Positive Psychology: The Scientific and Practical Explorations of Human Strengths / Edition 3

by Shane J. Lopez, Jennifer Teramoto Pedrotti, Charles Richard Snyder

Overview

Snyder, Lopez, and Pedrotti offer comprehensive coverage of the science and application of positive psychology and present new frameworks for understanding positive emotions and human strengths. The authors bring positive psychology to life by tackling issues such as how positive psychology can help improve schooling and the workplace, as well as promote cooperative lifestyles among people. Further, the book covers Western and Eastern approaches to understanding human strengths, along with the cultural and developmental influences on positive functioning. The authors also explore various positive conditions such as happiness and well-being, along with other processes related to mindfulness, wisdom, courage, and spirituality.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452276434
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	08/06/2014
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	600
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Shane J. Lopez Ph.D. is research director for the Clifton Strengths School and Senior Scientist in Residence at Gallup. He is an architect of the Gallup Student Poll, a measure of hope, engagement, and well-being in American students. Dr. Lopez is also the director of the annual Wellbeing Forum which convenes scholars, leaders, and decision makers to discuss global wellbeing. He leads research on the links between hope, strengths development, academic success, and overall well-being and collaborates with scholars on these issues. He specializes in hope and strengths enhancement for students from preschool through college graduation, advocating a whole school strengths model that also builds the strengths expertise of educators, parents, and youth development organizations. Dr Lopez has provided strengths mentoring to thousands of college students. Formerly, Dr. Lopez was associate professor of counseling psychology at the University of Kansas, Lawrence where he taught courses in positive psychology, psychological assessment, and educational leadership. He serves on the editorial board of The Journal of Positive Psychology and on the advisory board for Ready, Set, Learn, the Discovery Channel’s pre-school educational television programming. Through his current research programs, Lopez is examining the effectiveness of hope training programs in the schools (under the auspices of the Making Hope Happen Program), refining a model of psychological courage, and exploring the link between soft life skills and hard outcomes in education, work, healthy, and family functioning. Dr. Lopez has published over 100 articles and chapters and seven books including Encyclopedia of Positive Psychology (Wiley) and The Handbook of Positive Psychology (Oxford) and Positive Psychological Assessment: A Handbook of Models and Measures (American Psychological Association Press), both with C. R. Snyder.

Dr. Lopez is a licensed psychologist and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association.

Jennifer Teramoto Pedrotti, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and Child Development at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where she teaches courses in positive psychology, multicultural psychology, clinical and counseling psychology, and research methods. Dr. Teramoto Pedrotti’s current research includes projects on topics including ethnocultural empathy, hope in diverse populations, and well-being in multiracial individuals. She has contributed to several works discussing the intersections of positive psychology and multicultural issues and has been teaching positive psychology with a multicultural focus for 7 years. Dr. Teramoto Pedrotti and her husband, Brian, live with their two children, Ben and Cate, on the Central Coast in California.

C. R. Snyder (deceased) was the Wright Distinguished Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Kansas, Lawrence. Internationally known for his work at the interface of clinical, social, personality, and health psychology, his theories have pertained to how people react to personal feedback, the human need for uniqueness, the ubiquitous drive to excuse transgressions and, most recently, the hope motive. He received 31 research awards and 27 teaching awards at the university, state, and national levels. In 2005, he received an honorary doctorate from Indiana Wesleyan University. Snyder has appeared many times on national American television shows, and he has been a regular contributor to National Public Radio. His scholarly work on the human need for uniqueness received the rare recognition of being the subject matter of an entire Sunday cartoon sequence by Gary Trudeau. All of these accomplishments were packaged in a graying and self-effacing absent-minded professor who says of himself, “If you don’t laugh at yourself, you have missed the biggest joke of all!”

