Christopher Peterson – Author Biography
Early Life
Christopher Peterson was born on 18 February 1950 and raised in Niles, Illinois. He studied psychology and went on to an academic career that would make him one of the most cited psychologists of his generation.
Career
Peterson became the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan, where he was beloved as a teacher — winning the university’s prestigious Golden Apple Award in 2010. As science director of the VIA Institute on Character, he worked closely with Martin Seligman to create the classification of character strengths that became Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification (2004), the “positive” counterpart to psychiatry’s diagnostic manual. He also wrote A Primer in Positive Psychology (2006) and published more than 300 academic papers on optimism, health, and well-being. He died suddenly in 2012.
Major Works
Character Strengths and Virtues (2004, with Martin Seligman) and A Primer in Positive Psychology (2006).
Writing Style and Themes
Peterson wrote with warmth, humour, and scientific rigour — academic psychology made humane. His recurring themes were that character strengths can be measured and cultivated, that optimism predicts health and longevity, and — in his famous three-word summary of positive psychology — that “other people matter.”
Legacy
Peterson was a founding figure of positive psychology; the VIA Survey of Signature Strengths he helped create has been taken by millions worldwide. He is remembered as a giant-hearted teacher whose work moved psychology from treating illness to building the good life.
