Catherine A. Sanderson is the Poler Family Professor of Psychology and the chair of the Department of Psychology at Amherst College. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Stanford University and master’s and doctoral degrees in Psychology from Princeton University.

Catherine’s research has received grant funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. She is the author of four college textbooks, including Real World Psychology (with Karen Huffman), and two trade books: Why We Act: Turning Bystanders into Moral Rebels and The Positive Shift: Mastering Mindset to Improve Happiness, Health, and Longevity. In 2012, she was named to The Princeton Review’s list of America’s Best 300 Professors.

Catherine speaks regularly for public and corporate audiences on topics such as the science of happiness, the power of emotional intelligence, the art of aging well, and the psychology of courage and inaction. She has been featured in numerous media outlets, including The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, USA TODAY, The Atlantic, CNN, and CBS Sunday Morning. She also writes a blog for Psychology Today called Norms Matter that examines the power of social influence on all aspects of our lives.