Research Professor of Psychology, Boston College
Dr. Peter Gray, research professor of psychology at Boston College, has conducted and published research in neuroendocrinology, developmental psychology, anthropology and education. He is author of an internationally acclaimed introductory psychology textbook, Psychology by Worth Publishers, now in its seventh edition.
Gray's recent research focuses on the role of play in human evolution and how children educate themselves and acquire emotional and social strength through play when they are free to do so. He has expanded on these ideas in his book, Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life. He also authors a regular blog titled Freedom to Learn, for Psychology Today magazine. Before joining the faculty at Boston College, he earned his undergraduate degree at Columbia College and a PhD in biological sciences at the Rockefeller University.