Salovey, Peter

Peter Salovey, Ph.D., a professor of epidemiology and public health and chair of the Department of Psychology, was named the Chris Argyris Professor of Psychology. He directs the Health, Emotion and Behavior Laboratory and with John D. Mayer coined the term “emotional intelligence” to describe how people understand, manage and use their feelings. He has focused on how feelings facilitate adaptive cognitive and behavioral functioning. Salovey has also investigated how public health messages can best encourage prevention and early detection behaviors for HIV/AIDS and cancer. He is deputy director of the Yale Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS.