Welcome to my web site. I am a social and personality psychologist who has studied, written about, and taught courses on motivation, emotion, self-awareness, social relationships, and psychological well-being for more than 40 years. Having retired from Duke University in 2019, I continue to work on a variety of projects, many of which focus on writing, speaking, and blogging about human behavior for the general public.
Most of the problems that we face in life — both our personal problems and the problems that plague society — stem from human behavior. Some of our problems arise from our own thoughts, emotions, and actions, and some are due to the behaviors of other people. But in either case, most problems are people problems. Given that’s the case, improving the quality of our lives requires a deeper understanding of human behavior, which offers insights into ourselves and others, as well as ideas for ways in which our problems might be solved.
