Sonja Lyubomirsky, the author of The How of Happiness, is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside. She possesses a strong academic background and extensive expertise in the field of psychology, specifically in the study of happiness. Her educational career, including a BA summa cum laude from Harvard University and a PhD in social psychology from Stanford University, has equipped her with the knowledge and skills to explore the science behind happiness and well-being.

The significance of Sonja Lyubomirsky’s life and research to the book lies in her role as a research scientist, not a traditional “self-help guru.” As an academic, she has dedicated her entire career to studying happiness, which equips her with an in-depth understanding of research to date on the subject. Her life’s work includes exploring the cognitive and motivational processes that distinguish happy individuals from less happy ones as well as conducting happiness-increasing interventions across various cultures and age groups. Through her research, she has demonstrated that science can provide systematic, unbiased insights into the pursuit of happiness.

Her life’s work and the research conducted with her colleague Ken Sheldon are central to the book’s content, providing the foundation for her claims and proposals in her exploration of happiness.