Selected Publications (with PDF)

• Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The how of happiness: A scientific approach to getting the life you want. New York: Penguin Press. Visit the book's website. Download the book's references.
  
• Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Wisco, B. E., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Rethinking rumination. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3, 400-424.
• Lyubomirsky, S., Sousa, L., Dickerhoof, R. (2006). The costs and benefits of writing, talking, and thinking about life's triumphs and defeats. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 692-708.
• Lyubomirsky, S., King, L. A., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect. Psychological Bulletin, 131, 803-855.
  
• Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9, 111-131.
  
• Sheldon, K. M., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2006a). How to increase and sustain positive emotion: The effects of expressing gratitude and visualizing best possible selves. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1, 73-82.
• Sheldon, K. M., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2006b). Achieving sustainable gains in happiness: Change your actions, not your circumstances. Journal of Happiness Studies, 7, 55-86. Winner of the "Best Paper of the Year Award," JOHS, 2006.
• Boehm, J. K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Does happiness lead to career success? Journal of Career Assessment, 16, 101-116. The online version of this article can be found at: http://jca.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/16/1/101.>
• Sheldon, K. M., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2007). Is it possible to become happier? (And, if so, how?) Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 1, 129-145.
• Howell, R. T., Kern, M. L., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2007). Health benefits: Meta-analytically determining the impact of well-being on objective health outcomes. Health Psychology Review, 1, 83-136.
  
• Tkach, C., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2006). How do people pursue happiness?: Relating personality, happiness-increasing strategies, and well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 7, 183-225.
• Lyubomirsky, S., Tkach, C., & DiMatteo, M. R. (2006). What are the differences between happiness and self-esteem? Social Indicators Research, 78, 363-404. The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com.
• Tucker, K. L., Ozer, D. J., Lyubomirsky, S., & Boehm, J. K. (2006). Testing for measurement invariance in the Satisfaction With Life Scale: A comparison of Russians and North Americans. Social Indicators Research, 78, 341-360. The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com.
  
• Lyubomirsky, S., Kasri, F., & Chang, O., & Chung, I. (2006). Ruminative response styles and delay of seeking diagnosis for breast cancer symptoms. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 25, 276-304. [Fig 1|Tables]

• Lyubomirsky, S. (2006a). [Review of the book Happiness: Lessons from a new science]. British Journal of Sociology, 57, 535-536.
• Lyubomirsky, S., & Dickerhoof, R. (2005). Subjective well-being. In J. Worrell (Ed.), Handbook of girls and womens psychological health: Gender and well-being across the life span (pp. 166-174). New York: Oxford University Press.

• Sheldon, K. M., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2004). Achieving sustainable new happiness: Prospects, practices, and prescriptions. In A. Linley & S. Joseph (Eds.), Positive psychology in practice (pp. 127-145). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

• Lyubomirsky, S., & Tkach, C. (2003). The consequences of dysphoric rumination. In C. Papageorgiou & A. Wells (Eds.), Rumination: Nature, theory, and treatment of negative thinking in depression (pp. 21-41). Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons.

• Lyubomirsky, S., Kasri, F., & Zehm, K. (2003). Dysphoric rumination impairs concentration on academic tasks. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 27, 309-330.

• Abbe, A., Tkach, C., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2003). The art of living by dispositionally happy people. Journal of Happiness Studies, 4, 385-404.

• Ward, A. H., Lyubomirsky, S., Sousa, L., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2003). Can't quite commit: Rumination and uncertainty. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 96-107.

• Lyubomirsky, S., & Abbe, A. (2003). Positive psychology's legs. Psychological Inquiry, 14, 132-136.

• Schwartz, B., Ward, A., Monterosso, J., Lyubomirsky, S., White, K., & Lehman, D. (2002). Maximizing versus satisficing: Happiness is a matter of choice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 1178-1197.

• Lyubomirsky, S. (2001). Why are some people happier than others?: The role of cognitive and motivational processes in well-being. American Psychologist, 56, 239-249.

• Lyubomirsky, S., Tucker, K. L., & Kasri, F. (2001). Responses to hedonically conflicting social comparisons: Comparing happy and unhappy people. European Journal of Social Psychology, 31, 511-535.

• Sousa, L., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2001). Life satisfaction. In J. Worell (Ed.), Encylopedia of women and gender: Sex similarities and differences and the impact of society on gender (Vol. 2, pp. 667-676). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

• Lyubomirsky, S., Casper, R. C., & Sousa, L. (2001). What triggers abnormal eating in bulimic and non-bulimic women?: The role of dissociative experiences, negative affect, and psychopathology. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 25, 223-232.

• Lyubomirsky, S. (2000). On studying positive emotions. Prevention and Treatment, 3, article 5. Available on the World Wide Web. http://www.journals.apa.org/prevention/volume3/pre0030007r.html

• Lyubomirsky, S., & Ross, L. (1999). Changes in attractiveness of elected, rejected, and precluded alternatives: A comparison of happy and unhappy individuals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 988-1007.

• Lyubomirsky, S., Tucker, K. L., Caldwell, N. D., & Berg, K. (1999). Why ruminators are poor problem solvers: Clues from the phenomenology of dysphoric rumination. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 041-1060.

• Lyubomirsky, S., & Lepper, H. (1999). A measure of subjective happiness: Preliminary reliability and construct validation. Social Indicators Research, 46, 137-155. The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com.

• Lyubomirsky, S., Caldwell, N. D., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1998). Effects of ruminative and distracting responses to depressed mood on the retrieval of autobiographical memories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 166-177.

