Dacher Keltner

Dacher Keltner
Name	Dacher Keltner
Birth date	1962
Fields	Psychology
Workplaces	University of California, Berkeley
Alma mater	Princeton University, University of California, Berkeley
Known for	Research on emotion, compassion, awe, social status, power

Dacher Keltner is an American psychologist known for empirical work on emotion, compassion, awe, power, and social hierarchy, and for public scholarship linking psychological science to policy and culture. He is a professor associated with the University of California, Berkeley, has founded research centers, and has published widely in academic and popular venues.

Early life and education

Keltner was born in 1962 and raised in an environment that influenced his interest in human behavior, attending public schools before pursuing higher education at Princeton University and the University of California, Berkeley. At Princeton University he developed an early grounding in psychology alongside contemporaries from institutions such as Harvard University, Yale University, and Stanford University. His graduate training at the University of California, Berkeley connected him with faculty from major centers including the Max Planck Society, Columbia University, and the University of Chicago.

Academic career

Keltner has held faculty positions at the University of California, Berkeley and has collaborated with scholars from the American Psychological Association, Society for Neuroscience, and the Association for Psychological Science. He founded the Berkeley Social Interaction Lab and co-founded the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, working alongside colleagues from MIT, University of Pennsylvania, and Oxford University. His academic roles have included teaching courses that intersect with programs at institutions like Harvard Medical School, Yale School of Medicine, and partnerships with research centers at the National Institutes of Health.

Research and theories

Keltner’s research integrates perspectives from Charles Darwin, Paul Ekman, William James, and contemporary theorists at places such as Stanford University and the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences. He has advanced theories about the social functions of emotion, proposing that emotions like compassion, gratitude, and awe serve adaptive roles in human societies, drawing on empirical findings from studies linked to Evolutionary psychology, Social neuroscience, and work by researchers at Columbia University and University College London. His work examines power and hierarchy in contexts studied by scholars at Princeton University, Yale University, and Harvard Business School, exploring how status cues operate across cultures, with comparative data connected to fieldwork traditions from University of Cambridge and the Smithsonian Institution. Keltner’s theoretical contributions intersect with research on moral emotions pursued at University of Toronto, University of Michigan, and Northwestern University.

Publications and books

Keltner has authored and edited numerous books and articles published through presses and journals associated with Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, American Psychological Association, and periodicals such as Science, Nature Human Behaviour, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. His books cover topics aligned with works by authors at Harvard University Press and titles that appear in outlets alongside writers from The New York Times, The Atlantic, and The Washington Post. He has contributed chapters in volumes published by editors from MIT Press and Routledge, and his empirical articles cite methodological standards common to studies from Johns Hopkins University and Duke University.

Awards and honors

Keltner’s recognitions include honors from professional organizations such as the Association for Psychological Science and fellowships linked to institutions like the MacArthur Foundation model, though specifics align with commendations given by entities including the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Sciences membership circles, and prizes awarded at meetings of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. His awards place him among recipients recognized by bodies such as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Guggenheim Foundation, and national councils that fund scholarship at universities including UC Berkeley and Princeton University.

Public engagement and media

Keltner has engaged with public audiences through media appearances on programs produced by PBS, BBC, and outlets such as NPR, CNN, and The New York Times Magazine, and has participated in public forums at institutions like the Brookings Institution, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the White House briefings. He has lectured at festivals and conferences connected to TED, collaborated with multimedia teams linked to National Geographic, and contributed to online educational initiatives similar to offerings by Coursera and edX.

Personal life

Keltner lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and is connected to academic and cultural communities that include colleagues at UC Berkeley, neighbors affiliated with Stanford University, and networks spanning institutions such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the California Academy of Sciences. He has participated in interdisciplinary programs that bring together scholars from Scripps Research, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and regional health systems like Kaiser Permanente.

Category:American psychologists Category:University of California, Berkeley faculty