Positive psychology: a critical introduction

1. What is positive psychology?

The birth of positive psychology

Origins of positive psychology

Childhood of positive psychology

Overview

Measurement issues

Recommended web resources and further reading

2. Positive emotions and well-being

Negative and positive emotions

Emotions, feelings, and moods

Positive and negative affect

Origins and consequences of affect

The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions

The dual nature of affect : signal and cause of progress

The ration of positive to negative emotions

Cross-cultural differences in emotions

Affect and emotional complexity

The role of emotions in positive psychology

Happiness and life satisfaction

Feelings of happiness and happiness

The measurement of happiness

Background variables and happiness

Income and happiness across nations : basic needs and human rights

Income and happiness within wealthy nations : the hedonic treadmill

Differences between happy and unhappy people

Models of well-being

the hedonic definitional model of subjective well-being

The eudaimonic definitional model of psychological well-being

Empirical comparison of subjective and psychological well-being

Directions for future research

Self-development and understanding exercise

Recommended web resources and further reading

3. Positive self

Self-concept

Self-esteem

Self-efficacy

Self-regulation

Ego

Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and self-determination

Self-construals and cross-cultural differences in self-processes

Reversals

Stress and coping

Needs and motives

Personal strivings

Goals

Achievement goals

The creative self

The creative self in social context

The 'I' and the 'me'

Directions or future research

Self-development and understanding exercise

Recommended web resources and further reading

4. Positive traits

The big five

A brief history of trait research

The big five and subjective well-being

The big five and psychological well-being

The big five and consonant-dissonant well-being

Personality-culture matching and subjective well-being

The big five and creative achievement

Are there consistently positive and consistently negative traits?

Special traits

The circumplex of interpersonal behavior and gender role attributes

Causality orientations

Trait intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

Character strengths and virtues

Virtues, strengths, and authentic happiness

Empirical assessment of the strengths and virtues classification system

Empirical identification of strengths and virtues

Confucius

Aristotle

Schwartz and Sharpe : the psychological view of practical wisdom

Grant and Schwartz : the inverted U curve

Directions for future research

Self-development and understanding exercise

Recommended web resources and further reading

5. Optimism and self-regulation of emotions

Optimism, hope, and emotional intelligence

Self-regulation of emotions

Attentional control

Mindfulness

Meta-emotions

Adaptive and maladaptive metaocognitions

Directions for future research

Self-development and understanding exercise

Recommended web resources and further reading

6. Flow

Measurement methods and models of low

the flow questionnaire and the first model of flow

The experience sampling method and the quadrant and octant models

The standardized flow scales and the componential model

Overall assessment

The origins of flow

Self-determination theory and flow

The teleonomy of the self and the autotelic personality

Cultural influence on flow

Consequences of flow

Flow and creativity

Flow and sport performance

Flow and work performance

Flow and academic performance

Flow and emotions

Frequency of flow and well-being

Negative consequences of flow

Directions for future research

Self-development and understanding exercise

Recommended web resources and further reading

7. Positive relationships

Romantic love

Well-being in love

Components of love

Types of love and relationship well-being

Love and subjective well-being

Relationships in work environments

Well-being at work

Relationships between indicators of wellness

Positive work environment factors

Positive management

The inner work life, the progress principle, and positive team leadership

The missing bolt in the affect-creativity yoke : negative emotions

Parenting, teacher-student, and child-other relationships

Well-being indicators

Positive parenting

Positive teaching : developmental and negative experiences

Directions for future research

Self-development and understanding exercise

Recommended web resources and further reading

8. Positive therapy

Mental illness and mental health

Happiness-enhancing interventions

Positive emotions interventions

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and metacognitive therapy

Directions for future research

Self-development and understanding exercise

Recommended web resources and further reading

9. Future directions in positive psychology

The three approaches to the question

The trade-offs of happiness

Negative emotions as signals

Optimal states versus optimal sequencing of states

Beyond good and bad.