Positively Pioneering

Professor of Psychology Philip J. Stone, a pioneer in the field of positive psychology who also revolutionized the use of computers in the social sciences, died in his Cambridge apartment on Jan. 31. He was 69.

Colleagues and friends described Stone as a “timeless Renaissance man” who inspired a generation of Harvard undergraduates.

AHEAD OF HIS TIME

The precocious Stone entered the University of Chicago at age 15. By 23, he had a doctorate in psychology and social relations from Harvard. He began teaching here in 1960 and remained on the faculty for the rest of his life.

Stone devoted much of his research to studying interpersonal and group dynamics. At Harvard, he taught Psychology 1501, “Social Psychology of Organizations” and Psychology 1504, “Positive Psychology”—a course he developed and led for several years before handing it off to his protégé, Lecturer on Psychology Tal Ben-Shahar ’96.

Internationally, Stone is known for the creation of a software system called the General Inquirer, which performs content analysis on text gathered from surveys and questionnaires.

At a time when computers were still a foreign concept to many, Stone “was the first person to identify the potential for computers and technology in research,” according to Ben-Shahar.

Stone contributed his innovative ideas to the Gallup Organization by helping the polling and consulting firm devise computer programs to synthesize and code text material collected through their national surveys. Stone became a senior scientist at Gallup in 1995.

Along with his service at Harvard, Stone has served as a consultant to a wide range of clients, including the U.S. State Department and the National Cancer Institute.

‘A REMARKABLE RESPECT’

Dannielle Kennedy, a close personal friend, describes Stone as “intensely curious,” adding that he harbored an “older style intellectual tradition” that led him to pursue and learn about everything that piqued his interest.

“To sit down to talk to him was a magnificent experience. He knew a little bit of everything,” Kennedy says. “He had a remarkable respect for the human mind.”

Friends and colleagues describe Stone as “egalitarian and non-elitist,” a man whose fresh outlook distinguished him from other academic figures.

“You could’ve been a street sweeper or garbage collector and he would have been interested in you,” his brother, Stephen, says. He adds that his brother was incredibly outgoing and showed a “great concern for humanity and its problems,” recalling that Philip kept piles of letters from people expressing their gratitude for his help and attention.

Though he had several significant personal relationships in his life, Stone never married. “He felt like it would tie him down, and he wouldn’t be able to think any more,” Stephen remembers.

Stone also taught a freshman seminar, “Changing Conceptions of Leadership”—most recently in the fall of 2004. Members of the 2004 seminar established a close relationship with their professor and peers, dubbing themselves “Phil’s 12”—a group that interacted with Stone beyond the context of the class.

A veteran of Stone’s freshman seminar, Tiffany T. Niver ’08, says that “although he had done much and was so knowledgeable in his field, he always asked us our opinion.” She says that he was a “quiet leader” who motivated students by expressing genuine care and dedication.

Stone also helped shape and develop the mission of the Leadership Institute at Harvard College, a young organization geared towards cultivating leadership and promoting networking and inspired by courses he taught, Niver says.

Another member of “Phil’s 12,” Karolis Balciunas ’08, describes the professor as “an incredible innovator who always listened to everyone and applied criticism to improve himself as well as the educational environment on campus.”

Professor of Psychology Daniel T. Gilbert, a colleague of Stone, told The Crimson in early February, “I think he is going to be universally remembered as a very gentle man who read widely and thought very deeply.”

AN ONGOING LEGACY

Following Stone’s death, Ben-Shahar dedicated his two spring courses, “Positive Psychology,” and Psychology 1508, “The Psychology of Leadership,” to his late colleague and mentor. The two courses were, respectively, the first and third largest courses offered this spring—with a combined enrollment of over 1400 students.

“In many ways these classes are his classes as well,” Ben-Shahar said at the time. “Many of the ideas here come from our hundreds and thousands of hours of discussion. I very much sense that he’s teaching the class with me.”

Friends and colleagues are planning to establish a research center dedicated to Stone on the Croatian island of Losinj—one of the several places he offered consulting advice. The center will act as an “intellectual incubator” for the late professor’s ideas and unfinished projects that “promise to improve the quality of life of individuals, communities or organizations,” the chairman of Gallup Europe, Robert Manchin, writes in an e-mail.

A service in honor of Stone was held on Mar. 17 in Memorial Church. Over 200 family members, friends, faculty, and students listened as Ben-Shahar eulogized his former mentor.

“Your life, Phil, was not long enough and yet so much more than long,” he said.

—Staff writer Ying Wang can be reached at yingwang@fas.harvard.edu.