Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Management Founding Co-Director, Quality of Life Research Center Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1965 B.A., University of Chicago, 1960     Click here to get the latest information about the World Congress on Positive Psychology in Los Angeles, June 2013.

Teaching Interests and Areas of Expertise

Creativity and Innovation, Managing Flow

Current Research Interests

Professor Csikszentmihalyi is the founder and co-director of the Quality of Life Research Center (QLRC). The QLRC is a non-profit research institute that studies "positive psychology"; that is, human strengths such as optimism, creativity, intrinsic motivation, and responsibility.

Professional Activities

Professor Csikszentmihalyi is a member of the American Academy of Education, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Leisure Studies.

Selected Recent Works

Csikszentmihalyi, M. & Nakamura, J. (2011). Positive Psychology: Where did it come from, where is it going? In K.M. Sheldon, T. B. Kashdan, & M.F. Steger (Eds.) Designing Positive Psychology. New York, Oxford University Press, pp.2-9.

Abuhamdeh, S. & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2011). Optimal Challenges in Internet Chess. Journal of Personality and Social Behavior.

Donaldson, S.I., Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Nakamura, J. (Eds.). (2011). Applied Positive Psychology: Improving Everyday Life, Health, Schools, Work, and Society. London: Routledge Academic.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2011). Positive psychology and a positive world-view. In S.I. Donaldson, M. Csikszentmihalyi, & J. Nakamura (Eds.), Applied Positive Psychology: Improving Everyday Life, Health, Schools, Work, and Society. London: Routledge Academic.

Selected Publications

"Experience Sampling Method: Measuring the Quality of Everyday Life", Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications Inc., 2007.

"A Life Worth Living: Contributions to Positive Psychology", New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

"Good Business: Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning", New York: Viking, 2003.

"Good Work: When Excellence and Ethics Meet", New York: Basic Books, 2001.

"Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life:, New York: Basic Books, 1997.

"Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention", New York: Harper Collins, 1996.

"The Evolving Self: A Psychology for the Third Millenium", New York, Harper Collins, 1993.

"Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience", New York: Harper & Row, 1990.

• E-mail: miska@cgu.edu
• Positive Psychology Programs at CGU
• The launching of the first doctoral programs in Positive Psychology has garnered attention in the press.  Follow the link to see some of the public reaction to the programs.