Positive Psychology Resources

A Compendium

of Positive Psychology Quotations

What is Positive Psychology?

The name positive psychology can conjure up different images for different people. Unfortunately, this leads some people to misunderstand what it is, and underestimate the value and potential of this field. The simplest explanation I have found is this. We know that there is more to being healthy than just not having a disease or injury. In the same way, there is more to being mentally healthy than not having a mental illness. For various reasons, psychology has focused mostly on what is wrong with people and how to fix it over the past few decades. Thanks to many psychologists, spearheaded by Martin Seligman in the late 1990s, psychology is now recognizing that it is equally important to study what is right with people. It means studying what factors lead to a deep-seated, enduring happiness, a sense of well-being, meaning, and connection. It means studying how we face and overcome challenges in life, how we become more resilient to difficulties.

Positive psychology is not about feeling euphoric all the time, blind optimism, or ignoring or suppressing negative emotions. In fact, it is quite the opposite. It is about developing skills and strategies to have a healthy balance of emotion, one that leads to a variety of practical benefits at multiple levels: in individuals, relationships, organizations, communities. While some psychologists have been doing this work for quite some time, this science of well-being is actually very young. New and important discoveries are being made all the time, and we are just beginning to understand what they mean and how they might be implemented.

Resources are presented here to promote understanding and beneficial use of what is being done in the field of positive psychology.

Edited by Marcello Spinella, Ph.D.

This is an edited volume of quotations that exemplify the character strengths and virtues.

It will be an ongoing work in progress, and made freely available online.

Books

• Highly Recommended (good places to start):

  • Fredrickson, B. L. (2009). Positivity. New York: Crown Publishers.

  • Foster, R. & Hicks, G. (2004). How we choose to be happy. New York: Perigee.

• Positive Psychology - General

  • Begley, S. (2007). Train your mind, change your brain. New York: Ballantine.

  • Peterson, C. (2006). A primer in positive psychology. New Yok: Oxford.

  • Seligman, M.E.P. (2002). Authentic happiness. New York: Free Press.

• Altruism

  • Ferrucci, P. (2006). The power of kindness. New York: Tarcher/Penguin.

  • Post, S., & Neimark, J. (2007). Why good things happen to good people. New York: Broadway.

• Forgiveness

  • Enright, R.D. (2001). Forgiveness is a choice. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

• Gratitude

  • Emmons, R.(2007). Thanks!: How the new science of gratitude can make you happier. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

• Patience

  • Honore, C. (2004). In praise of slowness. London: Orion.

  • Honore, C. (2008). Under pressure. London: Orion.

  • Ryan, M.J. (2003). The power of patience. New York: Broadway Books

• Wisdom/Learning

  • Kashdan, T. (2009). Curious? New York: Harper Collins.

Source for this graphic: http://blog.h34dup.com/?p=1559