James C. Coyne

James C. Coyne (born 22 October 1947) is an American psychologist and Emeritus Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Coyne received his B.A. (1968) from Carnegie-Mellon University and his Ph.D. in Psychology (1975) from Indiana University (dissertation title Depression and the Response of Others). After being a Clinical Psychology Intern at the University of Florida in 1972-3, he was an instructor at Miami University from 1973 to 1975, where he became an Assistant Professor in 1975. He became professor at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 1999 and became emeritus professor in 2013.

A 2007 study led by Coyne found that positive emotional well-being was not associated with increased life expectancy among head and neck cancer patients.

Coyne has criticized the field of positive psychology and the research claiming that a positive attitude can impact one's health. He has also criticized studies which have concluded that personality traits are linked to an increased risk of cancer death.

Coyne has stated that a 1970s study by Ellen Langer, which found that elderly people given plants to take care of lived longer than those who were not, would not have "much credibility today, nor would it meet the tightened standards of rigor."

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