Robert Biswas-Diener, Ph.D., is widely known as the Indiana Jones of positive psychology because his research on positive topics has taken him to far-flung places. As a child, Biswas-Diener hoped to be either a movie star or an Egyptologist. As an adult, he combined his love of presenting with his passion for understanding people by conducting cross-cultural research and teaching others about the results of these studies. Biswas-Diener has lived and worked with groups as diverse as Amish carpenters, sex workers in Kolkata, Inuit hunters in Greenland, police officers, homeless people in Vancouver, Maasai tribal people, executives, and college students.
Biswas-Diener has a difficult time confining his fascination with people to a single interest. As a result, he has studied happiness, courage, hospitality, friendship, and strengths, among other positive topics. His research has resulted in more than 50 peer-reviewed publications in academic books and journals.
Something you may not know about courage:
- Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the ability to take risks despite feeling afraid.
- Courage can be learned.
Something you may not know about strengths:
- Strengths are not an opportunity to shine; they are an opportunity to contribute.
- People’s strengths, rather than their weaknesses, are their greatest areas of growth.
Biswas-Diener is also widely known as one of the pioneers of positive psychology coaching. He is a coach certified by the International Coach Federation and is a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach. He has designed well-regarded coach training curricula for educators, health coaches, management consultants, and others. Biswas-Diener has a passion for asking questions that promote insight and boost motivation and sharing the how-tos of this skill with others. As a result, he loves to work with managers, educators, parents, and others who want to learn the basic skills of coaching and apply them in their own work.
He believes that scientific research ought to have real-world applications and he has presented keynotes and workshops in 25 nations with groups as diverse as AARP, Deloitte, Standard Chartered Bank, Kaiser Permanente, Humana, Vancouver School District, and the Australia Department of Defense.
Biswas-Diener is author or editor of 8 books, including the forthcoming Radical Listening: The Art of True Connection (2025), The New York Times bestseller The Upside of Your Dark Side (2015), The Courage Quotient: How Science Can Make You Braver (2012), and the 2008 PROSE Award-winning, Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth.
