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James Whiting Pennebaker (born March 2, 1950) is an American social psychologist. He is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and a member of the Academy of Distinguished Teachers.[1] His research focuses on the relationship between natural language use, health, and social behavior, most recently "how everyday language reflects basic social and personality processes".[2]

Quick Facts Born, Occupation ...
James Whiting Pennebaker
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James W. Pennebaker at the 2011 Texas Book Festival.
Born (1950-03-02) March 2, 1950 (age 74)
Midland, Texas, U.S.
OccupationRegents Centennial Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin
Known forSocial psychology
Writing therapy
Anthropological linguistics
Psycholinguistics
Sociolinguistics
physical symptoms
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Education and career

Pennebaker received his B.A. in psychology from Eckerd College in 1972 with honors and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1977.[3]

He has held the following positions:[1]

  • 1977–1983: Assistant Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia
  • 1983–1997: Associate and Full Professor, Southern Methodist University; 1995–1997: Chair of Psychology Department
  • 1997–present: Professor of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin
    • 2005–2009: Bush Regents Professor of Liberal Arts and Barbara Bush Professor of Psychology
    • 2009–2023: Regents Centennial Professor of Liberal Arts
    • 2023–present: Emeritus Professor of Psychology
  • 2005–2014: Chair of Psychology Department
  • 2005–2010: International Research Professor, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, England
  • 2016–2018: Executive Director, Project 2021 to rethink undergraduate education University of Texas at Austin

Research

Over the course of his career, Pennebaker has studied the nature of physical symptoms, health consequences of secrets, expressive writing, and natural language, and has received grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Templeton Foundation, the U.S. Army Research Institute, and other federal agencies for studies in language, emotion, and social dynamics.

A pioneer of writing therapy, he has researched the link between language and recovering from trauma and been "recognized by the American Psychological Association as one of the top researchers on trauma, disclosure, and health."[4][5] In particular, he finds a person's use of "low-level words", such as pronouns and articles, predictive of recovery as well as indicative of sex, age, and personality traits: "Virtually no one in psychology has realized that low-level words can give clues to large-scale behaviors."[4][6]

In the mid-1990s, he and colleagues developed the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC; pronounced "Luke"), a computerized text analysis program that outputs the percentage of words in a given text that fall into one or more of over 80 linguistic (e.g., first-person singular pronouns, conjunctions), psychological (e.g., anger, achievement), and topical (e.g., leisure, money) categories. It builds on previous research linking language patterns with mental states and traits but is more efficient and objective than hand coding methods.[4][6] Pennebaker and his collaborators have used LIWC to analyze the language of Al Qaeda leaders and of political candidates, particularly in the 2008 United States presidential election.[4][6] The use of LIWC is widespread, particularly in the social-behavioral and computer sciences. It is commonly used to examine group and individual differences in communication and writing, the influence of context on language use, social dynamics in close relationships, and language patterns associated with deception and insider threats.[7][8] Pennebaker blogs with associates on what text analysis reveals about political leaders at Wordwatchers: Tracking the language of public figures,[4] and Pennebaker Conglomerates, Inc. offers free LIWC-based text analysis tools online, including a language style matching calculator and a language-based application of the Thematic Apperception Test.[9]

In January 2017, Pennebaker was one of the speakers in the Linguistic Society of America's inaugural Public Lectures on Language series.[10]

Recognition

In 2023 Pennebaker was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[11]

Pennebaker was elected president of the Association for Psychological Science in May 2024, with his term as president-elect beginning June of the same year.[12][13]

Selected publications

Books

  • The Psychology of Physical Symptoms. New York: Springer, 1982. ISBN 978-0-387-90730-7
  • (Ed., with Daniel M. Wegner) Handbook of Mental Control. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1993. ISBN 978-0-13-379280-5
  • Emotion, Disclosure, and Health. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 1995. ISBN 978-1-55798-308-4
  • Opening up: The Healing Power of Confiding in Others. New York: Morrow, 1990. Repr. Opening Up: The Healing Power of Expressing Emotions. New York: Guilford, 1997. ISBN 978-1-57230-238-9
  • Writing to Heal: A Guided Journal for Recovering from Trauma and Emotional Upheaval. Oakland, California: New Harbinger, 2004. ISBN 978-1-57224-365-1
  • The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say About Us. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011. ISBN 978-1-60819-480-3

Co-authored books

  • Expressive Writing: Words that Heal. Idyll Arbor, 2014. James Pennebaker; John Evans. ISBN 9781611580464
  • Opening Up by Writing It Down, Third Edition: How Expressive Writing Improves Health and Eases Emotional Pain. Guilford Press, 2014. James Pennebaker, Joshua M. Smyth. ISBN 978-1462524921

Articles

See also

References

External links

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