The Wiley Prize in Psychology

This annual prize, made in partnership with Wiley-Blackwell, the scientific, technical, medical and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons Inc., provides an award of £5,000 in recognition of excellence in research in psychology. It alternately rewards lifetime achievement by an outstanding international scholar and promising early career work by a UK-based psychologist.

The first award, for lifetime achievement, was made in 2009 to Professor Martin Seligman, currently Albert A Fox Leadership Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the University’s Positive Psychology Center.

Inaugural Winner (2009, for lifetime achievement)

Professor Martin Seligman, currently Albert A Fox Leadership Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the University’s Positive Psychology Center.

Professor Seligman, who was born in New York in 1942, is a world-renowned expert on depression and happiness. His most recent work has been groundbreaking in helping establish the scientific foundations of human happiness. His best-selling books include What You Can Change and What You Can’t (1993), The Optimistic Child (1995) and, in 2002, Authentic Happiness. He has served as President of the American Psychological Association and is founding editor-in-chief of the APA journal Prevention and Treatment Magazine.

Citation

Martin Seligman is one of the world's leading psychologists. Currently Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, he is a prolific author and his work has touched on a number of issues that are central to psychology, including personality, education and motivation. Through this work Martin Seligman has greatly influenced the teaching and practice of clinical psychology and has inspired many students. His work on ‘learned helplessness’ has had huge impact on the conceptualization and treatment of depression. More recently he has opened a new field of research on ‘learned optimism’, where he aims to build a new focus on the study of human happiness.