<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Haidt</span>

Jonathan Haidt

<p><b>Jonathan David Haidt</b> (<span class="rt-commentedText nowrap"><span class="IPA nopopups noexcerpt"><a href="/en/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English" class="wl">/<span style="border-bottom:1px dotted"><span>h</span><span>aɪ</span><span>t</span></span>/</a></span></span>; born October 19, 1963) is an American <a href="/en/Social_psychology" title="Social psychology" class="wl">social psychologist</a> and author. He is the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at the <a href="/en/New_York_University_Stern_School_of_Business" title="New York University Stern School of Business" class="wl">New York University Stern School of Business</a>.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[1]</span></a></span> His main areas of study are the <a href="/en/Moral_psychology" title="Moral psychology" class="wl">psychology of morality</a> and <a href="/en/Moral_emotions" title="Moral emotions" class="wl">moral emotions</a>.</p>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">American social psychologist</div>
<p class="mw-empty-elt"></p>
<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1066479718" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}</style><div class='mobile-collapse'><header class="mobile-collapse-header mobile-collapse-btn"><b>Quick facts: Jonathan Haidt, Born, Education, Known&nbsp;f...</b> <span class='arrow'>▼</span></header> <table class="infobox biography vcard mobile-collapse-element"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="font-size:125%;"><div class="fn" style="display:inline">Jonathan Haidt</div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size"><a href="/en/File:Jonathan_Haidt_2012_03.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Jonathan_Haidt_2012_03.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Jonathan_Haidt_2012_03.jpg/220px-Jonathan_Haidt_2012_03.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="708" data-file-height="796" data-file-type="bitmap" height="247" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Jonathan_Haidt_2012_03.jpg/330px-Jonathan_Haidt_2012_03.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Jonathan_Haidt_2012_03.jpg/440px-Jonathan_Haidt_2012_03.jpg 2x" alt="Jonathan_Haidt_2012_03.jpg"></a></span><div class="infobox-caption">Haidt in 2012</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Born</th><td class="infobox-data"><div style="display:inline" class="nickname">Jonathan David Haidt</div><br><span style="display:none"> (<span class="bday">1963-10-19</span>) </span>October 19, 1963<span class="noprint ForceAgeToShow"> (age<span>&nbsp;</span>59)</span><br><div style="display:inline" class="birthplace"><a href="/en/New_York_City" title="New York City" class="wl">New York City</a>, <a href="/en/New_York_(state)" title="New York (state)" class="wl">New York</a>, U.S.</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Education</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Yale_University" title="Yale University" class="wl">Yale University</a> (<a href="/en/Bachelor_of_Arts" title="Bachelor of Arts" class="wl">BA</a>)<br><a href="/en/University_of_Pennsylvania" title="University of Pennsylvania" class="wl">University of Pennsylvania</a> (<a href="/en/Master_of_Arts" title="Master of Arts" class="wl">MA</a>, <a href="/en/Doctor_of_Philosophy" title="Doctor of Philosophy" class="wl">PhD</a>)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Known<span>&nbsp;</span>for</th><td class="infobox-data"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><div class="plainlist ">
<ul><li><a href="/en/Elevation_(emotion)" title="Elevation (emotion)" class="wl">Elevation</a></li>
<li><i><a href="/en/The_Coddling_of_the_American_Mind" title="The Coddling of the American Mind" class="wl">The Coddling of the American Mind</a></i> (2018)</li>
<li><i><a href="/en/The_Happiness_Hypothesis" title="The Happiness Hypothesis" class="wl">The Happiness Hypothesis</a></i> (2006)</li>
<li><a href="/en/Moral_foundations_theory" title="Moral foundations theory" class="wl">Moral foundations theory</a></li>
<li><i><a href="/en/The_Righteous_Mind" title="The Righteous Mind" class="wl">The Righteous Mind</a></i> (2012)</li>
<li><a href="/en/Social_intuitionism" title="Social intuitionism" class="wl">Social intuitionism</a></li></ul>

