The objectives for graduate training in the Social Program emphasize scholarly excellence in all aspects of Social Psychology. The primary aim of the program is to train students who will excel in research careers in academic or other research settings, and who will be able to conduct research on social psychological processes in laboratory and non-laboratory settings.

Psychologists have long pointed to the evolutionary need for negativity. But positive emotions? They chalked them up to the mechanics of mating and moved on. “That could not be the whole story,” said Barbara Fredrickson, UNC’s Kenan Distinguished Professor of Psychology. “There had to be an adaptive function beyond reproduction.” Twenty years of emotions research later, her bestselling book, "Positivity," makes a solid claim: not only do we need positive emotions to survive — we need them to flourish, to survive well. [courtesy of www.unc.edu]