Positive Psychology

ThisFourth Edition provides the most comprehensive coverage of positive psychology′s science and applications, presenting new frameworks for understanding positive emotions and human strengths, and exploring various positive conditions such as empathy, altruism, gratitude, attachment and love.

Preface
Remembering Shane J. Lopez
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Part I. Looking at Psychology From a Positive Perspective
1. Welcome to Positive Psychology
Building Human Strength: Psychology’s Forgotten Mission
Going From the Negative to the Positive
Positive Psychology Seeks a Balanced, More Complete View of Human Functioning
Where We Are Now and What We Will Ask
Personal Mini-Experiments: What You Want to Experience
A Guide to This Book
The Big Picture
Appendix: Movies for Review
2. Eastern and Western Perspectives on Positive Psychology: How “ME + WE = US” Might Bridge the Gap
A Matter of Perspective
Historical and Philosophical Traditions
Western Influences: Athenian, Judeo-Christian, Islamic, and Anishinaabe Traditions
Eastern Influences: Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism
East Meets West
Individualism: The Psychology of ME
Collectivism: The Psychology of WE
Personal Mini-Experiments: Getting and Giving Help
Different Ways to Positive Outcomes
Where We Are Going: From ME to WE to US
ME/WE Balance: The Positive Psychology of US
Final Thoughts
Appendix: The Need for Uniqueness Scale
3. Classifications and Measures of Strengths and Positive Outcomes
Classifications and Measures of Strengths
Personal Mini-Experiments: Discovering and Capitalizing on Your Strengths
Positive Outcomes for All
Identifying Strengths and Moving Toward a Vital Balance
Part II. Positive Psychology in Context
4. The Role of Culture in Developing Strengths and Living Well
Culture and Psychology
Main Message: Culture Counts
Understanding Culture: A Matter of Perspective
Positive Psychology: Culture Is Everywhere
Personal Mini-Experiments: Culturally Embedded Daily Practice
Situating Positive Psychology
Putting Positive Psychology in a Cultural Context
The Wise Man of the Gulf
Final Thoughts on the Complexity of Cultural Influences
5. Living Well at Every Stage of Life
Resilience in Childhood
An Excerpt From Finding Strength: How to Overcome Anything
Positive Youth Development
The Life Tasks of Adulthood
Successful Aging
One Man’s View of Aging
Personal Mini-Experiments: Finding Amazing People of All Ages
A More Developmental Focus in Positive Psychology
Part III. Positive Emotional States and Processes
6. The Principles of Pleasure: Understanding Positive Affect, Positive Emotions, Happiness, and Well-Being
Defining Emotional Terms
Distinguishing the Positive and the Negative
The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule
Positive Emotions: Expanding the Repertoire of Pleasure
Personal Mini-Experiments: In Search of Joy and Lasting Happiness
Positive Emotion Styles Linked to the Common Cold
Happiness and Subjective Well-Being: Living a Pleasurable Life
The Satisfaction With Life Scale
Excerpts From Authentic Happiness
Happiest American is Still Hawaiian, Jewish and Chill
Moving Toward the Positive
Life Enhancement Strategies
7. Making the Most of Emotional Experiences: Emotion-Focused Coping, Emotional Intelligence, Socioemotional Selectivity, and Emotional Storytelling
Emotion-Focused Coping: Discovering the Adaptive Potential of Emotional Approach
Emotional Intelligence: Learning the Skills That Make a Difference
Who Is Emotionally Intelligent—And Does It Matter?
Socioemotional Selectivity: Focusing in Later Life on Positive Emotions and Emotion-Related Goals
Emotional Storytelling: The Pennebaker Paradigm as a Means of Processing Intense Negative Emotions
Emotional Storytelling After a Traumatic Event
Emotions and Context
Working With Emotions to Bring About Positive Change
Personal Mini-Experiments: Making the Most of Emotions in Everyday Life
An Emotional Balancing Act
Life Enhancement Strategies
Part IV. Positive Cognitive States and Processes
8. Seeing Our Futures Through Self-Efficacy, Optimism, and Hope
Fascination With the Future
Being Busy Not an End in Itself
Self-Efficacy
Changing Behavior Through TV Heroes
Optimism
The CAVE and Predicting Baseball Outcomes
Hope
Life Enhancement Strategies
Putting Temporal Futures in Perspective
Personal Mini-Experiments: Balancing Your Perspective on Time
Cultural Caveats About Temporal Perspective
Appendix A: A Summary of Hope Theories
Appendix B: Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory Items
9. Wisdom and Courage: Characteristics of the Wise and the Brave
Wisdom and Courage: Two of a Kind
Wisdom Difficult to Define, Attain
Theories of Wisdom
Becoming and Being Wise
Theories of Courage
Malala Yousafzai’s Courage
Amputee a Driving Force in Getting People With Disabilities Moving
Becoming and Being Courageous
U.S. Senator John McCain’s View on Strengthening Courage—April 2004
Courage Research
Finding Wisdom and Courage in Daily Life
Can Courage Be Learned?
