Skip to main content
Guest Name
Dr Phil Watkins
Guest Occupation
Professor of Psychology, Author of Gratitude Books and Articles
Guest Biography

Phil Watkins received his B.S. in psychology from the University of Oregon and his Ph.D. from Louisiana State University. He has taught in the Psychology Department at Eastern Washington University since 1990. After investigating memory biases in depression, Phil shifted his focus to gratitude and how it impacts well-being. He developed one of the most utilized measures of gratitude (the GRAT), and has been called a “pioneer in gratitude research.” He has remained active in the science of gratitude, and his research now focuses on how gratitude enhances happiness. He has published a number of scientific papers on gratitude, and has also published two books. His first book, Gratitude and the Good Life, is a treatise on the current science of gratitude. More recently he published Positive Psychology 101, which is written for a more general audience on the science of happiness and positive psychology (Springer Publishers, New York).