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Christopher Peterson Ph.D.

About

Christopher Peterson was at the University of Michigan, where he was professor of psychology and organizational studies and former director of clinical training. He held the appointment of Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, in recognition of his contributions to teaching. Peterson was among the 100 most widely cited psychologists in the world. He was a member of the Positive Psychology Steering Committee, a consulting editor to the Journal of Positive Psychology, Perspectives on Psychological Science, and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and the Positive Psychology Book Series Editor for Oxford University Press. He authored A Primer in Positive Psychology, published in 2006 by Oxford University Press, as well as Pursuing the Good Life, selections of his PT blog column.

Books by Christopher Peterson Ph.D.
Recent Posts
Smiling and Stress
Smiling does not reduce stress in the moment, but it speeds recovery when a stressful experience is over.
Catchphrases
Catchphrases play a positive role in our lives of young people. They allow terse communication. They are amusing. They make one feel happy.
Hail to Rolling Luggage

August 2012 marked the 25th anniversary of the invention of rolling luggage, aka rollaboards.

August 2012 marked the 25th anniversary of the invention of rolling luggage, aka rollaboards.

When Did the Buddha Become Fat?

Images, especially of faces, are a powerful way to communicate.

Images, especially of faces, are a powerful way to communicate.

Busting Myths about Positive Psychology

To some degree, myths about psychology disappear when students are exposed to other (“correct”) ideas. But it may be more helpful to call out the myths explicitly and refute them.

To some degree, myths about psychology disappear when students are exposed to other (“correct”) ideas. But it may be more helpful to call out the myths explicitly and refute them.

For Whom the Bell Holds

A recent article by Ernest O’Boyle and Herman Aguinus (2012) challenges the ubiquity of the bell-shaped curve as a description of human performance. These researchers looked at a large variety of objective performance measures from such domains as entertainment, science, politics, and sports and found that their distributions rarely fit a bell curve.

A recent article by Ernest O’Boyle and Herman Aguinus (2012) challenges the ubiquity of the bell-shaped curve as a description of human performance. These researchers looked at a large variety of objective performance measures from such domains as entertainment, science, politics, and sports and found that their distributions rarely fit a bell curve.