Half Empty, Half Full: The Psychological Roots of Optimism

The author, a renowned research psychoanalyst, challenges the idea that optimism is genetic, arguing instead that experiences in the first three years of life often shape the neural pathways in the brain.

Susan C. Vaughan, M.D., is assistant professor of psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. A graduate of Harvard and Columbia University, she is the recipient of numerous research awards and the author of The Talking Cure. Dr. Vaughan also writes frequently for Harper's Bazaar. She lives in Manhattan.