Joined Stern 2011
Leonard N. Stern School of Business
Kaufman Management Center
44 West Fourth Street, 7-98
New York, NY 10012
Jonathan Haidt
Biography
Jonathan Haidt (pronounced “height”) joined New York University Stern School of Business in July 2011. He is the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership, based in the Business and Society Program.
Haidt received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992, and taught for 16 years in the department of psychology at the University of Virginia. Haidt’s research examines the intuitive foundations of morality, and how morality varies across cultures––including the cultures of progressive, conservatives, and libertarians. His mission is apply research in social and moral psychology to help important institutions work better.
Haidt has co-founded a variety of organizations and collaborations that apply moral and social psychology toward that end, including HeterodoxAcademy.org , ConstructiveDialogue.org , and EthicalSystems.org .
Haidt is the author of The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom, and of The New York Times bestsellers The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, and The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure (co-authored with Greg Lukianoff). He has written more than 100 academic articles. In 2019 he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and was chosen by Prospect magazine as one of the world’s “Top 50 Thinkers.” He has given four TED talks.
Since 2018 he has been studying the contributions of social media to the decline of teen mental health and the rise of political dysfunction. He is currently writing Life After Babel: Adapting to a world we can no longer share.
Research Interests
- Business ethics
- Moral psychology
- Political psychology
- Social media’s effects on mental health and democracy
Courses Taught
- Evolution and Business
- Professional Responsibility
- Work, Wisdom, and Happiness
Academic Background
Ph.D., Psychology
University of Pennsylvania
B.A., Philosophy
Yale University
Awards & Appointments
| American Academy of Arts and Sciences | Elected member | 2019 |
| Prospect Magazine | One of the World's Top 50 Thinkers | 2019 |
| Ethisphere Business Ethics | One of the 100 most influential people in business ethics | 2014 |
| Princeton University | Laurance S. Rockefeller Distinguished Visiting Professor | 2006 |
Related News & Research
Professor Jonathan Haidt interview: “How to Give Kids Autonomy? 'Anxious Generation' Author Says a License to Roam Helps.”
Only At Stern: Professor Jonathan Haidt on Using Moral Psychology to Explain Why So Much Is Going Wrong
Professor Jonathan Haidt video interview: “Author: Protect Kids From Phones' Mental Health Impact.”
Professor Jonathan Haidt feature interview: “Author Jonathan Haidt discusses ‘The Anxious Generation.’”
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
Professor Jonathan Haidt in-depth feature interview, spotlighting his new book, "The Anxious Generation;" Undergraduate student Zofia Fernandini (BS '25) recommends Professor Haidt's course, "Flourishing”: “First He Came for Cancel Culture. Now He Wants to Cancel Smartphones.”
Insights from Professor Jonathan Haidt’s forthcoming book, “The Anxious Generation,” are featured: “End the Phone-Based Childhood Now.”
Commentary from Professor Jonathan Haidt is mentioned: “Anonymous Social Apps Face Another Reckoning as UNC System to Ban Yik Yik, Fizz, Sidechat & Whisper.”
Commentary from Professor Jonathan Haidt is referenced: “Is Smartphone Addiction Dooming a Generation of Girls?”
Research from Professor Jonathan Haidt is referenced: “Why Americans Suddenly Stopped Hanging Out.”
Insights from Professor Jonathan Haidt’s forthcoming book, “The Anxious Generation,” are highlighted: “Big Tech Execs Need to be Pushed — But We All Have to be Accountable For Kids and Social Media.”
Commentary from Professor Jonathan Haidt is included: “How October 7 Changed America’s Free-Speech Culture.”
I’m Worried About the Boys, Too.
Commentary from Professor Jonathan Haidt is mentioned: “Sick of Cancel Culture? One Man Has a Surprising Solution.”
Professor Jonathan Haidt video interview: “‘No Phone’ Movement.”
Commentary from Professor Jonathan Haidt is referenced: “The US Needs to Follow England’s Lead and Ban Cell Phones From Schools.”
Commentary from Professor Jonathan Haidt is featured: “The Surprising Potency of Texting in a Crisis.”
Get Phones Out of Schools Now.
AI Is About to Make Social Media (Much) More Toxic.
The Teen Mental Illness Epidemic Began Around 2012.
Only At Stern: Professor Jonathan Haidt on Using Moral Psychology to Explain Why So Much Is Going Wrong
Professor Jonathan Haidt video interview: “Author: Protect Kids From Phones' Mental Health Impact.”
Professor Jonathan Haidt feature interview: “Author Jonathan Haidt discusses ‘The Anxious Generation.’”
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
Professor Jonathan Haidt in-depth feature interview, spotlighting his new book, "The Anxious Generation;" Undergraduate student Zofia Fernandini (BS '25) recommends Professor Haidt's course, "Flourishing”: “First He Came for Cancel Culture. Now He Wants to Cancel Smartphones.”
Insights from Professor Jonathan Haidt’s forthcoming book, “The Anxious Generation,” are featured: “End the Phone-Based Childhood Now.”
Commentary from Professor Jonathan Haidt is mentioned: “Anonymous Social Apps Face Another Reckoning as UNC System to Ban Yik Yik, Fizz, Sidechat & Whisper.”
Commentary from Professor Jonathan Haidt is referenced: “Is Smartphone Addiction Dooming a Generation of Girls?”
Research from Professor Jonathan Haidt is referenced: “Why Americans Suddenly Stopped Hanging Out.”
Insights from Professor Jonathan Haidt’s forthcoming book, “The Anxious Generation,” are highlighted: “Big Tech Execs Need to be Pushed — But We All Have to be Accountable For Kids and Social Media.”
Commentary from Professor Jonathan Haidt is included: “How October 7 Changed America’s Free-Speech Culture.”
I’m Worried About the Boys, Too.
Commentary from Professor Jonathan Haidt is mentioned: “Sick of Cancel Culture? One Man Has a Surprising Solution.”
Professor Jonathan Haidt video interview: “‘No Phone’ Movement.”
Commentary from Professor Jonathan Haidt is referenced: “The US Needs to Follow England’s Lead and Ban Cell Phones From Schools.”
Commentary from Professor Jonathan Haidt is featured: “The Surprising Potency of Texting in a Crisis.”
Get Phones Out of Schools Now.
AI Is About to Make Social Media (Much) More Toxic.
The Teen Mental Illness Epidemic Began Around 2012.
Areas of Expertise
Ethics
- Business Ethics