About Sonja Lyubomirsky

(Download Sonja Lyubomirsky’s CV)  (Watch Selection of Video Clips)

Office Address
Department of Psychology
University of California
Riverside, CA 92521
Phone: (951) 827-5041 (msg only)
e-mail: firstname.lastname@ucr.edu		 Home Address
Santa Monica, CA

Academic History 

  • A.B., Psychology, summa cum laude, Harvard University, 1989
  • Ph.D., Social Psychology, Stanford University, 1994
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, 1994-2001
  • Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, 2001-2005
  • Professor, Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, 2005-2019
  • Vice Chair, Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, 2017-2021
  • Distinguished Professor, Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, 2019-present

Selected Fellowships and Awards

  • Honorary Doctorate, Faculty of Psychology, University of Basel, 2021
  • Christopher J. Peterson Gold Medal, International Positive Psychology Association, 2019
  • Carol and Ed Diener Award for Outstanding Mid-Career Contributions in Personality Psychology, 2018
  • Distinguished Research Lecturer Award, College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, UC Riverside, 2017-2018
  • Top Cited Researcher at UC Riverside, Clarivate Analytics Web of Science
  • Dennis L. Chernin Memorial Lecturer, Yale University, 2016
  • Maret Distinguished Alumni Award, The Maret School, Washington DC, 2015
  • Faculty of the Year Award, Department of Psychology, UC Riverside, 2012-2013
  • Fellow, Society for Personality and Social Psychology
  • Fellow, Association for Psychological Science
  • IPPA Fellow, International Positive Psychology Association
  • Best Paper Award, Journal of Happiness Studies, 2006
  • Member, Society of Experimental Social Psychology
  • Honorable Mention, Social Psychology Network Action Teaching Award, 2011
  • Templeton Positive Psychology Prize, American Psychological Association, 2002
  • Faculty of the Year Award, Department of Psychology, UC Riverside, 1999-2000
  • Faculty Mentor of the Year, University Honors Program, 1999-2000
  • National Institutes of Mental Health, RO1 Award, 2004-2009
  • National Institutes of Mental Health, B/START Award, 1999-2000
  • Cancer Research Coordinating Committee Grant, 1998-1999
  • National Institutes of Mental Health, Individual National Research Service Award, 1993-1994
  • Centennial Teaching Assistant Award, Stanford University, 1994
  • National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, 1989-1992
  • Thomas T. Hoopes Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Work, Harvard University, 1989
  • Faculty Prize for Outstanding Honors Thesis, Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 1989

Blog

Past & Future Talks (2018-present only)

