Preface
PART I: LOOKING AT PSYCHOLOGY FROM A POSITIVE PERSPECTIVE
1. Welcome to Positive Psychology
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
What’s Your Face? A Positive Psychology Passport Picture
A Guide to This Book
The Big Picture
Appendix
Key Terms
2. Western Perspective on Positive Psychology
Hope: Ubiquitous Yet Hidden
Hope as Part of Greek Mythology
Religious Hope in Western Civilization
Revision of the History of Hope in Western Civilization
Conclusions
Key Terms
3. Eastern Perspectives on Positive Psychology
A Matter of Perspective
Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism
East Meets West
Different Ways to Positive Outcomes
Final Thoughts
Key Terms
4. Classifications and Measures of Human Strengths and Positive
Outcomes
Classifications and Measures of Human Strengths
Positive Outcomes for All
Identifying Strengths and Moving Toward a Vital Balance
Note
Key Terms
PART II: POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY IN CONTEXT
5. Developing Strengths and Living Well in a Cultural Context
Culture and Psychology
Understanding Culture: A Matter of Perspective
Positive Psychology: Culture Free or Culturally Embedded?
Putting Positive Psychology in a Cultural Context
Final Thoughts on the Complexity of Cultural Influences
Key Terms
6. 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
Key Terms
PART III: POSITIVE EMOTIONAL STATES AND PROCESSES
7. 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
Key Terms
8. 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
Working With Emotions to Bring About Positive Change
An Emotional Balancing Act
Key Terms
PART IV: POSITIVE COGNITIVE STATES AND PROCESSES
9. Seeing Our Futures Through Self-Efficacy, Optimism, and Hope
Fascination With the Future
Self-Efficacy
Optimism
Hope
Putting Temporal Futures in Perspective
Cultural Caveats About Temporal Perspective
Appendix A: A Summary of Hope Theories
Appendix B: Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory Items
Key Terms
10. Wisdom and Courage: Two Universal Virtues
Wisdom and Courage: Two of a Kind
Theories of Wisdom
Becoming and Being Wise
Theories of Courage
Becoming and Being Courageous
Courage Research
Finding Wisdom and Courage in Daily Life
The Value of Wisdom and Courage
Key Terms
11. 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 True Benefits of Spirituality?
The Search Continues
Key Terms
PART V: PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR
12. Empathy and Egotism: Portals to Altruism, Gratitude, and
Forgiveness
Altruism
Gratitude
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)
Key Terms
13. 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
Building a Positive Psychology of Close Relationships
Key Terms
PART VI: UNDERSTANDING AND CHANGING HUMAN BEHAVIOR
14. 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-IV Framework
Key Terms
15. Interceding to Prevent the Bad and Enhance 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
Key Terms
Part VII: Positive Environments
16. 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
The Components of Positive Schooling
One Example of Positive Schooling: The StrengthsQuest Program
Teaching as a Calling
Giving Back to Teachers
Appendix A: Assessing Educational Success
Appendix B: Teaching Tips From Two “Wills”—James and McKeachie
Key Terms
17. Good Work: The Psychology of Gainful Employment
Gainful Employment
“We Have an Opening”: Jenny Loses a Job and Finds a Career
Take-Home Messages From Jenny’s Story
Gainful Employment: Happiness, Satisfaction, and Beyond
Measuring Gainful Employment
Having or Being a Good Boss
The Strengths-Based Approach to Work
Capital at Work
Hope: A Prime Psychological Capital
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
A New Accounting: An Eye Toward People Rather Than Money
Key Terms
18. The Me/We Balance: Building Better Communities
Where We Are Going: From ME to WE to US
Individualism: The Psychology of ME
Collectivism: The Psychology of WE
ME/WE Balance: The Positive Psychology of US
Appendix: The Need for Uniqueness Scale
Key Terms
PART VIII: A POSITIVE LOOK AT THE FUTURE OF PSYCHOLOGY
19. Going Positive
Trading the Bad for Some Good: The Case of Molly
Tackling a Fundamental Dilemma: Bad Is Stronger Than Good
Positive Psychology Is Gaining Attention
Positive Psychology as a Worldwide Phenomenon
For the Many, Not Just the Few
Young People and Education in Positive Psychology
Women in Positive Psychology
Experts’ Views on 21st-Century Positive Psychology
The Power of Attitude: The Tales of Johnsy and Jerry
Appendix: Positive Social Science
References
Author Index
Subject Index
About the Authors
C. R. Snyder, PhD (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
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 appeared many times on national American
television shows, and he was 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 Garry Trudeau. All of these
accomplishments were packaged in a graying and self-effacing
absent-minded professor who said of himself, “If you don’t laugh at
yourself, you have missed the biggest joke of all!”
Shane J. Lopez, PhD (deceased), was a Gallup Senior Scientist and
Research Director of the Clifton Strengths Institute. Dr. Lopez
published more than 100 articles and chapters and 10 books in
addition to Positive Psychology: The Scientific and Practical
Explorations of Human Strengths. These include Making Hope Happen,
his first trade book; The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology
(with C. R. Snyder); Positive Psychological Assessment: A Handbook
of Models and Measures (with C. R. Snyder); Positive Psychology:
Exploring the Best in People; The Encyclopedia of Positive
Psychology; and The Psychology of Courage: Modern Research on an
Ancient Virtue (with Cynthia Pury). Dr. Lopez was a fellow of the
American Psychological Association and of the International
Positive Psychology Association. A professor at the University of
Kansas in both the Schools of Education and Business for more than
a decade, he passed away on July 23, 2016.
"There is no single-authored text specifically devoted to positive
psychology. Hence, a book like this is definitely
needed. Positive psychology has become a ‘hot’
topic…Increasingly, more courses are being offered in positive
psychology, and the Templeton Foundation even gives an award for
the best courses in this area. In addition, the text can be
used in other, more established classes, such as clinical, health,
or humanistic psychology.”
*Dean K. Simonton*
“I know that Snyder has been involved in these issues from early
on…The likelihood of this ... catching fire is quite good."
*Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi*
"The field is ripe for it and the market for it will indeed
grow. Moreover, as leaders in the movement, and as editors of
the massive new Handbook of Positive Psychology, they are as well
prepared as anyone I can imagine to pull this off. Add to
that Rick Snyder’s record of productivity and his accomplishments
as a teacher, and I think you could depend on a timely and
first-rate piece of work from them."
*David G. Myers*
“...If I would teach a positive psychology course, this would be my
required text. I know of no other book like it.
It is needed.”
*Shelly Gable*
"This undergraduate text introduces a new field of psychology that
emphasizes qualities that make life worthwhile rather than
pathologies."
*Book News*
"This is a very "readable" book . . . It was well worth the time
spent reading it and I have already incorporated several of the
concepts into my work."
*Deborah Renner Hull*
"A strength of the present book is that, in comparison to the other
available positive psychology texts, this one is the strongest by
far in its coverage of cross-cultural issues. The book also is
attractive in that it is replete with photographs, charts, tables,
and graphs that have both substance and style. The publication of
this superb text is an opportunity to reflect on the excellent
progress made thus far towards the realization of the agenda
envisioned by the positive psychology movement′s founders."
*Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books*
"Your text goes into much more depth in chapter, in fact in most
areas of the book. It backs up what it says with current research,
and explains that research so well that I will be able to use it in
a community college. It is well written. Even though there are two
authors, one can′t tell who wrote which chapters; that is unusual.
Finally, it is the best that is out there for a Positive Psychology
text; it sets the standard that others should meet."
*Mike Trent*
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