• Lyubomirsky, S., & Tucker, K. L. (1998). Implications of individual differences in subjective happiness for perceiving, interpreting, and thinking about life events. Motivation and Emotion, 22, 155-186.

• Lyubomirsky, S., & Ross, L. (1997). Hedonic consequences of social comparison: A contrast of happy and unhappy people. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 1141-1157.

• Casper, R. C., & Lyubomirsky, S. (1997). Individual psychopathology relative to reports of unwanted sexual experiences as predictor of a bulimic eating pattern. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 21, 229-236.

• Lyubomirsky, S., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1995). Effects of self-focused rumination on negative thinking and interpersonal problem-solving. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 176-190.

• Lyubomirsky, S., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1993). Self-perpetuating properties of dysphoric rumination. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 339-349.

Op-Eds/Popular Press

• Lyubomirsky, S. (2006b). Is it possible to become lastingly happier? Lessons from the modern science of well-being. In Vancouver Dialogues (pp. 53-56). Vancouver: Truffle Tree Publishing.

• Lyubomirsky, S. (2005, January 17). Eight steps toward a more satisfying life. Time, 165, A8-A9. Pg 1 Pg 2

• Lyubomirsky, S. (2008, January). Work may hold the key to your happiness. Harvard Community Resource, XVII, 3.

• Lyubomirsky, S. (2008, July 5). Smiles give leadership clues. Riverside Press-Enterprise.

• Lyubomirsky, S. (2008, December 27). Why we're still happy. New York Times, A25.

• Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Happiness. In G. Stone (Ed.), The 12-step Bush recovery program (pp. 118-120). New York: Villard.
  

In Press

• Boehm, J. K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (in press). The promise of sustainable happiness. In S. J. Lopez (Ed.), Handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Lyubomirsky, S., & Dickerhoof, R. (in press). A construal approach to increasing happiness. In J. Tangney & J. E. Maddux (Eds.), Social psychological foundations of clinical psychology. New York: Guilford Press.

• Kurtz, J. L., & Lyubomirsky, S. (in press). Towards a durable happiness. In S. J. Lopez & J. G. Rettew (Eds.), The Positive Psychology Perspective Series (Vol. 4). Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.
  

Under Review

• Lyubomirsky, S. (2007). Surmounting a critical barrier to becoming happier: Hedonic adaptation to positive experience. Manuscript under review. [View Abstract]

• Lyubomirsky, S., Dickerhoof, R., Boehm, J. K., & Sheldon, K. M. (2008). Becoming happier takes both a will and a proper way: Two experimental longitudinal interventions to boost well-being. Manuscript under review. [View Abstract]

• Lyubomirsky, S., Boehm, J. K., Kasri, F., & Zehm, K. (2008). The cognitive and hedonic costs of dwelling on negative experiences. Manuscript under review. [View Abstract]

• Frattaroli, J., Thomas, M., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Opening up in the classroom: Effects of expressive writing on graduate school entrance exam performance. Manuscript under review. [Abstract]

• Liberman, V., Boehm, J. K., Lyubomirsky, S., & Ross, L. D. (2008). Happiness and memory: Affective consequences of endowment and contrast. Manuscript under review. [Abstract]

• Sin, N. L., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Enhancing well-being and alleviating depressive symptoms with positive psychology interventions: A meta-analysis. To appear in Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session. [Abstract]

• Lyubomirsky, S., & Della Porta, M. (2008). Boosting happiness, buttressing resilience: Results from cognitive and behavioral interventions. To appear in J. W. Reich, A. J. Zautra, & J. Hall (Eds.), Handbook of adult resilience: Concepts, methods, and applications. New York: Guilford Press. [Abstract]

(Download Sonja Lyubomirsky's CV)

Sonja Lyubomirsky

Professor - Ph.D. - Stanford University

(951) 827-5041 (msg only)

sonja.lyubomirsky@ucr.edu

http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~sonja/

The majority of my research career has been devoted to studying human happiness. Why is the scientific study of happiness important? In short, because most people believe happiness is meaningful, desirable, and an important, worthy goal, because happiness is one of the most salient and significant dimensions of human experience and emotional life, because happiness yields numerous rewards for the individual, and because it makes for a better, healthier, stronger society.

Along these lines, my current research addresses three critical questions -

1) What makes people happy?

2) Is happiness a good thing?

3) How can we make people happier still?

Why Are Some People Happier Than Others?
I have always been struck by the capacity of some individuals to be remarkably happy, even in the face of stress, trauma, or adversity. Thus, my earlier research efforts had been focused on trying to understand why some people are happier than others. To this end, my approach has been to explore the cognitive and motivational processes that distinguish individuals who show exceptionally high and low levels of happiness. These processes include social comparison (how people compare themselves to peers), dissonance reduction (how people justify both trivial and important choices in their lives), self-evaluation (how people judge themselves), and person perception (how people think about others). All of these processes, it turns out, have hedonic implications - that is, positive or negative consequences for happiness and self-regard - and thus are relevant to elucidating individual differences in enduring well-being. My empirical findings over the years have revealed that chronically happy and unhappy individuals differ systematically and in a manner supportive of their differing temperaments in the particular cognitive and motivational strategies they use. For example, my students and I have found that truly happy individuals construe life events and daily situations in ways that seem to maintain their happiness, while unhappy individuals construe experiences in ways that seem to reinforce unhappiness. In essence, our research shows that happy individuals experience and react to events and circumstances in relatively more positive and more adaptive ways.

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I finally figured out ... the only reason to be alive is to enjoy it.

Ned Snyder   

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