RYAN HOWELL, Ph.D.

Ryan T. Howell, Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychology at SFSU and is now also the Psychology department chair. He received his B.S. in Psychology, cum laude, from Westmont College (1998) and his Ph.D. in Personality Psychology from the University of California, Riverside (2005). Howell has taught courses in psychological statistics, research methods, and positive psychology, and currently serves as a graduate advisor—due to his chairing duties, he will not be able to serve as an advisor for the 2023-2026 academic years. Howell's main research interest is developing statistical models to predict subjective well-being (SWB) from the Big Five personality traits and daily activities. He is also interested in the role increased well-being plays in improved physiological health. For example, in Howell's most recent meta-analysis, his findings point to multiple potential biological pathways, such that well-being can directly bolster immune functioning and buffer the impact of stress.

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