Exploring Positive Psychology

Exploring Positive Psychology
Author: Erik M. Gregory
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2016-10-03
Genre: Psychology
ISBN:

Looking for an introduction to positive psychology that offers real-life examples? This overview of the science of happiness supplies case studies from some of the world's most successful organizations and describes ways to experience the personal impact of this exciting scientific field. Rather than focusing on treating what is "wrong" with a person, positive psychology seeks to understand and foster the things that drive happiness, creativity, and emotional fulfillment. This is a relatively new area of psychological study, and this reference book presents the research and practice of positive psychology in an informative and accessible format. Readers are given a history of the field, its current applications, and the future implications of this psychological discipline. Case studies from companies such as The Body Shop, Volvo, Zappos, and Google highlight the impact of positive psychology when it's applied in a modern business setting. These case studies, along with biographies of leaders in the field, highlight each chapter and connect the dots between the empirical theory of positive psychology and its practice. Readers also receive tools to apply the practices to their own lives.

Positive Psychology

Positive Psychology
Author: Rona Hart
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2020-06-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1351375245

This book provides an accessible and balanced introduction to positive psychology scholarship and its applications, incorporating an overview of the development of positive psychology. Positive Psychology: The Basics delineates positive psychology’s journey as a discipline, takes stock of its achievements and provides an updated overview of its core topics, exploring the theory, research and interventions in each. Launched as a rebellious discipline just over two decades ago, positive psychology challenged the emphasis of applied psychology on disease and dysfunction and offered a new, more balanced perspective on human life. From its foundations in the late 20th century to recent "second-wave" theories around the importance of recognizing negative emotions, this compact overview covers the key ideas and principles, from research around emotional wellbeing, optimism and change, to posttraumatic growth and positive relationships. The first jargon-free introduction to the subject, Hart introduces the reader to a range of issues, including self-regulation and flow, character strengths and virtues and positive relationships, concluding with a chapter on how interventions can affect happiness and wellbeing. Positive Psychology: The Basics is an essential resource for students, practitioners, academics and anyone who is interested in understanding the essence of a life well lived.

Positive Psychology

Positive Psychology
Author: Bridget Grenville-Cleave
Publisher: Icon Books Ltd
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2016-03-03
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1848319576

Positive Psychology will help you to look on the bright side and to find your place in the world around you. With expert encouragement and guidance, you will set out your own positive psychology project to discover your strengths, overcome negative attitudes, focus on what gives you purpose, and take control of your life choices. From savouring positive emotions to building better relationships and developing resilience, you will gain the tools to boost your mental and physical well-being and to find fulfilment in everyday life. This is the perfect concise start to making your life better.

Positive Psychology: Discovering human strengths

Positive Psychology: Discovering human strengths
Author: Shane J. Lopez
Publisher: Abc-clio
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2008
Genre: Psychology
ISBN:

Most of psychology focuses on negatives and illnesses. Positive psychology is an attempt to redress the balance and focus on the positive aspects of life- human strengths and virtues that are found in the happiest people.

Second Wave Positive Psychology

Second Wave Positive Psychology
Author: Itai Ivtzan
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2015-10-23
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317578724

Positive psychology is currently equated with theory and research on the positive aspects of life. The reality could not be further from the truth. Positive psychology investigates and researches some of the most difficult and painful experiences. Second Wave Positive Psychology: Embracing the Dark Side of Life is an innovative and groundbreaking textbook that explores a variety of topics we consider to be part of the ‘dark’ side of life while emphasising their role in our positive functioning and transformation as human beings. This more nuanced approach to the notions of ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ can be described as the ‘second wave' of Positive Psychology. Positive Psychology is one of the fastest growing and least understood branches of psychology. Exploring topics at the heart of Positive Psychology, such as meaning, resilience, human development, mortality, change, suffering, and spirituality, this book engages with so-called ‘negative’ matters from a Positive Psychology angle, showing how the path of personal development can involve experiences which, while challenging, can lead to growth, insight, healing and transformation. Containing useful resources, case studies, practical exercises and chapter summaries, Second Wave Positive Psychology is an essential guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying positive psychology, as well as clinicians wanting to know more about the subject. It will also be relevant to the layperson who is interested in positive psychology.

Positive Psychology in Practice

Positive Psychology in Practice
Author: P. Alex Linley
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 755
Release: 2012-06-27
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1118428900

A thorough and up-to-date guide to putting positive psychology into practice From the Foreword: "This volume is the cutting edge of positive psychology and the emblem of its future." -Martin E. P. Seligman, Ph.D., Fox Leadership Professor of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, and author of Authentic Happiness Positive psychology is an exciting new orientation in the field, going beyond psychology's traditional focus on illness and pathology to look at areas like well-being and fulfillment. While the larger question of optimal human functioning is hardly new - Aristotle addressed it in his treatises on eudaimonia - positive psychology offers a common language on this subject to professionals working in a variety of subdisciplines and practices. Applicable in many settings and relevant for individuals, groups, organizations, communities, and societies, positive psychology is a genuinely integrative approach to professional practice. Positive Psychology in Practice fills the need for a broad, comprehensive, and state-of-the-art reference for this burgeoning new perspective. Cutting across traditional lines of thinking in psychology, this resource bridges theory, research, and applications to offer valuable information to a wide range of professionals and students in the social and behavioral sciences. A group of major international contributors covers: The applied positive psychology perspective Historical and philosophical foundations Values and choices in pursuit of the good life Lifestyle practices for health and well-being Methods and processes for teaching and learning Positive psychology at work The best and most thorough treatment of this cutting-edge discipline, Positive Psychology in Practice is an essential resource for understanding this important new theory and applying its principles to all areas of professional practice.

Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Positive Psychology

Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Positive Psychology
Author: Todd B. Kashdan
Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
Total Pages: 463
Release: 2013-04-01
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1608823393

Many have wondered if there is a key ingredient to living a full and happy life. For decades now, scientists and psychologists alike have been studying the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. The positive psychology movement was founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play. At the same time, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)—a mindfulness-based, values-oriented behavioral therapy that has many parallels to Buddhism, yet is not religious in any way—has been focused on helping people achieve their greatest human potential. Created only years apart, ACT and positive psychology both promote human flourishing, and they often share overlapping themes and applications, particularly when it comes to setting goals, psychological strengths, mindfulness, and the clarification of what matters most—our values and our search for meaning in life. Despite these similarities, however, the two different therapeutic models are rarely discussed in relation to one another. What if unifying these theories could lead to faster, more profound and enduring improvements to the human condition? Edited by leading researchers in the field of positive psychology, Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Positive Psychology is the first professional book to successfully integrate key elements of ACT and positive psychology to promote healthy functioning in clients. By gaining an understanding of "the seven foundations of well-being," professionals will walk away with concrete, modernized strategies to use when working with clients. Throughout the book, the editors focus on how ACT, mindfulness therapies, and positive psychology can best be utilized by professionals in various settings, from prisons and Fortune 500 business organizations to parents and schools. With contributions by Steven C. Hayes, the founder of ACT, as well as other well-known authorities on ACT and positive psychology such as Robyn Walser, Kristin Neff, Dennis Tirch, Ian Stewart, Louise McHugh, Lance M. McCracken, Acacia Parks, Robert Biswas-Diener, and more, this book provides state-of-the-art research, theory, and applications of relevance to mental health professionals, scientists, advanced students, and people in the general public interested in either ACT or positive psychology.

Handbook of Positive Psychology

Handbook of Positive Psychology
Author: C. R. Snyder
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 1351
Release: 2001-12-20
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0190285613

Psychology has long been enamored of the dark side of human existence, rarely exploring a more positive view of the mind. What has psychology contributed, for example, to our understanding of the various human virtues? Regrettably, not much. The last decade, however, has witnessed a growing movement to abandon the exclusive focus on the negative. Psychologists from several subdisciplines are now asking an intriguing question: "What strengths does a person employ to deal effectively with life?" The Handbook of Positive Psychology provides a forum for a more positive view of the human condition. In its pages, readers are treated to an analysis of what the foremost experts believe to be the fundamental strengths of humankind. Both seasoned professionals and students just entering the field are eager to grasp the power and vitality of the human spirit as it faces a multitude of life challenges. The Handbook is the first systematic attempt to bring together leading scholars to give voice to the emerging field of positive psychology.

Positive Psychology for Your Hero's Journey

Positive Psychology for Your Hero's Journey
Author: Bruce Smith
Publisher:
Total Pages: 422
Release: 2018
Genre:
ISBN: 9781983556951

What do you want most out of life? How can you find true and lasting happiness? How can you not only survive but thrive in the midst of all of your stress? Answering these questions can involve the same kind of hero's journey that we find in Star Wars, Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings, Wonder Woman, and in so many of our favorite stories and in real people we admire who we know or have heard about. Positive Psychology is the science of happiness and what makes life worth living. It may be our best hope for completing our most important hero's journey to the kind of life that we long for and which bring lasting rewards and satisfaction. This book was designed to be a road map for your adventure and a personal companion with what you need for making the most of your life and living it to the fullest. You will find the latest scientific theory and research, inspiring examples of hero's journey stories, and personal exercises that will enable you to create and discover a life of joy, happiness, meaning, and fulfillment. These have been part of a popular and highly-rated university positive psychology course taken by over 3,000 students and consistently resulting in increased happiness and well-being. You will learn how to identify what will make you most happy and, most important, how to develop the positive qualities and strengths you need to achieve it. These will include things like courage, creativity, gratitude, hope, humor, mindfulness, perseverance, resilience, spirituality, and wisdom and practical suggestions for how you can use and benefit from them every day. The stories in the book include real life hero's such as Abraham Lincoln, Maya Angelou, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, and Mahatma Gandhi and references to fictional heroes in familiar stories like Star Wars, Harry Potter, and the Lord of the Rings. These stories are used to illustrate how you can put positive psychology into practice in accomplishing your most cherished and important goals. The exercises include the best of those developed and tested in positive psychology research. They will enable you to identify, develop, and use your strengths; to see, create, and savor more good things in your life; to develop better relationships with other people; and to envision your best possible future and a clear the path for making your own hero's journey to realizing it.