The Science of Psychology: An Appreciative View, AP* Edition (King), 3rd Edition

About the Author

Laura King did her undergraduate work at Kenyon College, where, an English major, she declared a second major, in psychology, during the second semester of her junior year. She completed her AB in English with high honors and distinction and in psychology with distinction in 1986. Laura then did graduate work at Michigan State University and the University of California, Davis, receiving her PhD in personality psychology in 1991.

Laura began her career at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, moving to the University of Missouri in 2001, where she is now a Curators' Professor of Psychological Science. In addition to seminars in the development of character, social psychology, and personality psychology, she has taught undergraduate lecture courses in introductory psychology, introduction to personality psychology, and social psychology. At SMU, she received six different teaching awards, including the "M" award for "sustained excellence" in 1999. At the University of Missouri, she received the Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Research and Creative Activity in 2004.

Her research, which has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Science Foundation, has focused on a variety of topics relevant to the question of what it is that makes for a good life. She has studied goals, life stories, happiness, well-being, and meaning in life. In general, her work reflects an enduring interest in studying what is good and healthy in people. In 2001, she earned recognition for her research accomplishments with a Templeton Prize in Positive Psychology. In 2011, she received the Ed and Carol Diener Award for Distinguished Contributions to Personality Psychology. Laura's research (often in collaboration with undergraduate and graduate students) has been published in American Psychologist, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Bulletin, and Psychological Science.

Currently editor-in-chief of the Personality and Individual Differences section of the Journal of Research in Personality and Social Psychology, Laura has also served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Research in Personality and associate editor for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, as well as on numerous grant panels. She has edited or coedited special sections of the Journal of Personality and American Psychologist .

In "real life," Laura is an accomplished cook and enjoys listening to music (mostly jazz vocalists and singer-songwriters), running with her faithful dog Bill, and swimming and roller-skating with her son Sam.

King: The Science of Psychology, 3rd Edition
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