William Damon
Professor of Education
Graduate School of Education
Bio
William Damon is Professor of Education at Stanford University, Director of the Stanford Center on Adolescence, and Senior Fellow, by courtesy, at the Hoover Institution. He is one of the world's leading researchers on human development across the lifespan, and he has pioneered the scientific study of purpose in life. Damon is author of The Path to Purpose; Greater Expectations (winner of the Parent's Choice Book Award); Some Do Care: Lives of Moral Commitment (with Anne Colby); Good Work: When Excellence and Ethics Meet (with Howard Gardner and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi); and A Round of Golf with my Father: The New Psychology of Exploring your Past to Make Peace with your Present. Damon’s work in recent years includes a study of the development of purpose in adulthood and a study of purpose in American higher education. Damon has been elected to membership in the National Academy of Education and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Administrative Appointments
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Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace (1999 - Present)
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Professor of Education, Stanford Graduate School of Education (1997 - Present)
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Director, Stanford Center on Adolescence (1997 - Present)
Honors & Awards
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Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2015 -)
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Fellow, American Educational Research Association (2007 -)
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Member, National Academy of Education (2004 -)
Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations
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Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2014 - Present)
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Elected Member, National Academy of Education (2000 - Present)
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University Professor, Brown University (1996 - 1998)
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The Mittlemann Family Director, Center for the Study of Human Development (1992 - 1998)
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Professor of Education, Brown University (1989 - 1998)
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Chair of Education, Brown University (1989 - 1992)
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Chair of Education, Clark University (1988 - 1989)
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Dean of the Graduate School, Clark University (1983 - 1987)
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Professor of Psychology, Clark University (1982 - 1989)
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Associate Professor of Psychology, Clark University (1978 - 1982)
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Assistant Professor of Psychology, Clark University (1973 - 1978)
Professional Education
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PhD, University of California, Berkeley, Developmental Psychology (1973)
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BA, Harvard University (1967)
Research Interests
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Higher Education
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Lifelong Learning
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Motivation
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Professional Development
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Psychology
Current Research and Scholarly Interests
Dr. Damon studies the development of purpose throughout the lifespan. Recently he has conducted a study on the development of purpose during the college years. In addition, he has conducted research on how professionals can do work that is at the same time masterful and highly purposeful. Damon has written several books on purpose and character development, and he has been the editor-in-chief of New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development and The Handbook of Child Psychology. Damon's research has led to widely-recognized educational methods at the secondary, higher-education, and professional levels.
Projects
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Handbook of Child Psychology, 1998, 2006 editions
Editor-in-Chief, Handbook of Child Psychology, 1998, 2006 editions.
Location
United States
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The Thriving Indicators Project, The John Templeton Foundation
Advisory Boards, Positive Coaching Alliance, The Thriving Indicators Project.
Location
United States
2024-25 Courses
- Social, Emotional, and Personality Development
EDUC 365 (Win) - The Development of Purpose Across the Lifespan
EDUC 471 (Spr) -
Independent Studies (8)
- Directed Reading
EDUC 480 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Directed Reading in Education
EDUC 180 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Directed Research
EDUC 490 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Directed Research in Education
EDUC 190 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Honors Research
EDUC 140 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Master's Thesis
EDUC 185 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Practicum
EDUC 470 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Supervised Internship
EDUC 380 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
- Directed Reading
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Prior Year Courses
2023-24 Courses
- Social, Emotional, and Personality Development
EDUC 365 (Win) - The Development of Purpose Across the Lifespan
EDUC 471 (Spr)
2022-23 Courses
- Moral, Civic, and Environmental Education
EDUC 379 (Spr) - Social, Emotional, and Personality Development
EDUC 365 (Win)
2021-22 Courses
- Social, Emotional, and Personality Development
EDUC 365 (Win)
- Social, Emotional, and Personality Development
Stanford Advisees
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Master's Program Advisor
Illana Zauderer -
Doctoral (Program)
Brendan Fereday, Yue Jia, Joseph Moore, Lillian Wolfe
All Publications
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Purpose development in the context of higher education
APPLIED DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE
2024
View details for DOI 10.1080/10888691.2024.2403535
View details for Web of Science ID 001312579900001
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Family purpose: an empirical investigation of collective purpose (SEPT, 10.1080/17439760.2023.2254738, 2023)
JOURNAL OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
2024
View details for DOI 10.1080/17439760.2024.2336380
View details for Web of Science ID 001197028400001
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Scientific and Ethical Mandates in the Study of Purpose
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
2022; 66 (3): 219-221
View details for DOI 10.1159/000524601
View details for Web of Science ID 000924476500006
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EDUCATION FOR A PURPOSEFUL LIFE
EDUCATION
2022: 181-193
View details for Web of Science ID 000976035800012
- A Round of Golf with my Father: The New Psychology of Exploring your Past to Make Peace with your Present Templeton Press. 2021
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They do care: An interview with William Damon and Anne Colby on moral development
JOURNAL OF MORAL EDUCATION
2018; 47 (4): 383–96
View details for DOI 10.1080/03057240.2018.1494972
View details for Web of Science ID 000446506100001
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Purpose and Character Development in Early Adolescence.