  • JAN 19, 2018: Invited Speaker, Port Life Speaker Series, Port of San Diego, San Diego, CA
  • FEB 10, 2018: Keynote Speaker, 2nd Global Dialogue for Happiness, Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
  • MAR 27, 2018: Invited Speaker, Campus Talk, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
  • APR 27, 2018: Invited Speaker, Society for Affective Science, Fifth Annual Conference, Los Angeles, CA
  • MAY 26, 2018: Invited Speaker, Society for the Teaching of Psychology, Association for Psychological Science, San Francisco, CA
  • JUN 20, 2018: Invited Speaker, Hopelab, San Francisco, CA
  • AUG 2, 2018: Keynote Speaker, The 2018 Lowcountry Mental Health Conference, Charleston, SC
  • AUG 7, 2018: William K. Warren, Jr. Frontiers in Neuroscience Lecturer, Laureate Institute for Brain Research, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK
  • OCT 12, 2018: Invited Speaker, The 19th Annual World Knowledge Forum, Seoul, SOUTH KOREA
  • OCT 13, 2018: Invited Speaker, United Cargo Convention, La Jolla, CA
  • OCT 24, 2018: Invited Speaker, Bay Area Women’s Forum Series, San Francisco, CA
  • NOV 7, 2018, Invited Speaker, International Bullying Prevention Association Conference, San Diego, CA
  • NOV 8, 2018: Invited Speaker, New York Women’s Forum Series, New York, NY
  • NOV 15, 2018: Invited Speaker, Happiness@Work Conference, Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC
  • NOV 27, 2018: Invited Speaker, Introductory Psychology Series, Pomona College, Claremont, CA
  • JAN 11, 2019: Invited Speaker, Behavioral Decision Making Seminar, UCLA Anderson School of Management, Los Angeles, CA
  • JAN 29, 2019: Invited Speaker, Mountain View/Los Altos Parent Education Series, Mountain View High School, Mountain View, CA
  • FEB 20, 2019: Invited Speaker, Berkeley Forum, University of California, Berkeley, CA
  • MAR 9, 2019, Invited Speaker, The Happiness Puzzle: Science, the Arts, and Psychoanalysis, New Center for Psychoanalysis, Beverly Hills, CA
  • MAR 14, 2019: Invited Speaker, 9th Annual Wellness Summit, Stanford Health Promotion Network, Stanford, CA
  • MAR 16, 2019: Invited Speaker, World Happiness Summit, Miami, FL
  • APR 9, 2019: Invited Speaker, Ravenswood School for Girls, Sydney, AUSTRALIA
  • APR 11, 2019: Keynote Speaker, Positive Education Schools Association Conference, Gold Coast, Queensland, AUSTRALIA
  • APR 15, 2019: Plenary Speaker, Integrative Mental Health Conference, San Francisco, CA
  • APR 25, 2019: Invited Speaker, Colloquium Series, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY
  • MAY 2, 2019: Invited Speaker, Positive Fridays, Division of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA
  • MAY 14, 2019: Invited Speaker, Distinguished Research Lecturer Award, University of California, Riverside, CA
  • MAY 25, 2019: Invited Speaker, Reunion Symposium Series, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
  • JUN 12, 2019: Invited Speaker, Boston Women’s Forum, Boston, MA
  • JUL 11, 2019: Plenary Speaker, The Educator Summit, Philadelphia, PA
  • JUL 20, 2019: Invited Symposium Speaker, 6th World Congress on Positive Psychology, Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
  • JUL 20, 2019: Plenary Speaker, 6th World Congress on Positive Psychology, Melbourne, AUSTRALIA. [Click here for two slides on revisiting the pie chart.]
  • SEP 21, 2019: Closing Keynote Speaker, Annual Women’s Leadership Conference, Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles, CA
  • OCT 19, 2019: Symposium Speaker, Annual Meeting of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, Toronto, CANADA
  • NOV 6, 2019: Plenary Speaker, Global Human Resources Forum 2019, Seoul, SOUTH KOREA
  • NOV 16, 2019: Speaker & Panelist, Back to Class presentation, UCR Homecoming, UCR Foundation Stewardship Committee, University of California, Riverside, CA
  • NOV 18, 2019: Panelist, The New York Academy of Sciences and the Critical Care & Resuscitation Research Program at NYU Langone Health, New  York, NY
  • DEC 9, 2019: Invited Speaker, Titan Summit 2019, Toronto, CANADA
  • FEB 27, 2020: Keynote Speaker, Happiness & Well-Being Preconference of the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, New Orleans, LA
  • MAR 16, 2020: Keynote Speaker, Health & Happiness Summit, Chapman University, Orange, CA POSTPONED
  • APR 15, 2020: Invited Speaker, Pacific Union Club, San Francisco, CA POSTPONED
  • MAY 7, 2020: Brown Bag Speaker, Social/Personality Brown Bag, Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside
  • MAY 22-23, 2020: Symposium Speaker, Annual Convention of the Association for Psychological Science, Chicago, IL POSTPONED
  • JUN 3, 2020: Invited Speaker, Women’s Virtual Forum, Cornerstone Research, Santa Monica, CA
  • JUL 18, 2020: Invited Speaker, Silver Tip Ranch, Slough Creek, MT
  • JUL 23, 2020: Invited Speaker, CHRO Council, San Francisco, CA
  • SEP 10, 2020:  Invited Speaker, Resiliency 2020, Peoria, IL POSTPONED
  • SEP 11, 2020: Invited Speaker, Psych Congress, Nashville, TN (virtual)
  • SEP 21, 2020: Invited Speaker, Marion Minor Cook Athenaeum, Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, CA (virtual)
  • OCT 28, 2020: Keynote Speaker, VESTED Magazine & CAPTRUST (virtual)
