Jonathan Haidt

Jonathan Haidt earned his Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. He began his career at the University of Virginia (1995-2011), initially studying negative moral emotions like disgust, shame, and vengeance. In 1999, he shifted to positive psychology, examining emotions such as admiration, awe, and moral elevation, which led to the edited volume Flourishing (2003). In the 1990s, Haidt developed the social intuitionist model, arguing that moral judgments stem primarily from automatic intuitions rather than deliberate reasoning—a concept detailed in his highly cited paper 'The Emotional Dog and its Rational Tail'. From 2004, he applied moral psychology to politics, creating moral foundations theory to explain ideological differences through innate moral intuitions. This work underpins his popular books, including The Happiness Hypothesis (2006), The Righteous Mind (2012, New York Times bestseller), and The Coddling of the American Mind (2018, co-authored with Greg Lukianoff). Haidt joined NYU Stern as Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership. He co-founded initiatives like Heterodox Academy (promoting open inquiry in universities), Ethical Systems (organizational ethics), Constructive Dialogue Institute (depolarization), Let Grow (child independence), and Moral Foundations Theory collaborations. Since 2018, his focus has been social media's role in teen mental health decline and political dysfunction, culminating in The Anxious Generation (2024, New York Times #1 bestseller). In 2019, Haidt was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and named one of Prospect magazine's 'Top 50 Thinkers.' He has authored over 100 academic articles (nearly 100,000 citations) and given four TED talks, aiming to bridge moral divides across cultures and ideologies.