Table of Contents

Part I: Looking at Psychology from a Positive Perspective
Chapter 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
A Guide to This Book
The Big Picture
Appendix: Movies for Review
Chapter 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, and Islamic Traditions
Eastern Influences: Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism
East Meets West
Individualism: The Psychology of ME
Collectivism: The Psychology of WE
Different Ways to Positive Outcomes
Where We Are Going: From ME to WE to US
ME/WE Balance: The Positive Psychology of US
Chapter 3: Classifications and Measures of Strengths and Positive Outcomes
Classifications and Measures of Strengths
Positive Outcomes for All
Identifying Strengths and Moving Toward a Vital Balance
Part II: Positive Psychology in Context
Chapter 4: The Role of Culture Developing Strengths and Living Well
Culture and Psychology
Understanding Culture: A Matter of Perspective
Positive Psychology: Culture is Everywhere
Putting Positive Psychology in a Cultural Context
Final Thoughts on the Complexity of Cultural Influences
Chapter 5: Living Well at Every Stage of Life
Resilience in Childhood
Positive Youth Development
The Life Tasks of Adulthood
Successful Aging
A More Developmental Focus in Positive Psychology
Part III: Positive Emotional States and Processes
Chapter 6: The Principles of Pleasure: Understanding Positive Affect, Positive Emotions, Happiness, and Well-Being
Defining Emotional Terms
Distinguishing the Positive and the Negative
Positive Emotions: Expanding the Repertoire of Pleasure
Happiness and Subjective Well-Being: Living a Pleasurable Life
Moving Toward the Positive
Chapter 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
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
Emotions and Context
Working With Emotions to Bring About Positive Change
An Emotional Balancing Act
Part IV: Positive Cognitive States and Processes
Chapter 8: Seeing Our Futures Through Self-Efficacy, Optimism, and Hope
Putting Temporal Futures in Perspective
Self-Efficacy
Hope
Cultural Caveats About Temporal Perspective
Appendix A: A Summary of Hope Theories
Appendix B: Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory Items
Chapter 9: Wisdom and Courage: Characteristics of the Wise and the Brave
Becoming and Being Wise
Theories of Courage
Becoming and Being Courageous
Courage Research
Finding Wisdom and Courage in Daily Life
Chapter 10: Mindfulness, Flow, and Spirituality: In Search of Optimal Experiences
Moment-to-Moment Searches
Mindfulness: In Search of Novelty
Flow: In Search of Absorption
Spirituality: In Search of the Sacred
The Search Continues
Part V: Prosocial Behavior
Chapter 11: Empathy and Egotism: Portals to Altruism, Gratitude, and Forgiveness
Altruism
Gratitude
Forgiveness
Personal Benefits of Altruism, Gratitude, and Forgiveness
The Societal Implications of Altruism, Gratitude, and Forgiveness
“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
Appendix C: The Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS)
Appendix D: The Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Scale (TRIM)
Chapter 12: Attachment, Love, and Flourishing Relationships
Infant Attachment
Adult Attachment Security
Love
Flourishing Relationships: A Series of Purposeful Positive Relationship Behaviors
The Neurobiology of Interpersonal Connection
More on Flourishing Relationships
Future of Love
Building a Positive Psychology of Close Relationships
Part VI. Understanding and Changing Human Behavior
Chapter 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
Understanding Behavior in a Cultural Context
The Limits of the Categorical Diagnostic System
Going Beyond the DSM-5 Framework
Chapter 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”
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
Chapter 15: Positive Schooling and Good Work: The Psychology of Gainful Employment and the Education That Gets Us There
Teaching as a Calling
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?
When Work Becomes a Calling: The Tale of a Hospital Orderly
Appendix A: One Example of Positive Schooling: The StrengthsQuest Program
Appendix B: Positive Workplaces in Hong Kong: Building Positive Organizations, Engaging the Heart of Employees
Part VIII: A Positive Look at the Future of Psychology
Chapter 16: The Future of Positive Psychology: A Conversation Between the Authors
“Teachers Can’t Get Jobs in the Real World!”
“No Child Left Behind” and Beyond
The Components of Positive Schooling

Editorial Reviews

The emphasis is not exclusively clinical; it includes applications and implications across a number of environments and draws from a number of perspectives, including neurobiology. This range makes it an excellent choice for anchoring major concepts so students can explore the application of positive psychology to their specific areas of interest.”

Dr. Pamela Rutledge