Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D.

Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D., is the Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs the Positive Psychology Center. As president of the American Psychological Association in 1998, he made the scientific study of positive psychology one of his presidential initiatives, spurring a dramatic growth in research on human well-being and in practical interventions, from positive education to positive psychotherapy, that demonstrably increase it. Ranked the most influential psychologist in the world by Academic Influence, he is a leading authority on resilience, learned helplessness, depression, and optimism, and a recognized expert on interventions that prevent depression and build strengths.

Seligman has written more than 350 scholarly publications and more than thirty books, translated into more than 50 languages, including Tomorrowmind, The Hope Circuit, Flourish, Authentic Happiness, Learned Optimism, and The Optimistic Child. His honors include the APA Award for Lifetime Contributions to Psychology, the Tang Award for Lifetime Achievement in Psychology, and the APA Award for Distinguished Scientific Contribution, and his research has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Guggenheim and MacArthur Foundations. He earned his A.B. in philosophy, summa cum laude, from Princeton University and his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and he holds ten honorary doctorates.

Seligman’s latest book is Agency: The Psychological History of Human Progress.