This handbook presents the most comprehensive account of eudaimonic well-being to date. It brings together theoretical insights and empirical updates presented by leading scholars and young researchers. The handbook examines philosophical and historical approaches to the study of happy lives and good societies, and it critically looks at conceptual controversies related to eudaimonia and well-being. It identifies the elements of happiness in a variety of areas such as emotions, health, wisdom, self-determination, internal motivation, personal growth, genetics, work, leisure, heroism, and many more. It then places eudaimonic well-being in the larger context of society, addressing social elements. The most remarkable outcome of the book is arguably its large-scale relevance, reminding us that the more we know about the good way of living, the more we are in a position to build a society that can be supportive and offer opportunities for such a way of living for all of its citizens.
This handbook discusses the latest findings from different fields of positive psychology from a global perspective by providing a coherent framework to get a better understanding of the development and practice of positive psychology. It starts with the parameters of positive psychology and a summary of the historical rise of positive psychology (both first wave and second wave of positive psychology) in the US, and its slow but steady growth on a global scale. This handbook highlights the major contributions of positive psychologists across 17 major regions of the world on theory, research, assessment and Practice. It discusses how positive psychology can progress human living in different countries and it shows the reasons why positive psychology has become an important source in research and education around the world. .
Introduction to Positive Media Psychology summarizes and synthesizes the key concepts, theories, and empirical findings on the positive emotional, cognitive, and behavioral effects of media use. In doing so, the book offers the first systematic overview of the emerging field of positive media psychology. The authors draw on a growing body of scholarship that explores the positive sides of media use, including fostering one’s own well-being; creating greater connectedness with others; cultivating compassion for those who may be oppressed or stigmatized; and motivating altruism and other prosocial actions. The authors explore these issues across the entire media landscape, examining the ways that varying content (e.g., entertainment, news) delivered through traditional (e.g., film, television) and more recent media technologies (e.g., social media, digital games, virtual reality) can enhance well-being and promote other positive outcomes in viewers and users. This book serves as a benchmark of theory and research for current and future generations of advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and scholars in communication, psychology, education, and social work.
The Handbook of Positive Psychology in Schools offers the most current and comprehensive insights into how positive psychology principles provide a framework for young people to become active agents in their own learning. The third edition of this groundbreaking volume assembles the latest global research identifying fundamental assets—hope, optimism, gratitude, self-efficacy, emotional regulation, among others—that support students’ learning and well-being. Chapters examining social-ecological perspectives on classroom quality and school climate provide best practice guidance on schoolwide policies and practices. These 35 new chapters explore positive psychology’s ongoing influence and advances on prevention, intervention, and assessment practices in schools.
The third, thoroughly revised and enhanced edition of this bestselling book analyses and discusses the most up-to-date research on the psychology of quality of life. The book is divided into six parts. The introductory part lays the philosophical and academic foundation of much of the research on wellbeing and positive mental health, showing the beneficial effects of happy people at work, health, and to society at large. Part 2 (effects of objective reality) describes how sociocultural factors, income factors, other demographic factors, and biological and health conditions affect wellbeing and positive mental health. Part 3 focuses on subjective reality and discusses how individuals process information from their objective environment, and how they manipulate this information that affects wellbeing and positive mental health. Part 4 focuses on the psychology of quality of life specific to life domains, while Part 5 reviews the research on special populations: children, women, the elderly, but also the disabled, drug addicts, prostitutes, emergency personnel, immigrants, teachers, and caregivers. The final part of the book focuses on theories and models of wellbeing and positive mental health that integrate and unify disparate concepts and programs of research. The book addresses the importance of the psychology of quality of life in the context of public policy and calls for a broadening of the approach in happiness research to incorporate other aspects of quality of life at the group, community, and societal levels. It is of topical interest to academics, students and researchers of quality of life, well-being research, happiness studies, psychotherapy, and social policy.
The third edition of Positive Psychology is an accessible introduction to this rapidly growing field. It covers all major positive psychology topics including wellbeing, character strengths, optimism, gratitude, savouring, flow, mindfulness, emotional intelligence, creativity, giftedness, wisdom, growth mindset, grit, self-esteem, self-efficacy, adaptive defence mechanisms, functional coping strategies, positive relationships, and positive psychology interventions. Positive Psychology retains all of the features that made previous editions so popular, including: • Learning objectives • Accounts of major theories • Reviews of relevant research • Self-assessment questionnaires • Self-development exercises • Chapter summaries • Key term definitions • Research questions for student projects • Essay questions for student assignments • Personal development questions for student exercises • Relevant web material • Further reading This new edition has been completely updated to take account of the exponential growth of research in the field. It will prove a valuable resource for students and faculty in psychology and related disciplines including social work, nursing, teaching, counselling, and psychotherapy. This edition also provides access to online teaching resources.
