Flourishing

Psychology has made great strides in understanding mental illness, but how much has it learned about mental health? When people want to reflect upon the good life and how to live it, they turn to philosophers and novelists, not psychologists. The emerging field of positive psychology aims to redress this imbalance. In Flourishing, distinguished scholars apply scientific analyses to study the good life, expanding the scope of social and psychological research to include happiness, well-being, courage, citizenship, play, and the satisfactions of healthy work and healthy relationships. Their findings reveal that a sense of meaning and a feeling of richness emerge in life as people immerse themselves in activities, relationships, and the pursuit of intrinsically satisfying goals like overcoming adversity or serving one's community through volunteering. This provocative book will further define this evolving field.

Contributors

vii

Acknowledgments

ix

Foreword: The Past and Future of Positive Psychology

xi

Martin E. P. Seligman

Introduction: Human Flourishing---The Study of That Which Makes Life Worthwhile

3

(10)

Corey L. M. Keyes

Jonathan Haidt

I. RISE TO LIFE'S CHALLENGES

13

(68)

Flourishing Under Fire: Resilience as a Prototype of Challenged Thriving

15

(22)

Carol D. Ryff

Burton Singer

Turning Points as Opportunities for Psychological Growth

37

(18)

Elaine Wethington

Optimism and Flourishing

55

(26)

Christopher Peterson

Edward C. Chang

II. ENGAGE AND RELATE

81

(80)

The Construction of Meaning Through Vital Engagement

83

(22)

Jeanne Nakamura

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Personal Goals, Life Meaning, and Virtue: Wellsprings of a Positive Life

105

(24)

Robert A. Emmons

Toward a Positive Psychology of Relationships

129

(32)

Harry T. Reis

Shelly L. Gable

III. FIND FULFILLMENT IN CREATIVITY AND PRODUCTIVITY

161

(64)

Creativity and Genius

163

(22)

Vincent J. Cassandro

Dean Keith Simonton

Working, Playing, and Eating: Making the Most of Most Moments

185

(20)

Amy Wrzesniewski

Paul Rozin

Gwen Bennett

Well-Being in the Workplace and Its Relationship to Business Outcomes: A Review of the Gallup Studies

205

(20)

James K. Harter

Frank L. Schmidt

Corey L. M. Keyes

IV. LOOK BEYOND ONESELF

225

(66)

Doing Well by Doing Good: Benefits for the Benefactor

227

(22)

Jane Allyn Piliavin

The Intermarriage of Wisdom and Selective Optimization With Compensation: Two Meta-Heuristics Guiding the Conduct of Life

249

(26)

Paul B. Baltes

Alexandra M. Freund

Elevation and the Positive Psychology of Morality

275

(16)

Jonathan Haidt

V. LOOKING AHEAD: A CALL TO ACTION

291

(22)

Complete Mental Health: An Agenda for the 21st Century

293

(20)

Corey L. M. Keyes

Author Index

313

(14)

Subject Index

327

(8)

About the Editors

335

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