IPPA Award Winners 2015

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Christopher Peterson Gold Medal

The Christopher Peterson Gold Medal honors an IPPA member who exemplifies the best of positive psychology at the personal, professional, and academic levels. This award is named after Christopher Peterson, a beloved IPPA Fellow, professor, scholar and pioneer in the field of positive psychology. Peterson’s many scholarly contributions include his work on the character strengths and values classification and assessment with Martin Seligman. On a personal level, Peterson was known for his sincerity, humility, integrity, sense of humor and generosity.


Nansook Park
University of Michigan

Nansook Park, Ph.D .is a Professor in the Psychology Department and the Director of the Michigan Positive Psychology Center at the University of Michigan.
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Nansook Park, Ph.D .is a Professor in the Psychology Department and the Director of the Michigan Positive Psychology Center at the University of Michigan. Her main research reflects a psychology of human strengths. Her research topics include character strengths, moral excellence, positive relationships, life meaning, positive experiences, and strength-based practice, and their role in resiliency, well-being, health, family, work, and education. She has taken the lead in developing ways to assess character strengths among children and youth and in conducting cross-cultural investigations. She played a major role for US Army-Soldier resilience and psychological fitness project and Positive Education project in Australia. She is a fellow at the Association of Psychological Science and International Positive Psychology Association, and a former Templeton Research Fellow at the Positive Psychology Center of the University of Pennsylvania. She is a member of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) steering committee, a Consulting Editor for the Journal of Positive Psychology, and a former Associate Editor for the Applied Psychology: Health and Well-being.

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Dissertation Award

This award is conferred on the author of a Ph.D. dissertation on a topic in the domain of positive psychology that has been officially passed between  March 1, 2013 and February 28, 2015.  Many of the applications received this year were characterized by impressively high levels of  originality and methodological complexity: a very promising perspective for the future of positive psychology.


Covadonga Chaves
Complutense University of Madrid, Spain

“Well-Being in Children with a Life-Threatening Illness”
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“Well-Being in Children with a Life-Threatening Illness”

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Dissertation Award Honorable Mention

This award is conferred on the author of a Ph.D. dissertation on a topic in the domain of positive psychology that has been officially passed between  March 1, 2013 and February 28, 2015.  Many of the applications received this year were characterized by impressively high levels of  originality and methodological complexity: a very promising perspective for the future of positive psychology.

 


Linda Bolier
University of Twente and Trimbos Institute, Netherlands

“Online Positive Psychology – Using the Internet to Improve Flourishing on a Large Scale”
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“Online Positive Psychology – Using the Internet to Improve Flourishing on a Large Scale”

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Dissertation Award Honorable Mention

This award is conferred on the author of a Ph.D. dissertation on a topic in the domain of positive psychology that has been officially passed between  March 1, 2013 and February 28, 2015.  Many of the applications received this year were characterized by impressively high levels of  originality and methodological complexity: a very promising perspective for the future of positive psychology.


Marie Forgeard
University of Pennsylvania, United States

Marie Forgeard, PhD, is a research psychologist at McLean Hospital’s Behavioral Health Partial Hospital Program.
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Marie Forgeard, PhD, is a research psychologist at McLean Hospital’s Behavioral Health Partial Hospital Program. She specializes in conducting research at the intersection of clinical, social/personality, and positive psychology. Her research program examines strengths-based predictors of well-being and recovery following highly stressful life circumstances, including adverse events and mental health challenges. Dr. Forgeard is especially interested in the character strengths of openness and imagination. The goal of this work is to better understand how specific positive traits contribute to psychological adjustment, and whether these can be harnessed to promote well-being using established as well as novel interventions.

Dr. Forgeard was the 2013 recipient of the Frank X. Barron Award from Division 10 of the American Psychological Association (the Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts). Her research has also been funded by grants from the John Templeton Foundation. She is a licensed psychologist in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. is also an assistant professor of Clinical Psychology at William James College.

 

Image of Corinna Peifer

Dissertation Award Honorable Mention

This award is conferred on the author of a Ph.D. dissertation on a topic in the domain of positive psychology that has been officially passed between  March 1, 2013 and February 28, 2015.  Many of the applications received this year were characterized by impressively high levels of  originality and methodological complexity: a very promising perspective for the future of positive psychology.

 


Corinna Peifer
University of Trier, Germany

“The Relation of Flow-Experience and Stress from a Psychophysiological Perspective”
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Corinna Peifer is Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology and Head of the Work & Health Lab at the University of Lübeck. At the interface between Organizational Psychology and Psychobiology, her research interests include topics such as flow experience, stress management and well-being at work. She is a founding member of the European Flow Researcher’s Network, ENPP Country Representative, and Vice President of the German Society for Positive Psychological Research (DGPPF).