Christina Maslach (born January 21, 1946) is an American

social psychologist Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field of ...

and

professor emerita ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, known for her research on

occupational burnout The ICD-11 of the World Health Organization (WHO) describes occupational burnout as a work-related phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. According to the WHO, symptoms include "feelings of e ...

. She is a co-author of the

Maslach Burnout Inventory The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is a psychological assessment instrument comprising 16 to 22 symptom items pertaining to occupational burnout. The original form of the MBI was developed by Christina Maslach and Susan E. Jackson. Their goal was ...

Maslach, C.; Jackson, S.E. (1981). "The measurement of experienced burnout". ''Journal of Occupational Behavior, 2,'' 99–113. and Areas of Worklife Survey. Early in her professional career, Maslach was instrumental in stopping the

Stanford prison experiment The Stanford prison experiment (SPE), also referred to as the Zimbardo prison experiment (ZPE), was a controversial psychological experiment performed in August 1971 at Stanford University. It was designed to be a two-week simulation of a p ...

. In 1997, she was awarded the U.S. Professor of the Year.

Education and career

Maslach graduated from

Berkeley High School (California) Berkeley High School is a public high school in the Berkeley Unified School District, and the only public high school in the city of Berkeley, California, United States. It is located one long block west of Shattuck Avenue and three short bloc ...

(1963),

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

(1967) and earned a Ph.D. in psychology at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

(1971).Curriculum vitae
, retrieved 2012-06-22. After receiving her Ph.D., Maslach joined the psychology department at Berkeley as an assistant professor. Her critique of the

persuaded investigator

Philip Zimbardo Philip George Zimbardo (; March 23, 1933 – October 14, 2024) was an American psychologist and a professor at Stanford University. He was an internationally known educator, researcher, author and media personality in psychology who authored mo ...

(later her husband) to stop the experiment after only six days. The experience also shaped Maslach's later career, particularly her interest in

as a response to unavoidable stress. Maslach and Zimbardo married in 1972, a year after the study. In 1981, Maslach and Susan E. Jackson authored the

(MBI) to assess an individual's experience of occupational burnout in human services settings. She later developed alternative versions of the original MBI to be used to assess education settings (1986) and general occupational settings (1996).Maslach, C.; Jackson, S.E.; Leiter, M.P. (1996–2016). ''Maslach Burnout Inventory Manual (Fourth Edition)''. Menlo Park, CA: Mind Garden, Inc. More than 30 years later, in 2014, the Maslach Burnout Inventory was still being cited as "the mainstream measure for burnout". From 1988 to 1989, she was president of the Western Psychological Association (WPA). Since 2001, she has been vice provost for undergraduate education at the University of California, Berkeley.

Awards and honors

In 1991, Maslach was elected a Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

. She is also a Fellow of the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

and of the WPA.Program for 88th Convention of the WPA, 2008
, retrieved 2012-06-25. At Berkeley, Maslach has received the Distinguished Teaching Award and the Social Sciences Service Award. In 1997, she was named the U.S. Professor of the Year by the

Council for Advancement and Support of Education The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is a nonprofit association of educational institutions. It serves professionals in the field of educational advancement. This field encompasses alumni relations, communications, marketin ...

and the

Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (CFAT) is a U.S.-based education policy and research center. It was founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1905 and chartered in 1906 by an act of the United States Congress. Among its most not ...

in 1997. In 2008, Maslach won the WPA Outstanding Teaching Award.

References

External links

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at Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maslach, Christina 21st-century American psychologists American women psychologists Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the American Psychological Association Living people Radcliffe College alumni Scientists from California American social psychologists Stanford University alumni University of California, Berkeley faculty 1946 births American people of Polish descent 21st-century American women scientists 20th-century American psychologists 20th-century American women scientists