Ellen Jane Langer (; born March 25, 1947) is an American professor of psychology at Harvard University; in 1981, she became the first woman ever to be tenured in psychology at Harvard. Langer studies the illusion of control, decision-making, aging, and mindfulness theory. Her most influential work is Counterclockwise, published in 2009, which answers questions about aging from her research and interest in the particulars of aging across the nation. Early life and education Langer was born in The Bronx, New York. She received a bachelor's degree in psychology from New York University, and her PhD in Social and Clinical Psychology from Yale University in 1974. Career Langer has had a significant influence on the positive psychology movement. Along with being known as the mother of positive psychology, her contributions to the study of mindfulness have earned her the moniker of the "mother of mindfulness." Her work helped to presage mind/body medicine which has been regarded by many scientists to be an important intellectual movement and one that now has "considerable evidence that an array of mind-body therapies can be used as effective adjuncts to conventional medical treatment." She has published over 200 articles and academic texts, was published in The New York Times, and discussed her works on Good Morning America. Additionally, in many introductory psychology courses at universities across the United States, her studies are required reading. Aging Langer and colleagues have conducted multiple forms of research to promote the flexibility of aging. Some of her most impactful work has been her pioneering research on her famous Counterclockwise Study (1979). This study was originally published by Oxford University Press and later described in her best seller, Mindfulness. It is the basis of what is now called Reminiscence Therapy. The study was replicated in England, South Korea and the Netherlands and was the basis of a British Academy of Film and Television Awards nominated BBC series, The Young Ones. Other important work has shown that rewarding behaviors and following completion of memory tasks improves memory. Another study showed that simply taking care of a plant improves mental and physical health, as well as life expectancy. These studies were the primitive steps to creating the Langer Mindfulness Scale. Her research provided for improved methods in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Langer demonstrated the benefits of mind/body unity theory. By having chambermaids call their everyday activity “exercise” rather than “labor,”