Personal Mini-Experiments: In Search of the Wisdom and Courage of Everyday People . . . Including Yourself
Life Enhancement Strategies
The Value of Wisdom and Courage
10. Mindfulness, Flow, and Spirituality: In Search of Optimal Experiences
Moment-to-Moment Searches
Mindfulness: In Search of Novelty
Living With Mindfulness: The Women’s Heart Foundation
Flow: In Search of Absorption
Personal Mini-Experiments: In Search of Optimal Experiences
Life Enhancement Strategies
Spirituality: In Search of the Sacred
The True Benefits of Spirituality?
The Search Continues
Part V. Prosocial Behavior
11. Empathy and Egotism: Portals to Altruism and Gratitude
Altruism
Personal Mini-Experiments: Exercises in Altruism and Gratitude
Gratitude
Thanking Your Heroes
The Societal Implications of Altruism and Gratitude
Life Enhancement Strategies
“I Have a Dream”: Toward a Kinder, Gentler Humankind
Appendix A: The Helping Attitude Scale
Appendix B: The Gratitude Questionnaire—Six Items From GQ-6
12. Attachment, Love, Flourishing Relationships, and Forgiveness
Infant Attachment
Personal Mini-Experiments: In Search of Love and Flourishing Relationships
Adult Attachment Security
Love
Flourishing Relationships: A Series of Purposeful Positive Relationship Behaviors
Life Enhancement Strategies
A Lot of Love in the Lovemaking: Avoiding Chaos, Relationshipwise
Praise: Encouraging Signs
The Neurobiology of Interpersonal Connection
More on Flourishing Relationships
Future of Love
When Loves Ends
Forgiveness
Attachment, Love, and Forgiveness: Building a Positive Psychology of Close Relationships
Appendix A: The Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS)
Appendix B: The Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Scale (TRIM)
Part VI. Understanding and Changing Human Behavior
13. Balanced Conceptualizations of Mental Health and Behavior
Moving Toward Balanced Conceptualizations
Our Fascination With Abnormal Behavior
Neglect of the Environment and of the Positive
The Lack of a Developmental Emphasis
Difficulties Understanding Behavior in a Cultural Context
The Limits of the Categorical Diagnostic System
Going Beyond the DSM-5 Framework
14. Preventing the Bad and Promoting the Good
In the Words of a Psychotherapy Client . . .
Primary Prevention: “Stop the Bad Before It Happens”
Secondary Prevention (Psychotherapy): “Fix the Problem”
Primary Enhancement: “Make Life Good”
Secondary Enhancement: “Make Life the Best Possible”
Personal Mini-Experiments: Enhancing Your Daily Life
The Balance of Prevention and Enhancement Systems
Appendix A: Effective Secondary Preventions (Psychotherapies) for Adult Problems
Appendix B: Hope Therapy Worksheet
Part VII. Positive Environments
15. Positive Schooling and Good Work: The Psychology of Gainful Employment and the Education That Gets Us There
Positive Schooling
“Teachers Can’t Get Jobs in the Real World!”
Negative Psychology: “Those Who Can’t, Shouldn’t Be Teaching”
“No Child Left Behind” and Beyond
Personal Mini-Experiments: The Power of Positive (and Negative) Teachers
The Components of Positive Schooling
Teaching as a Calling
2016 National Teacher of the Year: “I Was a Teenage Mom, and Teachers Changed My Life”
Giving Back to Teachers
Gainful Employment
Gainful Employment: Happiness, Satisfaction, and Beyond
Having or Being a Good Boss
The Strengths-Based Approach to Work
Capital at Work
The Dark Side: Workaholics, Burnouts, and Jobs Lost
What Can Be Done to Improve Your Work?
Personal Mini-Experiments: Becoming Gainfully Employed
When Work Becomes a Calling: The Tale of a Hospital Orderly
The Psychology of Gainful Employment and the Education That Gets Us There
Appendix A: Example of Positive Schooling: The StrengthsQuest Program
Appendix B: Positive Workplaces in Hong Kong: Building Positive Organizations, Engaging the Heart of Employees
Part VIII. Finding Strengths in Others: Embodying Strengths in Everyday Life
16. Remembering Shane: Real Strengths in a Real Person
Remembering Shane J. Lopez
References
Glossary of Key Terms
Author Index
Subject Index