Brief Bio:
James W. Pennebaker is Bush Professor of Liberal Arts and the Departmental Chair in the Psychology Department at the University of Texas at Austin, where he received his Ph.D. in 1977. He has been on the faculty at the University of Virginia, Southern Methodist University, and, since 1997, The University of Texas. He and his students are exploring the links between traumatic experiences, expressive writing, natural language use, and physical and mental health. His studies find that physical health and work performance can improve by simple writing and/or talking exercises. His most recent research focuses on the nature of language and emotion in the real world. The words people use serve as powerful reflections of their personality and social worlds. Author or editor of 8 books and over 200 articles, Pennebaker has received numerous awards and honors.
Personal Information
Born: March 2, 1950, Midland, Texas
Married to Ruth Burney Pennebaker (www.RuthPennebaker.com)
Children: Teal Pennebaker and Nick Pennebaker
Education
B.A. Eckerd College, 1972 with honors
Ph.D. University of Texas at Austin, 1977
| Positions | |
| 1977-1983 | Assistant Professor of Psychology |
| 1983-1997 | Associate and Full Professor, Southern Methodist University |
| Chair of Psychology Department, 1995-1997 | |
| 1997-present | Professor, University of Texas at Austin |
| 2005- | Bush Regents Professor of Liberal Arts |
| 2005- | International Research Professor, University of Central Lancashire, UK |
| 2005- | Chair of Psychology Department |
| Honors | |
| 1989 | Hilgard Visiting Professor, Stanford University |
| 1993 | Honorary Doctorate Degree, University of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium |
| 1995 | Pavlov Award, The Pavlov Society |
| 2000 | President's Associates University Teaching Award, University of Texas |
| 2002 | Freshman Honor Societies Teaching Award, University of Texas |
| 2002 | Outstanding Contributions to Health Psychology (APA Division 38) |
| 2004 | Hero of Midland, Texas Award, Midland Independent School District |
| 2006-present | ISI HighlyCited.com selection for being among the most cited researchers in Psychology/Psychiatry |
| 2007 | Raymond Dickson Centennial Endowed Teaching Fellowship Award |
| 2008 | Dads’ Association Centennial Teaching Fellowship |
| Grants | |
| 1980-1981 | NSF grant, Psychological impact of Mt. St. Helens Volcano, with Darren Newtson, $10,000 |
| 1984-1987 | NIH grant, Perception of physical symptoms and blood pressure, $183,415, PI |
| 1987-1989 | NSF grant, Inhibition, disclosing, and health, $89,717, PI |
| 1989-1991 | NSF grant, The psychological consequences of the 1989 California earthquake, $14,919, PI |
| 1991-1994 | NSF Grant, Cognition, disclosure and health, $149,000, PI |
| 1994-1997 | NSF Grant, Disclosure, language, and health, $80,000, PI |
| 1996-2000 | NIMH Grant, Interpersonal disclosure processes and health, $320,000, PI |
| 2000-2006 | NIMH Grant, Interpersonal disclosure processes and health, $1,600,000, PI |
| 2005-2006 | DOD Contract, Timing of expressive writing exercises, $28,000, PI |
| 2005-2006 | NSF Grant, Language and deception workshop, $59,000, PI |
| 2007-2008 | DOD and CIFA contract, Viewing text through English and Arabic eyes, $300,000, PI |
| 2007-2010 | Army Research Institute, Language and social dynamics, $450,000, PI |