CS Distinguished Alumni Lecture

= CS Distinguished Alumni Lectures Archive =

October 6, 2011
Redirect: Changing the Stories We Live By Timothy D. Wilson, University of Virginia

Abstract: We all tell ourselves stories to make sense of the world. These stories ultimately determine if we will lead healthy, productive lives or get into trouble. Social psychologists have developed a technique called “story editing” that helps people change their stories in beneficial ways. This technique helps people become happier, improves parenting skills, reduces teenage pregnancy, helps close the achievement gap, and more. I will discuss what story-editing is, how it has been used, and its limitations.

About the Speaker: Timothy D. Wilson received his B.A. from Hampshire College and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He has taught at the University of Virginia since 1979, where he is currently Sherrell J. Aston Professor of Psychology. At the University of Virginia he received the All University Outstanding Teaching Award and the Distinguished Scientist Award. He is the author of Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious and numerous articles on self-knowledge—its limits, how people attain it, and its value. He is also the author of Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change. In 2009 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

This event is sponsored by the School of Cognitive Science and SPARC (Supporting Professional Alumni Returning to Campus) endowment