Positive Psychology
(Photo Credit: Thai Jasmine) What is Positive Psychology?
The Positive Psychology Center at The University of Pennsylvania, defines positive psychology as the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. To appreciate the levels at which positive psychology operates we can turn to the thoughts of two of the leading commentators on the subject Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who note that: "The field of positive psychology at the subjective level is about valued subjective experiences: well-being, contentment, and satisfaction (in the past); hope and optimism (for the future); and flow and happiness (in the present). At the individual level, it is about positive individual traits: the capacity for love and vocation, courage, interpersonal skill, aesthetic sensibility, perseverance, forgiveness, originality, future mindedness, spirituality, high talent, and wisdom. At the group level, it is about the civic virtues and the institutions that move individuals toward better citizenship: responsibility, nurturance, altruism, civility, moderation,tolerance, and work ethic." Quality Psychology LinksPositive Psychology Center:
Outstanding collection of resources. A must visit and bookmark website for anybody interested in positive psychology. Click Here To Visit The Positive Psychology Center. The Centre for Confidence and Well-being:
A registered charity based in Glasgow in the UK, The Centre for Confidence and Well-being aims to support individual, organisational and cultural change. In addition to a wide range of resources, visitors can also access a positive psychology forum. Click Here To Visit The Centre for Confidence and Well-being. Happier.Com:
happier.com is a new website launching on September 23, 2009 designed to help people not just be happier but “do happier.” This innovative website provides online tools and exercises for users to make an immediate positive impact on their lives. The website allows users to participate for free by taking 4 validated tests with instant feedback on strengths, optimism, happiness and positivity. More than 100 exclusive videos from the world's leading happiness researchers and practitioners are also included in this section of the site. Premium users can subscribe for just $5 a month for access to more than a dozen research-backed tools customized to increase happiness, resilience, optimism, engagement, and meaning. Doug Hensch and Andrew J. Rosenthal co-founded happier.com to inspire people to be happier and more resilient based on the field of positive psychology. They worked closely with Martin E.P. Seligman Ph.D, an exclusive consultant for happier.com, who is the “father of positive psychology” and a noted professor from the University of Pennsylvania. happier.com is the first set of easy-to-use and engaging online happiness-boosting tools backed by the science of positive psychology. To date, the online tools, videos, blog and iPhone application have been used by more than 40,000 beta-testers. Click Here To Find Out More About Happier.Com. Positive Psychology 2.0
This part of the positive psychology page is dedicated to the move towards what is known as web 2.0. Web 2.0 links people, it's a place where people contribute, share, collaborate and learn. To access some of the links below, you will need to register and/or login. Facebook group with over 100 members. Very interesting interview with Dr. James Pawelski, director of education at the University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center Why Are We Happy? Why Aren't We Happy? Excellent talk by Psychologist Dan Gilbert challenges the idea that we'll be miserable if we don't get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel real, enduring happiness, he says, even when things don't go as planned. He calls this kind of happiness "synthetic happiness," and he says it's "every bit as real and enduring as the kind of happiness you stumble upon when you get exactly what you were aiming for." Tal Ben-Shahar
A leading practitioner in the field, Tal Ben-Shahar currently teaches the most popular course at Harvard University. Influenced by the pioneering work of Dr. Martin Seligman, Tal Ben-Shahar states that his goal in teaching positive psychology "is to create a bridge between the Ivory Tower and Main Street, to bring together the rigor of academia and the accessibility of self-help. You can find out more about this influential expert in positive psychology via the following link. Recommended Positive Psychology ReadingA Primer in Positive Psychology by Christopher Peterson
Book Description A Primer in Positive Psychology is thoroughly grounded in scientific research and covers major topics of concern to the field: positive experiences such as pleasure and flow; positive traits such as character strengths, values, and talents; and the social institutions that enable these subjects as well as what recent research might contribute to this knowledge. Every chapter contains exercises that illustrate positive psychology, a glossary, suggestions of articles and books for further reading, and lists of films, websites, and popular songs that embody chapter themes. A comprehensive overview of positive psychology by one of the acknowledged leaders in the field, this textbook provides students with a thorough introduction to an important area of psychology. See following link for more details: A Primer in Positive Psychology Go Back To The Types of Psychology Page Go From Positive Psychology Back To The Home Page
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