Kathryn Britton

Last summer, the journal Insulin published What people with diabetes want their caregivers to know: Development of the TCOYD patient concensus statement” based on the results of a workshop I…

My husband and I took my godmother’s new dog, a 10 month old schipperke, for a long walk across Duke East Campus, as far as the statue of Sower. What…

In the spirit of the Oscars, I nominate Sonja Lyubomirsky’s book, The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want for best single book about positive…

In 2002, Barbara Fiese and colleagues published a review of 50 years of research on family routines and rituals, exploring whether there is sufficient scientific evidence that routines and rituals…

We can get new ideas for gift selections from the pathways to happiness identified in positive psychology: The Pleasant Life — savoring and basking, The Engaged Life — intense involvement in worthwhile activities, and The Meaningful Life — living in service of something larger than ourselves.

In honor of Veteran’s Day, I have attached a letter my grandfather sent to my grandmother from the western front. It was dated November 7th, 1918, and she wrote on the envelope “Telling about the war stopped.”

Our time gives us the extraordinary challenge we call sustainability: to collectively change the way we live to be in balance with the planet. It is very easy to talk about sustainability in a way that drains the energy for change out of people. So how do we talk about sustainability in ways that lead instead to hope and personal responsibility?

September 7 and 8, I attended the reunion of the World War II crew of the USS Bream, a submarine that made 6 patrols in the Pacific in 1944 and…

There are many facets of work and life in general that we do not control. But we can increase our control over our own responses to them. One way to raise our overall level of well-being even in the face of trouble and stress is to practice and grow stronger at being grateful.

How do we select an effective response to negative aspects of work — and life in general? Reframing is an important skill, but it’s not always the right skill. There are other options, such as leaving the situation or readjusting personal priorities that might work better.

What can we do about things that we do not like about our jobs? How can Positive Psychology help us be both realistic and optimistic at the same time? This…

Today is Memorial Day in the United States. Memorial Day officially commemorates people who died in military service to their country. In many families, it is a day for remembering…

What can we do individually and in groups to turn our work into sources of great satisfaction, meaning, and engagement? Many people are unhappy at work. Some feel under-appreciated and…

Making self-talk constructive is a great place to put positive psychology to work. We talk to ourselves all the time. We argue. We judge. We praise. We catastrophize. We label.…

Albert Bandura says, “The problem we have in psychology is that we don’t profit from our successes. … we lack implementation models for translating theory into effective practice.” His belief that people learn from role models has evolved into long-running radio or television dramas that exemplify behaviors that contribute to social goals.

Making New Year’s Resolutions is an expression of faith in our own ability to change habits for the better, a perfectly justified faith. However, changing a habit is not easy…

Kathryn practices applied positive psychology in as many ways as she can imagine. She coaches, speaks out about positive psychology principles, teaches at the University of Maryland, and is the author/editor of 3 books. Kathryn’s particular interests in positive psychology are informed by nearly 30 years experience as a professional software engineer.