</div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><b>Scientific career</b></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Fields</th><td class="infobox-data category"><a href="/en/Social_psychology" title="Social psychology" class="wl">Social psychology</a>, <a href="/en/Moral_psychology" title="Moral psychology" class="wl">moral psychology</a>, <a href="/en/Positive_psychology" title="Positive psychology" class="wl">positive psychology</a>, <a href="/en/Cultural_psychology" title="Cultural psychology" class="wl">cultural psychology</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Institutions</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/University_of_Chicago" title="University of Chicago" class="wl">University of Chicago</a> (1992-1995)<br><a href="/en/University_of_Virginia" title="University of Virginia" class="wl">University of Virginia</a> (1995–2011)<br><a href="/en/Stern_School_of_Business" title="Stern School of Business" class="mw-redirect wl">Stern School of Business</a>, <a href="/en/New_York_University" title="New York University" class="wl">New York University</a> (current)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/en/Thesis" title="Thesis" class="wl">Thesis</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a rel="mw:ExtLink nofollow" href="http://people.stern.nyu.edu/jhaidt/articles/haidt.1992.dissertation.pub001b.pdf" class="external text" target="_blank"><i>Moral Judgment, Affect, and Culture, or, Is it Wrong to Eat Your Dog?</i></a><span>&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size:97%;">(1992)</span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/en/Doctoral_advisor" title="Doctoral advisor" class="wl">Doctoral advisor</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Jonathan_Baron" title="Jonathan Baron" class="wl">Jonathan Baron</a>, <a href="/en/Alan_Fiske" title="Alan Fiske" class="wl">Alan Fiske</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Influences</th><td class="infobox-data"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><div class="hlist ">
<ul><li><a href="/en/Durkheim" title="Durkheim" class="mw-redirect wl">Durkheim</a></li>
<li><a href="/en/Kahneman" title="Kahneman" class="mw-redirect wl">Kahneman</a></li></ul>

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</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Website</th><td class="infobox-data"><span class="url"><a rel="mw:ExtLink nofollow" href="https://jonathanhaidt.com/" class="external text" target="_blank">jonathanhaidt<wbr>.com</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table> <footer class='mobile-collapse-footer mobile-collapse-btn'><b>Close</b> <span class='arrow'>▲</span></footer></div>
<p>Haidt's main scientific contributions come from the psychological field of <a href="/en/Moral_foundations_theory" title="Moral foundations theory" class="wl">moral foundations theory</a>,<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[2]</span></a></span> which attempts to explain the evolutionary origins of human <a href="/en/Moral_reasoning" title="Moral reasoning" class="wl">moral reasoning</a> on the basis of innate, gut feelings rather than logic and reason.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-3"><a href="#cite_note-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[3]</span></a></span> The theory was later extended to explain the different moral reasoning and how they relate to political ideology, with different political orientations prioritizing different sets of morals.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-4"><a href="#cite_note-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[4]</span></a></span> The research served as a foundation for future books on various topics.</p>

<p>Haidt has written three books for general audiences: <i><a href="/en/The_Happiness_Hypothesis:_Finding_Modern_Truth_in_Ancient_Wisdom" title="The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom" class="mw-redirect wl">The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom</a></i> (2006) explores the relationship between ancient philosophies and modern science;<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-5"><a href="#cite_note-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 5;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[5]</span></a></span> <i><a href="/en/The_Righteous_Mind:_Why_Good_People_are_Divided_by_Politics_and_Religion" title="The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion" class="mw-redirect wl">The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion</a></i> (2012) examines how morality is shaped by emotion and intuition more than by reasoning, and why differing political groups have different notions of right and wrong;<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-6"><a href="#cite_note-6" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 6;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[6]</span></a></span> and <a href="/en/The_Coddling_of_the_American_Mind" title="The Coddling of the American Mind" class="wl"><i>The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure</i></a> (2018), co-written with <a href="/en/Greg_Lukianoff" title="Greg Lukianoff" class="wl">Greg Lukianoff</a>, explores the rising political polarization and changing culture on college campuses, and its effects on mental health.</p>

<p>Haidt has attracted both support and criticism for his critique of the current state of universities and his interpretation of progressive values.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-7"><a href="#cite_note-7" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 7;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[7]</span></a></span> He has been named one of the "top global thinkers" by <i><a href="/en/Foreign_Policy" title="Foreign Policy" class="wl">Foreign Policy</a></i> magazine, and one of the "top world thinkers" by <i><a href="/en/Prospect_(magazine)" title="Prospect (magazine)" class="wl">Prospect</a></i> magazine.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-8"><a href="#cite_note-8" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 8;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[8]</span></a></span><span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-9"><a href="#cite_note-9" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 9;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[9]</span></a></span> He is among the most cited researchers in political and moral psychology, and is considered among the top 25 most influential living psychologists.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-10"><a href="#cite_note-10" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 10;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[10]</span></a></span><span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-11"><a href="#cite_note-11" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 11;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[11]</span></a></span></p>



Jonathan David Haidt is an American social psychologist and author. He is the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at the New York University Stern School of Business. His main areas of study are the psychology of morality and moral emotions. Haidt's main scientific contributions come from the psychological field of moral foundations theory, The research served as a foundation for future books on various topics. Haidt has written three books for general audiences: The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom explores the relationship between ancient philosophies and modern science; and The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure , co-written with Greg Lukianoff, explores the rising political polarization and changing culture on college campuses, and its effects on mental health. 