  • NOV 7, 2020: Invited Speaker, TEDxManhattanBeach, Manhattan Beach, CA POSTPONED
  • NOV 16, 2020: Invited Speaker, Google UX (virtual)
  • DEC 3, 2020: Keynote Speaker, Nordic Webinar for Student Well-Being (virtual)
  • DEC 9, 2020: Keynote Speaker, 51st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (virtual)
  • DEC 11, 2020: Keynote Speaker, Google Ireland (virtual)
  • DEC 17, 2020: Invited Speaker, Murdock Mind, Body, Spirit Series, Aspen Institute, Aspen, CO POSTPONED
  • JAN 24, 2021: Invited Speaker, Leverage & Growth Accelerator, Physicians Group (virtual)
  • JAN 26, 2021: Invited Speaker, Latham & Watkins, Women Lawyers Group (virtual)
  • FEB 1, 2021: Invited Speaker, Monta Vista PTSA (virtual)
  • MAR 4, 2021: Keynote Speaker, Mental Health Asia Conference (virtual)
  • APR 23, 2021: Invited Speaker, Social/Personality Brown Bag, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia (virtual)
  • MAY 12, 2021: 60-Second Keynote, Speaker’s Corner Night at the Owl Bar (virtual)
  • MAY 28, 2021: Arnold Gilberg Lecturer in Psychiatry & Behavioral Health, Cedars-Sinai Health System (virtual)
  • JUL 21, 2021: Invited Speaker, Jane Street Europe, Summer Speakers Series (virtual)
  • JUL 22, 2021: Plenary Speaker, Annual Meeting of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (virtual)
  • SEP 21, 2021: Invited Speaker, The Loomis Chaffee School, Annual Speakers Series, Windsor, CT
  • OCT 25, 2021: Opening Keynote Speaker, 2021 P&I West Coast Defined Contribution Conference, San Diego, CA
  • NOV 17, 2021: Invited Speaker, University of Massachusetts Memorial Health & University of Massachusetts Medical School (virtual)
  • NOV 4, 2021:  “Read 2 Succeed” Featured Author Lecture, Norco College, Norco, CA
  • NOV 9, 2021: Keynote Speaker, Princeton Common Ground (virtual)
  • NOV 25, 2021: Plenary Speaker, University of Basel, SWITZERLAND
  • DEC 10 2021: Invited Speaker, Symposium, Department of Emergency Medicine, Cedars-Sinai, Los Angeles, CA
  • FEB 19, 2022:  Speaker, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Symposium Titled “Antidotes to Loneliness,” San Francisco, CA
  • MAR 23, 2022: Invited Speaker, Grand Rounds, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (virtual)
  • MAR 30, 2022: Keynote Speaker, Positive Emotions Preconference, Ninth Annual Conference of the Society for Affective Science (virtual)
  • MAR 30, 2022: Invited Speaker, UCR Aging Initiative, UCR Palm Desert Speaker Series (virtual)
  • APR 4, 2022: Keynote Speaker, Counseling Speaker’s Series, Goucher College, Towson, MD
  • APR 28, 2022: Invited Speaker, Young President’s Organization, Silicon Valley Chapter, Woodside, CA
  • MAY 2, 2022: Invited Speaker, Engineering for Social Change, Center for Engineering Concepts Development in Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park (virtual)
  • MAY 16, 2022: Invited Speaker, Mental Health Awareness Week, German International School of Silicon Valley, San Francisco, CA (virtual)
  • MAY 20, 2022: Invited Speaker, Limmud FSU New York, Parsippany, NJ
  • JUN 2, 2022: Invited Speaker, YPO Los Angeles President’s Retreat 2022, Del Mar, CA
  • JUL 14, 2022: Keynote Speaker, 21st European Conference on Personality, Madrid, SPAIN
  • NOV 6, 2022: Invited Speaker, American Dental Education Association Dean’s Conference, Scottsdale, AZ
  • NOV 7, 2022: Invited Speaker, Social Psychology Brown Bag Series, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
  • NOV 12, 2022: Invited Speaker, Inspired Culture: The Salon, Los Angeles, CA
  • NOV 17, 2022: Invited Speaker, Colloquium Series in Honor of Robert Cialdini, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
  • NOV 18, 2022: Keynote Speaker, YeeY Wellness Conference, Tokyo, JAPAN (virtual)
  • DEC 5, 2022: Invited Speaker, Behavioral Sciences Colloquium, McCombs School of Business & Department of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin, TX
  • JAN 26, 2023: Invited Speaker, ICF Meeting, International Coaching Federation, Toronto, CANADA (virtual)
  • JAN 27, 2023: Invited Speaker, Pennebaker Jamboree, UT Austin, TX
  • FEB 14, 2023: Invited Speaker, “Coffee and Science” series, Center for Health and Community, UC San Francisco, CA
  • MAR 6, 2023: Invited Speaker, Social/Personality Area Workshop, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC, CANADA
  • MAR 7, 2023: Invited Speaker, Uplift by BetterUp, San Francisco, CA
  • MAY 26, 2023: Keynote Speaker, R’PSYC Undergraduate Research Conference, University of California, Riverside, CA
  • JUN 7, 2023: Invited Speaker, Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services, Brooklyn, NY (virtual)
  • JUL, 2023: Panelist, International Positive Psychology Association, 8th World Congress, Vancouver BC CANADA
  • SEP 15, 2023: Invited Speaker, Physician Well-Being Grand Rounds, Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, New York, NY
  • OCT 28-29, 2023: Invited Speaker, MAPP Summit, Philadelphia, PA
  • FEB 15, 2024: Invited Speaker, Glenbard Parent Series, Glen Ellyn, IL (virtual)
  • APR 13, 2024: Keynote Speaker, URJ Camp Newman Women’s Weekend, Santa Rosa, CA

Recent Courses Taught

  • Social Psychology
  • Science of Well-Being
  • Seminar in Social Psychology: Positive Psychology
  • Professional Development and Research Ethics