Eranda Jayawickreme

Eranda Jayawickreme

Harold W. Tribble Professor of Psychology

Eranda
Jayawickreme

Wake Forest University  ·  Department of Psychology
Editor-in-Chief, Personality and Social Psychology Review
Eranda Jayawickreme
About

I am a personality psychologist whose work sits at the intersection of psychology and philosophy.

My research examines post-traumatic growth, character and virtue, well-being, and the dynamics of personality change. I draw on philosophical perspectives to develop and critically evaluate psychological constructs, with particular attention to how adversity shapes who we become. Much of my cross-cultural research has been conducted in Sri Lanka and Rwanda.

I hold the Harold W. Tribble Professorship in Psychology at Wake Forest University, where I am also associate chair of the Psychology Department and a Senior Research Fellow in the Program for Leadership and Character. I serve as Editor-in-Chief of Personality and Social Psychology Review and my research has been supported by grants totaling over $12 million.

I completed my Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania and hold an Affiliate Appointment at the School of Philosophy, University of Glasgow.

Research Interests

Post-Traumatic Growth

Philosophical and empirical perspectives on personality change following adversity; distinguishing perceived from measurable growth; cultural variations in post-conflict settings including Sri Lanka and Rwanda.

Personality & Character

Whole Trait Theory; philosophical perspectives on virtue, moral character, and integrative personality science; volitional personality change.

Well-Being

Theories of well-being across philosophy and the social sciences; causes and measurement of well-being; implications for public policy.

Wisdom

Wisdom in the wake of adversity; intellectual humility; cross-cultural understandings of wisdom in the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

Pluralism

Covenantal and relational pluralism as psychological constructs; scale development and theoretical integration; applications to post-conflict societies.

Honesty & Virtue

The science of honesty; truthfulness as a trait and state; moral exemplars; character assessment and intervention.

Books
2026

Is There Always Value to Adversity?

Oxford University Press, New York
2026

Intentional Strategies for Changing Character Traits

Cambridge University Press  ·  with J.L. Ratchford & S.M. Schueller
2021

Redesigning Research on Post-Traumatic Growth: Challenges, Pitfalls and New Directions

Oxford University Press, New York  ·  Edited with F.J. Infurna
2016

Exploring the Psychological Benefits of Hardship: A Critical Reassessment of Posttraumatic Growth

