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Ellen Langer

About

Ellen Langer is a professor in the Psychology Department at Harvard University. Her books written for general and academic readers include Mindfulness, The Power of Mindful Learning, On Becoming An Artist, and Counterclockwise.

Langer has described her work on the illusion of control, aging, decision-making, and mindfulness theory in over 200 research articles and six academic books. Her work has led to numerous academic honors including a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest of the American Psychological Association, the Distinguished Contributions of Basic Science to Applied Psychology award from the American Association of Applied & Preventive Psychology, the James McKeen Cattel Award, and the Gordon Allport Intergroup Relations Prize.

Langer is a Fellow of The Sloan Foundation; The American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, The American Association for the Advancement of Science; Computers and Society; The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues; The Society of Experimental Social Psychologists. In addition to other honors, she has been a guest lecturer in Japan, Malaysia, Germany, and Argentina.

Books by Ellen Langer
Recent Posts
Going Back to Go Forward
If a group of elderly adults could produce such dramatic changes in their lives, so too can the rest of us. Mindful living is about freeing ourselves from constricting mindsets and the limits they place on our health and well-being and appreciating the importance of becoming the guardians of our own health.
Fail, Fall, Forget
At what age do we give up the right to fail, fall, or forget?

Last night Peso, our rescue dog, attacked the food we had put out in the living room for guests. He's typically well-behaved and gentle, but last night, he behaved like an animal. We quickly scolded him and decided he needed to go to canine university.
Blaming the Victim

We have learned that it is reasonable never to question it, nor to pay attention to how it may be otherwise. Beliefs and behavior always make some kind of sense from the actor's perspective or else the actor would have done otherwise. 

We have learned that it is reasonable never to question it, nor to pay attention to how it may be otherwise. Beliefs and behavior always make some kind of sense from the actor's perspective or else the actor would have done otherwise. 

Revenge is a dish best not eaten

When people misbehave, it is not out of strength. Further, just as walls do not a prison make, no matter what someone does to us, we don't have to feel belittled by it. Whatever we do feel is a matter of choice. Why ever choose to feel victimized? If we chose to feel sorry for the other person, revenge becomes unnecessary.

When people misbehave, it is not out of strength. Further, just as walls do not a prison make, no matter what someone does to us, we don't have to feel belittled by it. Whatever we do feel is a matter of choice. Why ever choose to feel victimized? If we chose to feel sorry for the other person, revenge becomes unnecessary.