This authoritative handbook reviews the breadth of current knowledge about positive emotions: their nature, functions, and consequences for individuals and society. Specific emotions are analyzed in depth, including happiness, pride, romantic love, compassion, gratitude, awe, challenge, and hope. Major theoretical perspectives are presented and cutting-edge research methods explained. The volume addresses neurobiological and physiological aspects of positive emotions as well as their social and intrapersonal contexts. Implications for physical health, coping, and psychopathology are explored, as are connections to organizational functioning and consumer behavior.

Everyone cares about positive emotion and what makes us happy. But do we really know both sides of the story about our most treasured feelings? This comprehensive volume provides the first account of the light and the dark sides of positive emotion, and how they can help us and sometimes even hurt us.

This unique volume brings together state-of-the-art research showing the value of emotions that many believe to be undesirable. Leading investigators explore the functions and benefits of sadness, anxiety, anger, embarrassment, shame, guilt, jealousy, and envy. The role of these emotions in social interactions and relationships is examined, as are cultural differences in how they are valued and expressed. The volume considers how people seek out these feelings in everyday life to improve performance, gain insight, and express cares and commitments. Negative emotions are shown to have an important place in a rich and meaningful life.

A psychologist explains how to create a richer, healthier, more fulfilling life through a process called the upward spiral that incorporates innovative techniques for using positivity to influence relationships, health, and work.

Considerable research has been devoted to understanding how positive emotional processes influence our thoughts and behaviors, and the resulting body of work clearly indicates that positive emotion is a vital ingredient in our human quest towards well-being and thriving. Yet the role of positive emotion in psychopathology has been underemphasized, such that comparatively less scientific attention has been devoted to understanding ways in which positive emotions might influence and be influenced by psychological disturbance. Presenting cutting-edge scientific work from an internationally-renowned group of contributors, The Oxford Handbook of Positive Emotion and Psychopathology provides unparalleled insight into the role of positive emotions in mental health and illness. The book begins with a comprehensive overview of key psychological processes that link positive emotional experience and psychopathological outcomes. The following section focuses on specific psychological disorders, including depression, anxiety, trauma, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, as well as developmental considerations. The third and final section of the Handbook discusses translational implications of this research and how examining populations characterized by positive emotion disturbance enables a better understanding of psychiatric course and risk factors, while simultaneously generating opportunities to bridge gaps between basic science models and psychosocial interventions. With its rich and multi-layered focus, The Oxford Handbook of Positive Emotion and Psychopathology will be of interest to researchers, teachers, and students from a range of disciplines, including social psychology, clinical psychology and psychiatry, biological psychology and health psychology, affective science, and neuroscience.

This volume is a comprehensive review of theoretical and empirical contributions to positive psychology. It provides a scientific understanding of how human strengths help people psychologically and physically, showing how stressful circumstances do not inexorably lead to negative prognoses. It examines how individuals confront challenges, appreciate others, and regard daily experiences as meaningful. Many of the chapters also challenge the negative, disease-model approach that dominates much of the research concerning health and well-being. Chapters also address applications and future directions for the field. The broad scope makes it a key resource for undergraduates, graduates, researchers, and practitioners in social, clinical, and positive psychology.

Written in a conversational style yet empirically grounded, this book reviews what we know about the science of happiness. It is the first text to closely examine the social psychological processes as well as individualistic approaches that affect happiness. It explores how our social, cultural, and economic environment, the personal choices we make, and our evolutionary heritage shape our happiness. Topics that are inherently interesting to students such as how income and unemployment, marriage, children, and relationships, health, work, religion, economic growth, and personal safety affect happiness, are reviewed. Research from psychology, economics, and sociology is examined providing an interdisciplinary perspective of this fascinating field. Social issues such as income inequality and the effects of advertising, materialism, and competition are also explored. Highlights include: Covers both the socio-structural issues and individual differences that impact our happiness providing the most comprehensive coverage of any text available. Emphasizes a social psychological approach that considers factors such as income, economics, culture, work, materialism, relationships, religion, and more, often ignored in other texts. Relates the material to students’ lives by posing questions throughout the text to further spark interest in the subject matter. Highlights the latest research and the methodologies used to obtain it to help students better understand how to interpret results. Reviews the evidence that shows that happiness can change over time and how to increase it. Examines how positive emotions and how we interpret events impacts our well-being, along with empirically verified interventions and possible societal changes that can improve happiness. Features a chapter on evolutionary psychology that suggests that there are limits to happiness but how it can be enhanced by pursuing behaviors associated with the successes of our ancestors. Intersperses summary paragraphs throughout the chapters to facilitate learning. Provides discussion questions, activities, assignments, and suggested videos, websites, examples, and additional readings in the instructor’s resources to stimulate critical thinking and class discussion. Features web based instructor’s resources including PowerPoints, sample syllabi, lecture tips and suggestions, and more. Intended for as a text upper-division courses in the psychology of happiness or positive psychology or as a supplement in courses in social or health psychology or psychology of adjustment.