Springer, Switzerland  ·  with L.E.R. Blackie
Selected Publications
10,590Total Citations
41h-index
91i10-index
2025Shalvi, S., Levine, E.E., Thielmann, I., Jayawickreme, E., et al. The science of honesty: A review and research agenda. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology.
2025Fleeson, W., & Jayawickreme, E. Getting from states to traits: Whole Trait Theory’s explanatory and developmental engine. European Journal of Personality.
2024Jayawickreme, E., & Fleeson, W. Social, emotional, and behavioral skills can be integrated into existing dynamic personality models. Personality Science.
2024Lamarche, V.M., Kung, F.Y.H., Finkel, E.J., Jayawickreme, E., et al. How to give great research talks to any audience. Nature Human Behavior.
2023Brady, M., & Jayawickreme, E. Can philosophical theorizing on the value of adversity improve research on posttraumatic growth? Philosophical Psychology, 1–24.
2023Jayawickreme, E., Holleran, S.E., Sutton, S., Furr, R.M., & Fleeson, W. Do people agree on how they and others are acting? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 124(1), 215–235.
2022Porter, T., Elnakouri, A., Meyers, E.A., Shibayama, T., Jayawickreme, E., & Grossmann, I. Predictors and consequences of intellectual humility. Nature Reviews Psychology, 1(9), 524–536.
2022Fleeson, W., & Jayawickreme, E. Whole traits: Revealing the social-cognitive mechanisms constituting personality’s central variable. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 63, 69–128.
2021Jayawickreme, E., Fleeson, W., Beck, E.D., Baumert, A., & Adler, J.M. Personality dynamics. Personality Science, 2, 1–18.
2021Jayawickreme, E., Infurna, F.J., et al. Post-traumatic growth as positive personality change: Challenges, opportunities and recommendations. Journal of Personality, 89(1), 145–165.
2019Infurna, F.J., & Jayawickreme, E. Fixing the growth illusion: New directions for research in resilience and post-traumatic growth. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 28, 152–158.
View full publication list →
Selected Honors & Grants
2026–
Editor-in-Chief, Personality and Social Psychology Review
2025
Honorary Doctorate, Utrecht University
2025
Affiliate Appointment, School of Philosophy, University of Glasgow
2025–28
Templeton Religion Trust Grant: “Clarifying the Constitutive and Enabling Character Virtue Elements of Covenantal Pluralism” — $951,007
2023
Early Career Contributions Award, International Society for the Science of Existential Psychology
2023
Fellow, Association for Psychological Science
2022
Fellow, Society for Personality and Social Psychology
2022–25
John Templeton Foundation Grant: “Clarifying the Virtue Profile of the Excellent Thinker” — $850,111
2021
Harold W. Tribble Professor of Psychology, Wake Forest University
2020–23
John Templeton Foundation Grant: “The Honesty Project” (Psychology Co-Leader) — $4,402,255
2019–22
John Templeton Foundation Grant: “Exemplar Interventions to Develop Character” — $1,686,200
2018
Faculty Excellence in Research Award, Wake Forest University
2016–19
John Templeton Foundation Grant: “The Pathways to Character Project” — $3,399,876
2015
Rising Star Award, Association for Psychological Science
Media
Television
The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, CNN — January 2024
Interview on Moral Exemplars, Spectrum TV — December 2019
Radio
The Attitude with Arnie Arneson, WNHN FM — October 2023
What We Gain from Pain, Hidden Brain, NPR — July 4, 2022
Interview with Eranda Jayawickreme, Central Time, Wisconsin Public Radio — December 4, 2019
Podcasts
“Eranda Jayawickreme’s Story”, My Unsung Hero (Hidden Brain) — July 25, 2023
Post-Traumatic Growth, All About Adult Literacy Podcast (WETA) — April 2023
“Post-Traumatic Growth,” The Personality Psychology Podcast
“Post-Traumatic Growth,” The Existential Psychology Podcast
“Can We Change Our Character?”, Voices from the Social and Behavioral Sciences Summit, Department of Defense — June 8, 2021
“The Foolish Sage,” On Wisdom — June 24, 2018
Print & Online
“Mixed Doubles tandem lectures designed to blow your mind”, Winston-Salem Journal — January 29, 2024
“Being humble about what you know is just one part of what makes you a good thinker”, The Conversation — October 25, 2023 (republished in multiple outlets)
“How Trauma Can Become a Catalyst for Personal Growth”, The Wall Street Journal — September 23, 2023
“Can you tell I’m less chatty now?”, Character and Context Blog, SPSP — September 13, 2023
“When facing difficult life experiences, study shows coping strategies matter”, Wake Forest News — August 7, 2023
“Can Character Be Taught?”, Learning Well Magazine — July 17, 2023
“Is it true that ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’?”, Los Angeles Times — May 9, 2023
“The Honest Truth”, Character Lab — March 12, 2023
“Why Teachers Need to Be Honest with Students”, Education Week — March 22, 2023
“Not Every Bad Experience Has to be an Opportunity for Growth”, Kintopia — October 2022
“Is Redemption Redeeming?”, Psychology Today — November 8, 2022
“How We Can Help Children Grow in the Wake of a Crisis”, New York Times — August 22, 2022
“The Idea That Many People Grow From Trauma May Be a Myth”, Science News — July 6, 2022
“The Power of Intellectual Humility”, Psychology Today — April 13, 2022
“The Complicated Truth of Post-Traumatic Growth”, BBC — March 11, 2022
“Our Country Is Polarized: How to Have Constructive Classroom Conversations”, Education Week — September 29, 2021
“How to Be More Optimistic”, Everyday Health — September 24, 2021
“Judge Not: Don’t Let Disagreements Lead to Disdain”, The Philadelphia Inquirer — September 13, 2021
“An Official Guide to Navigating Post-Pandemic Emotions,” Oprah Quarterly — Summer 2021
“Post-traumatic growth: the woman who learned to live a profoundly good life after loss”, The Guardian — May 11, 2021
“Post-traumatic growth: With support, some traumas can help us grow”, CNN — August 30, 2020
“Do we actually grow from adversity?”, The Conversation — November 15, 2019 (republished in multiple outlets)
“Why teens need to be wise to succeed”, Parent & Teen — November 7, 2019
“Why curiosity and humility are important for success”, Parent & Teen — February 21, 2019
“The lower your social class, the wiser you are, suggests new study,” Science — December 20, 2017
“Why Christopher Hitchens was a hero to scientists,” Nautilus — December 16, 2016
“Science totally supports Caroline and Stefan from ‘The Vampire Diaries’,” MTV.com — June 2, 2015
“Two Ways to Be Happy”, New York Times — June 1, 2015
“Why Be Good”, Slate — April 2015
“Well-Being and Time”, Inside Higher Ed — April 29, 2014
“Three Tips for Becoming More Intellectually Humble”, Greater Good Center, UC Berkeley
Contact

Address

Department of Psychology
Wake Forest University
P.O. Box 7778
Winston-Salem, NC 27109

Email & Web

[email protected]
Phone: 336-758-6192
jayawide.sites.wfu.edu