PhD
Kenan Distinguished Professor, Psychology and Neuroscience
Director, Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Laboratory
UNC-Chapel Hill
Cancer Prevention and Control
Area of Interest
Dr. Fredrickson is most known for her “Broaden-and-Build Theory” of positive emotions, foundational for providing a scholarly blueprint for how pleasant emotional states, as fleeting as they are, contribute to human resilience, well-being, and health. Her recent research centers on “positivity resonance,” a concept that reflects co-experiences of warm-hearted positive emotions across individuals. Her team’s research has established positivity resonance to combat loneliness and promote mental, physical, and public health.
Dr. Fredrickson collaborates with Dr. Allison Lazard, of the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, to develop and test health communication messages delivered via social media to reduce loneliness and social isolation in vulnerable young adults.
Awards and Honors
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2023
- Fellow, International Positive Psychology Association, 2023
- J. Carlyle Sitterson Award for Teaching First-Year Students, UNC, 2022
- Woman of Achievement Award, Meredith College, 2018
- Tang Prize for Achievements in Psychology, Tang Foundation, 2017
- James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award, Association for Psychological Science, 2017
- Christopher Peterson Gold Medal, International Positive Psychology Association, 2013
- Career Trajectory Award, Society of Experimental Social Psychology, 2008
- Templeton Prize in Positive Psychology, American Psychological Association, 2000
News and Stories
Social media health intervention wins $3.25 million in NCI funding
Allison Lazard, PhD, and Barbara Fredrickson, PhD, were awarded a $3.25 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to encourage young adults with cancer to seek social support resources.
Goldstein to use $2.7M NCI grant to develop, test warnings for little cigars, cigarillos
The National Cancer Institute has awarded University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researcher Adam Goldstein, MD, MPH, a five-year, $2.7 million grant to develop more effective health warnings for little cigars and cigarillos. Nearly 12 million U.S. adults reported smoking cigars within a single month, according to 2016 national survey, and little cigars …
