VOLUME 29 , NUMBER 4 -April 1998

Optimism award named for APA?s Seligman

The John Templeton Foundation, a nonprofit group that funds studies on spirituality and science, has created a new cash award for graduate students who plan to do their dissertation research on the subject of optimism and hope. The foundation announced the award during its Feb. 10 research symposium, 'The Science of Optimism and Hope,' held in Philadelphia. The prize, to be given out annually over the next five years, is named after Martin E.P. Seligman, PhD, the University of Pennsylvania psychologist who is promoting his vision of 'a positive psychology.' Seligman also is APA president.

The foundation unveiled the award at the symposium as a surprise to Seligman, the guest of honor, and named it 'The Martin E.P. Seligman Award for Outstanding Dissertation Research on the Science of Optimism and Hope.' Foundation officials will work with APA to develop specific criteria for the award and to establish a process for judging grant applications and selecting winners, said Pamela Thompson, the organization?s communications director. The amount of the award also has yet to be determined, she said. 'Because this award was a surprise to Dr. Seligman, we wanted to wait to work out the details after we announced it, so he could give us his ideas on how to use it,' she said.

Seligman is best known for his landmark concept of 'learned optimism'?the idea that people with a pessimistic outlook can, with help, master a more positive mindset about themselves and others. His Penn Optimism Program, which teaches children to think up alternatives to negative thoughts, has been shown to offset depression in boys and girls who are at risk for the disorder. He hopes to extend his optimism training to health-care systems and corporate executives.

?Scott Sleek

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