scientific rigor.
Happiness and well‐being are partly influenced by positive emotions, engagement, and purpose (Seligman, 2008). Concerns about the past, present, and future influence our levels of contentment, serenity, somatic and complex pleasures, optimism, and hope (Duckworth et al., 2005; Seligman, Rashid, & Parks, 2006). Our engagement is reciprocally conditional to strengths which are constructed on core virtues such as wisdom, integrity, and honesty. Purpose and life meaning are derived from interaction within the institutional core to our self. These three domains are not mutually exclusive but the ideal is a harmonious balance. The interplay of the three domains provide hedonic, emphasis on happiness and pleasure, and eudaimonic emphasis on life’s meaning, purpose, and satisfactions. Both hedonic and eudaimonic models were synergized by Seligman and Adler (2018; see also Altmaier, 2019) to understand a blended engagement in the derivation of happiness and life satisfaction. Seligman articulated this blend in the PERMA model which is an acronym for positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment.
Positive psychology has distinguished between the absence of the negative and the presence of the positive. Consider, cold is the absence of heat or poverty the absence of wealth, though debatable, these analogies have their insights but also their limits. Similarly, consider the issue of delinquency. The resolution of this issue by addressing the core causes of the problem means that the issue has been addressed with temporal and spatial specificity. But has the well‐being of persons involved with or affected by delinquency been addressed or sustained? Has the social environment and parties feel engaged, or have a greater sense of well‐being, or have more positive emotions? The positive psychology emphasis of beyond time and space limitations is a core distinguishing factor. Duckworth et al. (2005) observing that the positive is not simply the absence of the negative, noted with an example that the removal of incivility, revenge, and anger, does not necessarily lead to the presence of civility, cooperation, and loyalty. Both the former, removal of the negative, and the latter, creation and sustenance of the the positive, require different interventions.
Within this context and sharing the assumptions and theorization of positive psychology, the contributors to this book are from a wide range of cultures and have diligently articulated significant issues of interest on positive psychology to an international audience. Their contributions include the areas of altruism, positive creativity, science of well‐being, forgiveness, coaching for leadership, cyberpsychology, intelligence, responding to catastrophes like COVID‐19, time perspective, physiological and epigenetic, youth civic engagement, ups and downs of love, flow and good life, global perspectives on positive psychology, self and collective efficacy, positive psychology interventions, and positive orientation.
Do we humans ever, in any degree, care for others for their sakes and not simply for our own? Daniel Batson, renowned for his research on empathy and altruism, in his chapter utilizes the empathy‐altruism hypothesis to address this question. The egoism–altruism debate is briefly discussed, touching on the egoism trend that prevails in Western societies. The empathy‐altruism hypothesis, which states that altruistic motivation is produced by empathetic concern is discussed distinguishing empathetic concern (the perceived welfare of a person in need elicits and is congruent with other‐oriented emotion) and altruistic motivation (increasing another’s welfare in the main goal). Other aspects of empathy‐altruism are articulated such as self‐benefits falling within the realm of the goal of egoism as opposed to the consequence of altruism. The author notes that empathy‐induced altruistic motivation is within the human repertoire and the biological roots of such motivation may lie in generalized parental nurturance. Practical implications of the empathy‐altruism hypothesis are then discussed in relation to its benefits and liabilities. Some benefits include the inhibition of aggression, the increase of collaboration in conflicts, and improved attitudes toward stigmatized groups. Some liabilities include the potential risk of harm (e.g., through time, money, and physical injury) by performing some altruistic acts and some needs may not necessarily arouse empathetic concern.
Distinguished psychologist, Robert J. Sternberg, differentiates between positive and negative creativity, highlighting that while fundamentally being the same, the distinguishing factor is the function they serve. The author contends that creators need to think beyond the short‐term requirements of creative solutions since solutions which have outlived their purpose may become negative in the wrong hands, for example, nuclear weapons and carbon‐based fuels. Acknowledging the prevalence and impact of negative creativity globally, the article outlines some of the fundamental reasons for negative creativity. These include enhancing reputation, responding in anger, responding to fear, and revenge.
Creators need to also pay attention to whether creativity is adding value both in the short and long term, that is whether it is positive, negative, or neutral. Citing social media and a form of creativity once intended to be positive, it has evolved into a medium which has been used to distort elections and spread hateful propaganda. One of the many conclusions from this chapter is a discussion on how creativity can be uncomfortable and potentially dangerous, but, despite this, there is a need for more positive creativity, decency in discourse, reflection, and civility.
In their chapter Jessica Kansky and Ed Diener extend theconcept of subjective well‐being (SWB) beyond happiness. The primary causes ofwell‐being (e.g., income, social relationships, genetics, strengths andpositive behaviors, and health) were discussed as well as its criticaloutcomes. SWB consists of three independently related facets: positive,negative, and life satisfaction. The dynamic nature of SWB has seen a growinginterest in the field which has been matched by evolving methods of measurementwhich range from self‐report methods to physiological and neuroimaging methods.These methods, however, are constrained by their inability to provide causal conclusions. To address this limitation, experimental methods and long‐termfollow‐up assessments were viewed as a way forward allowing researchers tounderstand the causal relationship between moods and affect. The influence ofprograms such as ENHANCE strongly suggest the malleability of happiness. As the authors pointed, “an individual may have multiplehappiness set points, rather than one global point and that different aspectsof well‐being can move in different directions independently”. Inclosing an emphasis is given to the strong need for further research on theconceptual and theoretical foundations of SWB and its globalization.
How can positive psychology be applied to leadership styles not only for the direct benefit of organizations but for overall human development? Ilona Boniwell and Wendy‐Ann Smith discuss the merit of positive leadership for organizations challenged by global competition. Employees who belong to teams which are guided by greater opportunities for recognition, whose leaders are seen as more ethical, authentic, and charismatic, tend to demonstrate greater engagement at the individual level, and those organizations are better able to achieve their corporate goals. Positive leadership is an umbrella term encompassing several leadership styles which places the human at the center of the value creation process. The authors distinguish among positive organizational scholarship, positive organizational behavior, and positive leadership as critical tools of positive psychology within the workplace. Guided by the competing values framework, which posits that leadership has the capacity to hold and integrate contrasting tensions, the chapter discusses the major theoretical underpinnings of leadership.
Some of the major tools in coaching of employees are articulated and include perceiving emotions, understanding emotions, using emotions to facilitate thinking, and managing emotions. Perceiving emotions extends beyond just that of the individual leader but also of members of the team since this directly impacts leadership thought and behaviors. Understanding emotional reactions provides a greater awareness of the causes of certain emotions and some predictability to the consequences of such emotional responses. Using emotions, both positive and negative, to facilitate thinking can have beneficial outcomes. Positive emotions make one more receptive and creative while negative emotions, guided by support have the potential for creative problem solving. Finally, the authors insightfully discuss that the managing of emotions as a coaching tool is critical since emotions can be contagious and can impact the mood and morale of work teams. Leadership is an integration between positive opposites, which can become negative when viewed