What is human well-being? Valerie Tiberius argues that our lives go well to the extent that we succeed in terms of what matters to us emotionally, reflectively, and over the long term. In other words, well-being consists in fulfilling or realizing our appropriate values over time. In the first half of the book, Tiberius sets out the theory of well-being as value fulfilment. She explains what valuing is and what it is to fulfill values over time. In the second half of the book she applies the theory to the problem of how to help others, particularly our friends. We don't always know how to provide the help we know others need; but we also have the problem of knowing what help they need in the first place, and this is a problem that requires ethical thinking. Tiberius argues that when we want to help others achieve greater well-being, we should pay attention to their values. This entails attending to how others' values fit together, how they understand what it means to succeed in terms of these values, and how things could change for them over time. Being a good and helpful friend, then, requires cultivating some habits of humility that overcome our tendency to think we know what's good for other people without really understanding what it's like to be them.
This book develops a conception of student flourishing as the overarching aim of education. Taking as its basis the Aristotelian concept of eudaimonia, it provides a theoretical study of the foundations of flourishing that goes well beyond Aristotle’s approach. Flourishing as the Aim of Education argues that the ‘good life’ of the student, to which education should contribute, must involve engagement with self-transcendent ideals and ignite awe-filled enchantment. It allows for social, individual and educational variance within the concept of flourishing, and it engages with a host of socio-political as well as ‘spiritual’ issues that are often overlooked in literature discussing character education. Each chapter closes with food for thought for practitioners who can directly facilitate student flourishing. An outgrowth of the author’s previous monograph Aristotelian Character Education, this book follows new directions in questioning how to educate young people towards a life of overall flourishing. It will be of great interest to researchers, academics and post-graduate students in the fields of character education, moral education and moral philosophy, as well as to educators and policy-makers.
The Handbook of Personality Dynamics and Processes is a primer to the basic and most important concepts, theories, methods, empirical findings, and applications of personality dynamics and processes. This book details how personality psychology has evolved from descriptive research to a more explanatory and dynamic science of personality, thus bridging structure- and process-based approaches, and it also reflects personality psychology’s interest in the dynamic organization and interplay of thoughts, feelings, desires, and actions within persons who are always embedded into social, cultural and historic contexts. The Handbook of Personality Dynamics and Processes tackles each topic with a range of methods geared towards assessing and analyzing their dynamic nature, such as ecological momentary sampling of personality manifestations in real-life; dynamic modeling of time-series or longitudinal personality data; network modeling and simulation; and systems-theoretical models of dynamic processes. Ties topics and methods together for a more dynamic understanding of personality Summarizes existing knowledge and insights of personality dynamics and processes Covers a broad compilation of cutting-edge insights Addresses the biophysiological and social mechanisms underlying the expression and effects of personality Examines within-person consistency and variability
The book provides a new theory of well-being designed to integrate many disparate concepts of well-being, such as subjective well-being, personal happiness, mental well-being, emotional well-being, psychological well-being, hedonic well-being, social well-being, life satisfaction, domain satisfaction, and eudaimonia. It lays the foundation for a new a theory of mental well-being based on a hierarchical perspective of positive mental health and guided by the concept of positive balance. Written by a well-known expert in the field, this book addresses the issue of positive balance related to physiological, emotional, cognitive, meta-cognitive, developmental and social-ecological levels of an individual and analyses the factors at each level that contribute to an individual’s positive mental health experience. It discusses in detail the effects of neurochemicals such as dopamine, serotonin, or cortisol; positive and negative affect; satisfaction in salient and multiple life domains vis-à-vis dissatisfaction in life domains; positive versus negative evaluations about one’s life using certain standards of comparison; positive psychological traits of personal growth and intrinsic motivation, etc. vis-à-vis negative traits like pessimism and impulsiveness; and perceived social resources like social contribution and social actualization vis-à-vis perceived constraints like exclusion and ostracism. This original work is of interest to students, researchers and practitioners of quality of life and wellbeing studies, positive psychology, developmental psychology and mental health..
Experiences in nature are now recognised as being fundamental to human health and well-being. Physical activity in nature has been posited as an important well-being facilitator because the presence of nature augments the benefits of physical activity while also enhancing motivation and adherence. This volume brings together a mix of cutting edge ideas in research, theory and practice from a wide set of disciplines with the purpose of exploring interdisciplinary or trans-disciplinary approaches to understanding the relationship between physical activity in nature and health and well-being. Nature and Health: Physical Activity in Nature is structured to facilitate ease of use for the researcher, policy maker, practitioner or theorist. Section 1 covers research on physical activity in nature for a number of important health and well-being issues. Each chapter in this section considers how policy and practice might be shaped by current research findings and knowledge. Section 2 considers contemporary theoretical and conceptual understandings that help explain how physical activity in nature enhances health and well-being and also how best to design interventions and research. Section 3 provides examples of current approaches. This book is an ideal resource for both researchers and advanced students interested in designing future-proofed research, for policy makers interested in improving community well-being and for practitioners interested in best practice applications.
Exploring the modern approach to the economics of happiness, which came about with the Easterlin Paradox, this book analyses and assesses the idea that as a country gets richer the happiness of its citizens remains the same. The book moves through three distinct pillars of study in the field: first analysing the historical and philosophical foundations of the debate; then the methodological and measurements issues and their political implications; and finally empirical applications and discussion about what determines a happy life.
