan’s website, Todd Kashdan on Twitter

Dacher Keltner

Professor at the University of California Berkeley, codirector of the Greater Good Science Center

Specialties: emotion and social interaction, power and social perception and behavior, negotiating morality, individual differences in emotion, conflict and negotiation, culture

Books: Understanding Emotions (2013), Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life (2009), Social Psychology (2010, with Tom Gilovich and Richard Nisbett)

Links: Dacher Keltner at UC Berkeley, Greater Good Science Center on Twitter

Laura King

Professor at the University of Missouri

Specialties: personality, well-being, motivation, meaning in life, social cognitive factors in well-being judgments, individual differences in intuitive processing, narrative approaches to personality and identity, the psychology of the good life

Books: Experience Psychology (2013), The Science of Psychology: Modules (2011), The Science of Psychology: An Appreciative View (2010)

Links: Laura King at the University of Missouri