Positive Psychology as Social Change

In recent times there has been growing interest in positive psychology as evidenced by the swell in positive psychology graduate programs, undergraduate courses, journals related to the topic, popular book titles on the topic and scholarly publications. Within the positive psychology community there has been an increased emphasis on the socially beneficial side of positive psychological science. At the First World Congress of the International Positive Psychology Association there was a major push to look at positive psychology as a social change mechanism. This volume will bring together thoughts of leaders in positive psychology from 8 countries to capitalize on the push toward social change and flourishing. By releasing this title at a critical time Springer has the opportunity to help frame the agenda for positive psychology as a force for social change. This seminal work is meant for anyone interested in happiness, strengths, flourishing or positive institutions It introduces Positive Psychology as an unapplied science that can be used to create positive social transformation and enabling institutions. This is a must-have title for academics, especially psychologists, sociologists, economists, and professionals working in the field of Positive Psychology and Well-Being.

From the reviews:"This volume demonstrates how the emphasis of positive psychology can and should be shifted from the individual to the group level. ... Biswas-Diener ... and the other contributors introduce the reader to cutting-edge thinking about public policy and interventions designed to impact individuals who find themselves in a wide variety of social contexts. ... Rarely does one find a volume of this genre to be as enthralling and thought provoking as this one. Summing up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals." (R. B. Stewart Jr., Choice, Vol. 49 (5), January, 2012)

From the reviews:"This volume demonstrates how the emphasis of positive psychology can and should be shifted from the individual to the group level. ... Biswas-Diener ... and the other contributors introduce the reader to cutting-edge thinking about public policy and interventions designed to impact individuals who find themselves in a wide variety of social contexts. ... Rarely does one find a volume of this genre to be as enthralling and thought provoking as this one. Summing up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals." (R. B. Stewart Jr., Choice, Vol. 49 (5), January, 2012)

This volume brings together the thoughts of leaders in positive psychology from eight countries. It contains cutting-edge thinking on a number of important issues and aims to help frame the agenda for positive psychology as a force for social change.

In recent times there has been growing interest in positive psychology. This is evidenced by the swell in positive psychology graduate programs, undergraduate courses, journals related to the topic, popular book titles on the topic and scholarly publications. Within the positive psychology community there has been an increased emphasis on the socially beneficial side of positive psychological science. At the First World Congress of the International Positive Psychology Association there was a major push to look at positive psychology as a social change mechanism. This volume will bring together thoughts of

Robert Biswas-Diener is widely known as the "Indiana Jones of Positive Psychology" because his scientific pursuit of the emotional good life has led him to such far flung places as India, Greenland, Israel, Kenya, and Spain. He sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Positive Psychology and the Journal of Happiness Studies.

Robert is CAPP's Programme Director for Education and Learning. He is also part-time instructor of psychology at Portland State University (USA). Robert is the author of the books, Positive Psychology Coaching: Putting the science of happiness to work for your clients (Wiley, 2007), and Happiness: Unlocking the mysteries of psychological wealth (Blackwell, 2008).

1 What People Really Want in Life and Why It Matters:

Contributions from Research on Folk Theories

of the Good Life

Christie Napa Scollon and Laura A. King

Part I Some Cautionary Thoughts

2 Think Before You Think

Nic Marks

3 Socially Responsible Cheermongery: On the Sociocultural

Contexts and Levels of Social Happiness Policies

Neil Thin

Part II Positive Psychology and Public Policy

4 Monitoring Psychosocial Prosperity for Social Change

Ed Diener and Carol Diener

5 Gross National Happiness: A Gift from Bhutan to the World

George W. Burns

6 Ecological Challenges, Materialistic Values,

and Social Change

Tim Kasser

7 Positive Psychology and Public Health

Dora Guðrún Guðmundsdóttir

Part III Positive Psychology and Poverty

8 Positive Psychology and Poverty

Robert Biswas-Diener and Lindsey Patterson

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xiv Contents

9 Strengthening Underprivileged Communities:

Strengths-Based Approaches as a Force

for Positive Social Change in Community Development

P. Alex Linley, Avirupa Bhaduri, Debasish Sen Sharma,

and Reena Govindji

Part IV Positive Psychology and Organizations

10 Creating Positive Social Change Through Building Positive

Organizations: Four Levels of Intervention

Nicky Garcea and P. Alex Linley

11 Organizational Democracy as a Force for Social Change

Traci L. Fenton

Part V Positive Psychology and a Focus on Others

12 Better Living Through Perspective Taking

Sara D. Hodges, Brian A.M. Clark, and Michael W. Myers

13 Investing in Others: Prosocial Spending for (Pro)Social Change

Lara B. Aknin, Gillian M. Sandstrom, Elizabeth W. Dunn,

and Michael I. Norton

Part VI Positive Psychology and Social Change Interventions

14 How Does Coaching Positively Impact Organizational

and Societal Change?

Sunny Stout Rostron
15 Positive Psychotherapy and Social Change

Antonella Delle Fave and Giovanni A. Fava

16 Recreate or Create? Leisure as an Arena

for Recovery and Change

Joar Vittersø

17 Positive Computing

Tomas Sander

Part VII Change theWorld

18 Changing the World: The Science of Transformative Action

Scott Sherman

Editor's Afterword

Index

Contributors