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Lyubomirsky, Sonja focusing in particular on the adverse conse- quences of self-focused rumination. Sonja Lyubomirsky Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA Professional Career

In 1994, upon completing her doctorate, Sonja Early Life and Educational Background Lyubomirsky was hired as an assistant professor at the Department of Psychology at the University Sonja Lyubomirsky was born on December of California, Riverside, where she has remained 14, 1966 in Moscow, USSR. At age 9, she immi- for her entire career. She served as Graduate Advi- grated to the USA with her parents and younger sor for 13 years and Associate Editor of the Jour- brother, living first in Brookline, MA, and then nal of for 4 years. She is settling in Bethesda, MD. With the help of gener- currently Full Professor and Vice Chair of her ous financial aid, she attended the Maret School in department. Her teaching and mentoring of stu- Washington D.C. from fifth to twelfth grade and dents have been recognized with two Faculty of then Harvard University, where she received her the Year awards and a Faculty Mentor of the Year A.B.., summa cum laude, in Psychology in 1989. award. At this writing, Lyubomirsky’s research At Harvard, she worked with Paul Andreassen has been cited more than 36,000 times, with her and completed a Thomas Hoopes Prize-winning 2005 Psychological Bulletin paper on the benefits Honors Thesis exploring causal syllogisms. of (with Laura King and Ed Diener) Sonja Lyubomirsky’s Ph.D. in social psychol- cited over 5,600 times. She has been honored ogy was completed at under with the Carol and Ed Diener Award for Outstand- the supervision of two fantastic mentors, Lee Ross ing Mid-Career Contributions in Personality Psy- and Susan Nolen-Hoeksema. Lee encouraged her chology, the UC Riverside Distinguished to explore why some people are happier than Research Lecturer Award, a Templeton Positive others – specifically, the cognitive, affective, and Psychology Prize, and multiple grants, including motivational processes that distinguish happy and from the John Templeton Foundation and the unhappy individuals. Her dissertation studies National Institute of Mental Health. showed that happy people are less sensitive to Lyubomirsky has sought to disseminate her social comparisons than their less happy peers. work in two trade books, which have been With Susan, she undertook the study of how peo- published in 34 countries. The best-selling The ple respond to the experience of dysphoria, How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 V. Zeigler-Hill, T. K. Shackelford (eds.), Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_2215-1 2 Lyubomirsky, Sonja

Getting the Life You Want (2008, Penguin Press) Selected Bibliography describes twelve empirically supported strategies to improve happiness. Her second book, The Boehm, J. K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Does happiness lead to career success. Journal of Career Assessment, Myths of Happiness: What Should Make You – ’ ’ 16, 101 116. Happy, But Doesn t, What Shouldn t Make You Layous, K., Nelson, S. K., Oberle, E., Schonert-Reichl, K., Happy, But Does (2013, Penguin Press), debunks & Lyubomirsky, S. (2012). Kindness counts: Pro- common misconceptions about which life changes mpting prosocial behavior in preadolescents boosts (such as getting married or getting older) will make peer acceptance and well-being. PLoS One, 7, e51380. Layous, K., Sweeny, K., Armenta, C. N., Na, S., Choi, I., & us truly miserable or truly happy. Her work regu- Lyubomirsky, S. (2017). The proximal experience of larly appears in the national and international gratitude. PLoS One, 12(7), e0179123. media, and she lectures frequently and widely Lyubomirsky, S. (2001). Why are