# Barbara Fredrickson ![[50 Resources/51 Attachments/51.03 Public/2025-08-23_Barbara_Fredrickson.jpg|400]] Barbara Lee Fredrickson (born June 15, 1964) is an American professor in the department of psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she is the Kenan Distinguished Professor of Psychology. She is also the Principal Investigator of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Lab (PEPLab) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Fredrickson is a social psychologist who conducts research in emotions and positive psychology. Her main work is related to her broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, which suggests that positive emotions lead to novel, expansive, or exploratory behavior, and that, over time, these actions lead to meaningful, long-term resources such as knowledge and social relationships. She is the author of "Positivity: Top-Notch Research Reveals the 3-to-1 Ratio That Will Change Your Life" (2009) and "Love 2.0" (2013). Fredrickson received the American Psychological Association's inaugural Templeton Prize in Positive Psychology in 2000, which included a $100,000 grant to fund her work. Her research has been continuously supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health for over 16 years. ## Quotes <!-- QueryToSerialize: LIST FROM #type/quote AND [[Barbara Fredrickson]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> <!-- SerializedQuery: LIST FROM #type/quote AND [[Barbara Fredrickson]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> - [[Positive emotions are the active ingredient enabling resilience]] - [[We need to be at or above a ratio of 3 to 1 positive to negative emotions for our brain to function at its best]] <!-- SerializedQuery END --> ## Books <!-- QueryToSerialize: LIST FROM #books AND [[Barbara Fredrickson]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> <!-- SerializedQuery: LIST FROM #books AND [[Barbara Fredrickson]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> - [[Organize Your Mind Organize Your Life (book)]] <!-- SerializedQuery END -->