College

Natural Sciences

Department

Psychology

Category

Career Development

Areas of Expertise

Meaningful work

Michael Steger

Steger studies understanding well-being and meaning in life and the benefits of engaging in meaningful work.

Steger focuses largely on people’s interactions with their social world, whether in the context of mental illness or the development and maintenance of happiness. He also looks at psychological predictors of physical health and health-risk behaviors.

Steger is the founder and director of the Center for Meaning and Purpose, which works toward turning the promise of research into the reality of better, more fulfilling lives through a core set of courses on positive psychology, positive organizational scholarship, leadership, and meaningful work, conducted through CSU Online.

Steger also serves as an Extraordinary Professor by North-West University in South Africa. He is the co-editor of both “Designing Positive Psychology” and “Purpose and Meaning in the Workplace,” and he is associate editor for the Journal of Personality.

Steger received his B.A. in psychology from Macalester College. In 2005, he earned his Ph.D. in counseling psychology and personality psychology from the University of Minnesota.