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Penn Positive Psychology Center Online Research Program

Invitation to Participate

Want to Participate in Positive Psychology Research?

The Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, headed by Dr. Martin E. P. Seligman, needs you for our online research studies.

Participation in any of the studies is completely voluntary, and you may drop out of them at any time. These studies all comply with university and U.S. government guidelines for the protection of human subjects and of your online privacy.

These studies may include multiple questionnaires and repeat visits, with possible assignments between visits to the web site. You'll be notified by email whenever your continuing participation in the study is needed.

Select from Among Our Current Research Studies

Click on any study title for more information:

Positive Psychology Exercise Packages Study

Open to all who wish to participate

This study is now accepting new participants. Participants must be willing to commit to completing brief, weekly assessments for 6 weeks and several brief follow-up assessments over the next year (1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after the completion of the 6-week assessment period). In addition to these assessments, each participant will be randomly assigned to complete anywhere between 0 and 6 exercises over the next 6 weeks.

Domain-Specific Self-Control

Open to all who wish to participate

Self-control is generally assumed to be a global trait that is stable across domains. For example, someone who has high self-control with food should also demonstrate high self-control with alcohol, finances, work, and other domains as well. However, some people seem to be high in self-control in some domains and low in others. In this study, you can help us understand the domain-specificity of self-control. Results of the study will be available upon request. Click on the link above to enter the study.

Friendship and Well-Being Study

Open to all who wish to participate

Few studies have looked at the relationship between friendship patterns and well-being among adults. In this study, you can help us understand how the friendship patterns people have relate to their well-being. All participants may request the contact person for details of the results upon the completion of this study. Click on the above link to enter the study.

Grit Study

Open to all who wish to participate

Grit is a particular orientation to long-term goals. In this 10-minute study, you can help us understand how grit relates to other personality traits such as extraversion and openness to experience. All participants will be emailed a summary of our research findings upon completion of this study. Click on the link above to enter the study.

Positive Psychology Exercise Study

Open only to those already registered

This study is no longer accepting new participants. It is open only to participants who registered between July 1, 2006 and February 19, 2007. If you registered to test an exercise before June 2006, please see the next listing.

Positive Psychology Exercise Study - 1 Exercise

Open only to those already registered

This is an earlier version of the study listed above. This study is open only to participants who registered before June 2006.