Journal of youth and adolescence
2017
Abstract
Character development in adolescence is of growing interest among psychology researchers and educators, yet there is little consensus about how character should be defined and studied among developmental scientists. In particular, there is no fully developed framework for investigating the developmental relationships among different character strengths. This study examines the developmental relations between purpose and three other key character strengths that emerge during early adolescence: gratitude, compassion, and grit. We analyzed survey (n = 1005, 50.1% female, 24.1% Caucasian, 43.6% African American, 18.9% Hispanic, 11.9% Asian American) and interview (n = 98) data from a longitudinal study of character development among middle school students from the United States. Data were collected over the course of 2 years, with surveys conducted four times at 6-month intervals and interviews conducted twice at 12-month intervals. Data analyses showed small but significant correlations between purpose and each of the other three character strengths under investigation. Interview data revealed patterns in ways that adolescents acted on their purposeful aspirations; and interview analyses identified qualitative differences in expressions of gratitude and compassion between adolescents who were fully purposeful and those who were not. The findings suggest that character development can be better understood by investigating the multidirectional developmental relationships among different character strengths.
View details for DOI 10.1007/s10964-017-0642-3
View details for PubMedID 28181047
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Why a True Account of Human Development Requires Exemplar Research
EXEMPLAR METHODS AND RESEARCH: STRATEGIES FOR INVESTIGATION
2013; 142: 13-25
Abstract
This chapter uses moral psychology to illustrate why exemplar methods are essential for building a valid, complete understanding of key domains of human development. Social psychological, economic, and biological-evolutionary paradigms for studying morality rely on samples drawn from the general population. This research reveals a bleak picture of morality, highlighting its irrational, self-interested, externally controlled aspects. If the subjects in these studies are confused, pliable, or profit-maximizing, these studies conclude that people in general are morally irrational and self-interested. In contrast, studies that investigate morally exceptional individuals reveal a more thoughtful, ideal-driven, self-reflective, creative version of moral functioning. Any account that neglects this high-functioning segment of the range is seriously misleading and cannot provide the basis for aspiration or education.
View details for DOI 10.1002/cad.20046
View details for Web of Science ID 000332400800002
- The path to purpose: How young people find their calling in life Simon and Schuster. 2009
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Family purpose: an empirical investigation of collective purpose
JOURNAL OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
2023
View details for DOI 10.1080/17439760.2023.2254738
View details for Web of Science ID 001060329400001
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Civic Purpose: An Integrated Construct for Understanding Civic Development in Adolescence
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
2015; 58 (2): 103-130
View details for DOI 10.1159/000381655
View details for Web of Science ID 000356040900004
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Diverse Routes to Civic Participation Across Ages and Cultures: An Introduction INTRODUCTION
RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
2015; 12 (1-2): 1–9
View details for DOI 10.1080/15427609.2015.1010341
View details for Web of Science ID 000352314900001
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Motivations for Civic Participation Among Diverse Youth: More Similarities than Differences
RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
2015; 12 (1-2): 63-83
View details for DOI 10.1080/15427609.2015.1010348
View details for Web of Science ID 000352314900005
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Fostering Youth Entrepreneurship: Preliminary Findings From the Young Entrepreneurs Study
JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE
2014; 24 (3): 431-446
View details for DOI 10.1111/jora.12086
View details for Web of Science ID 000344789300003
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Entrepreneurship in young adults: Initial findings from the young entrepreneurs study
JOURNAL OF APPLIED DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
2014; 35 (5): 410-421
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.appdev.2014.07.003
View details for Web of Science ID 000345476100004
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Failing Liberty 101
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP
2012; 69 (7): 22-26
View details for Web of Science ID 000304382500004
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Introduction to the Special Issue on American Identity
APPLIED DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE
2011; 15 (2): 51-53
View details for DOI 10.1080/10888691.2011.560804
View details for Web of Science ID 000289803200001
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The Bridge to Character
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP
2010; 67 (5): 36-39
View details for Web of Science ID 000274134300007
- The why question: Teachers can instill a sense of purpose Education Next 2009; 9 (3): 84-85
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The moral - How do we help students understand that academic excellence can get them where they want to go?
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP
2008; 66 (2): 8-?
View details for Web of Science ID 000259729100002
- Good work: When excellence and ethics meet Basic Books. 2008
- Education and the path to purpose Independent School Magazine 2008; 68 (1): 61-64
- The Moral North Star. Educational Leadership 2008; 66 (2): 8-13
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Dispositions and teacher assessment the need for a more rigorous definition
JOURNAL OF TEACHER EDUCATION
2007; 58 (5): 365-369
View details for DOI 10.1177/0022487107308732
View details for Web of Science ID 000250491300002
- Taking ultimate responsibility Responsibility at work: How leading professionals act (or don't act) responsibly 2007: 21-42
- Taking philanthropy seriously: Beyond noble intentions to responsible giving Indiana University Press. 2006
- Handbook of child psychology, social, emotional, and personality development John Wiley & Sons. 2006
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Looking back, for a change: a story of directions in child and adolescent development.
New directions for child and adolescent development
2005: 15-19
View details for PubMedID 16342889
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Passion & mastery in balance: toward good work in the professions
DAEDALUS
2005; 134 (3): 27-35
View details for Web of Science ID 000237725500004
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What is positive youth development?
Conference on Positive Development - Realizing the Potential of Youth
SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC. 2004: 13–24
View details for DOI 10.1177/0002716203260092
View details for Web of Science ID 000187222100002
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The moral development children
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
1999; 281 (2): 72-78
View details for Web of Science ID 000081568300032
View details for PubMedID 10443038
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Political development for a democratic future: A commentary
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL ISSUES
1998; 54 (3): 621-627
View details for Web of Science ID 000077829400011